South Africa, a country that suffered from discriminatory practices in the past, is still feeling the impact of these practices currently. One of these practices limited access to educational institutions, particularly for children experiencing barriers to learning. The focus of this article is on parents' perceptions of barriers to learning as they aid or constrain learners' access to education. In addition, the article explores how the notion of value, as it is expressed in the capability approach, influences support for formal and epistemological access. Four hundred and six parents of children without barriers to learning completed a self-report questionnaire from seven mainstream primary schools in Gauteng, while two hundred and twenty-two parents responded to the open-ended questions. The questionnaire comprised a demographic section and 61 item Likert-type scale and two open-ended questions which explored parents' perceptions of barriers to learning. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the responses to the open-ended questions, while responses to the scale were analysed using SPSS. The results clustered around the themes of behaviour, school climate/environment, learning ability, discrimination and teachers, which indicate that parents assign greater value to the functioning of education than to inclusivity. The general stance however was in favour of formal access over epistemological access.