Paralympian Denied PE Class Now Teaches Inclusive Sports

At 15, Siobhan Fitzpatrick was representing Britain in wheelchair basketball, but her school still couldn't let her take PE as a subject. The reason? She needed to do four different sports to qualify, and wheelchair basketball was the only one accessible to her.

"If I take myself back to 11-year-old me, who was told that sport in a mainstream world can't be for me, I find it really difficult to accept," Siobhan told The Independent. Her school wasn't being difficult. The curriculum simply didn't allow it.

Instead of giving up, Siobhan found her passion through a local sports club in 2010. She quickly rose through the ranks, co-captaining the under-25 women's team through back-to-back wins and earning a silver medal at the 2018 Hamburg World Championship.

In 2021, she represented Britain at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Now 28, she spends her time delivering inclusive PE sessions at schools across the UK when she's not competing internationally.

The Ripple Effect

The system that excluded Siobhan is finally changing. Since 2018, students only need three activities instead of four, and the curriculum now includes accessible sports like powerchair football and table cricket.

Last year, the government announced £300,000 in funding for its Inclusion 2028 programme to train teachers in truly inclusive PE. The Department for Education is also reforming the special educational needs system to help disabled children get support earlier without families having to fight for it.

But Siobhan says these improvements aren't widespread yet, and many disabled children still miss out. "I feel like it's a constant battle for a child with an additional need who is already struggling within a mainstream setting to get that support," she explained.

Beyond policy changes, Siobhan believes schools need a cultural shift. She's noticed teachers sometimes keep disabled students separated because they worry about bullying, which only increases isolation.

"I know how it feels to be isolated," she said. "I don't want other disabled children feeling the same way I did at school."

Sense, a disability charity, created a tool to help families share their experiences with the government's consultation on reforming special educational needs provision. The reforms are being co-designed with parents to ensure the system works for everyone.

The teenager who couldn't take PE is now making sure the next generation won't hear "sport isn't for you."