Access to learning facilities is essential for young people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in their transition to adulthood. Participation in education can enhance social participation and belonging and contribute to the formation and negotiation of identities and competencies. This paper examines how special needs youth education contributes to bringing young people with ID into a position as learning social participants and how their identities are formed and negotiated through belonging to the school’s community of practice. The study was informed by a social theory of learning and designed as a single case study carried out at a specially planned youth education school (SPYES) in Denmark. The study shows how social participation and forming identity can be developed through a trustful and recognising teacher–student relationship, an inclusive classroom setting where individual considerations are taken, shared practice regarding leisure activities with peers, and access to an individually adapted internship at workplaces outside the school. © 2023 The Author(s).
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