One in 500 children and young people has a severe disfigurement and one in 100 has some form of visible difference. Education professionals have a vital role to play in supporting and empowering these children and young people.

Changing Faces offers expert advice, resources and training programmes in education. These allow teachers to understand and respond to the challenges facing children and young people with disfigurements, ensuring they succeed both academically and socially.

Every teacher wants to see their pupils develop to the best of their ability, grow in confidence, make friends and enjoy their education in an inclusive and welcoming environment. A child with a disfigurement has to deal with other people’s pre-occupation with their appearance on a daily basis. At school, staring, comments, questions, ostracism and bullying can regularly occur. Without appropriate intervention, these experiences affect confidence and self-esteem, possibly leading to behavioural problems, difficulties in making friends, poor social skills and poor academic performance.

Disfigurement is included in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 which was extended to schools in 2003. As a requirement of this Act, schools must ensure that pupils who have a disfigurement are not discriminated against in any way, tackling the social and psychological aspects of disfigurement from two angles:

Providing appropriate and effective support for any pupil who has a visible difference.

Delivering information and guidance about disfigurement to enable all pupils to becomes aware and inclusive.

These web-pages include plenty of information to help you with both of these crucial tasks.