Gary Bourlet and Rachael Hall from Learning Disability England, attended Festibility last month, ‘Kent’s best accessible Music Festival’, to spread the Good Lives word and encourage others to join the movement. They share how it went in this latest blog…

FestAbility is more than just a music festival – it’s a celebration of joy, inclusion and community.

Held in Kent and set up by two incredible family members, Debs and Vanessa, FestAbility is designed to be fully accessible and welcoming for disabled people of all ages.

Kumudu and Amanda went to the Social History of Learning Disability Conference 2025 to learn from others and share the Good Lives framework.

We were so pleased to be part of such a brilliant programme which opened our minds to the many different ways that people with Learning Disabilities are reclaiming and retelling their histories.

You can find out more about the conference here.

This year was the 30th Anniversary of the Social History of Learning Disability (SHLD) Conference Programme, held on 9-10th July 2025.

The conference is about the importance of the stories, memories and histories of people with learning disabilities.

It’s a powerful place where people with Learning Disabilities record their own experiences and take up space in the archives and history books!

The Government have published their plans for how the NHS will work in the future.

It is called Fit for the Future: The 10 Year Health Plan for England

It has big ideas in it for making the NHS work better but also to help people live healthier lives.

You can read it here:

Fit for the Future: The 10 Year Health Plan for England    

Easy-read version   

Learning Disability England members were part of the consultations that led to this plan – you can read about that here.

Lots of things Learning Disability England members said are important are part of the plan.

On 4th June, Learning Disability England took part in a Parliamentary Reception hosted by the Adult Social Care All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).

The APPG is a cross party group of Parliamentarians, with an interest in social care, supported by a working group of organisations, including Learning Disability England, and a lived experience advisory group.

In this blog, Gary Bourlet—long time advocate of Learning Disability Pride—shares why it matters and what he hopes to see in the future.

You might be wondering—what makes Learning Disability Pride different from other pride events?

The answer is simple: it’s about being proud of your learning disability.

There are many kinds of Pride events, and they all have their place.

Learning Disability Pride is unique because it celebrates the experiences, strengths, and identity of people with learning disabilities.

By Kate Brackley, Learning Disability Advisor and Lindsey Allen, Programme Lead at Bild.

Kate and Lindsey share the importance of good health care for people with learning disabilities, and Bild for the Future’s work on the new chapter of the Good Lives Framework ‘Health for a good life’.

Health is really important to people with learning disabilities, we want to have a good quality of life and to feel better in ourselves as it gives us confidence to be able to be fitter for life. It is all about making good choices and decisions about our health and wellbeing.

We also want good quality health care that understands who we are as people. This is a basic human right and  and we would like to have a good life with good health.

Simon Cramp, Self-advocate, Campaigner and Lifetime Member of Learning Disability England, reviews new ITV Series The Assembly.

The Assembly is a new entertainment series where celebrities are questioned by a group of inquisitive interviewers who are autistic, neurodivergent and/or learning disabled.

Simon has been avidly following the new series and giving his thoughts on each episode along the way.