In 2016 Gloria Vessey received an Honourary Fellowship for her services to social justice from the University of Winchester.

Gloria Vessey started out as an interpreter after graduating, then at the age of thirty changed track in order to study for the Bar, specialising in employment, company and competition law as well as human rights.  The latter led to her working almost exclusively for the rights of disabled children.

She could not take on all the children who needed help and decided to create the charity Advocates for Children to gives advice, support and legal representation to children with physical and learning disabilities aged between four and 16.

Much of the funding for this enterprise came from the dying wishes of Gloria’s husband.  David Vessey was a classical scholar and had been collecting books since the age of eight.  At the tragically early age of 56, and the money raised from selling his 8,000 books should help children with physical and learning disabilities get appropriate special educational needs provision.

800,000 children under 16 in the UK are living with some kind of disability, which may be physical and/or mental, and which can severely affect their chances of having an adequate education – something that most of us take for granted.

Nearly one hundred percent of these children are living at home and putting a severe strain on family members and household budgets.  Gloria set up a charity whereby people like herself will advocate without charge on behalf of a child’s parents in the courts, in schools and with Local Education Authorities, all of which can be reluctant to spend money on improving the lives of these children.

The statistics are frightening: 40% of disabled children are living in poverty. 1,800 babies are born every year with cerebral palsy. The number of children born with Downs Syndrome has risen –as has the number of premature babies (who are more likely than full-term babies to have disabilities).  Ironically, the latter are surviving because of technological and medical advances.

School budgets are being squeezed and schools are becoming more results-driven, which in turn means that they are being more selective about their intake.  Mainstream schools have a budget for special educational needs, but sometimes they use that money for other purposes.  Many of the schools designated specifically for children with special needs are closing.

The Advocate has to take into account the views of parents, teachers, health professionals, and social workers.  He or she must be able to remain calm under pressure, not ask for the impossible, and be aware of what is going on behind the scenes.  He or she must be empathetic, calm under pressure, unemotional, flexible, polite – to name but a few of the qualities mentioned by Gloria.  Gloria’s motto is never give up!