The Report by Carla Garlatti, the Italian Ombudsperson for Children (Agia), entitled “Scuola e inclusione: dico la mia” (School and Inclusion: I Have My Say). The document presents the results of the public consultation on the school inclusion of students with disabilities promoted by the Ombudsperson, which involved more than six thousand children aged between 14 and 19. According to the Report, 43.5% of young people have witnessed or become aware of bullying incidents against students with disabilities, and 36.5% stated that they did not know how to behave or who to turn to.

Other findings reveal that six out of ten participants have never asked teachers how to interact with a fellow pupil with a disability. Moreover, 38.2% claim to have received guidance from teachers on how to behave, while 33.4% claim not to have received it. When it comes to the preparedness of support teachers, half (50.5%) think that those prepared are few and far between.

Most young people (57.8%) state that they do not interact with peers with disabilities and only 12% say they do so often. Six out of ten students (60.6%) have interacted with children with disabilities outside the school context.

The Report can be consulted on AGIA website.

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