Around 2.5% of young people in the UK are diagnosed with a learning disability. This thesis aimed to examine the provisions for these young people, and their families, in the UK. Part A of this portfolio explored the role of specialist and mainstream education provisions in the education of young people with learning disabilities, conducting a narrative review of the literature. There was inconsistency around whether inclusive education was defined as the right to be educated in one physical space, or concerned with meeting young people’s needs. The findings suggested that parents and teachers typically prioritise the latter. Whilst benefits and constraints of both mainstream and specialist provisions were discussed, there was little empirical evidence of which resulted in better outcomes, or what outcomes should be being measured. There were also concerns raised about the current UK education system, which many teachers and parents felt creates barriers to feasibly meeting the needs of all young people with learning disabilities in mainstream classrooms.

Part B of this portfolio presents an empirical study investigating what factors impact how satisfied caregivers of young people with learning disabilities are with the support that they have received for themselves, their child and their family, and how this impacts their wellbeing. Regression analysis on the 322 caregivers’ responses identified that, contrary to previous research, having one White parent and increased household income were associated with decreased satisfaction with support, whilst increased frequency of support was associated with increased satisfaction. As expected, parents of young people with more significant needs displayed a greater caregiver burden, but increased frequency of support was also associated with increased caregiver burden. There was a bi-directional relationship between caregiver support and experience of support, highlighting the impact that support and caregiver wellbeing have on one another. Overall, caregivers were dissatisfied with the professional support that they receive, particularly for themselves, and their caregiver burden scores indicated that many parents of young people with learning disabilities are at risk of burnout. Implications and future directions are discussed.