The Equality Act 2010
This act sets out the personal characteristics which are protected by law. This includes having a disability.
A person is considered disabled under the Equality Act if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities (Equality Act 2010 Section 6(1)).
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“Substantial” is more than minor or trivial, for example it takes much longer than it usually would to complete a daily task like getting dressed
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“Long-term” means 12 months or more, for example a breathing condition that develops as a result of a lung infection
Reasonable Adjustments
Section 20 of the Equality Act sets out the duty to make reasonable adjustments.
Schools are required to make reasonable adjustments for children with disabilities. Some examples of reasonable adjustments could include:
Allowing a pupil to go into the dinner hall before other pupils to help with sensory processing
Adjusting snack policies to let a pupil with diabetes have a high calorie snack
Providing coloured paper for a pupil with dyslexia
Providing ear defenders to a pupil who is sensitive to noise
Seating a visually impaired student in a way that accommodates their field of vision
Inclusion in Schools
All maintained schools and academies must use their “best endeavors” to cater for any child with SEND, except in very limited circumstances when they can prove that it would be detrimental to the education of other pupils and there are no reasonable steps they can take to solve that.
All schools are expected to have an Accessibility Plan for disabled pupils, that parents and carers can view on the school website or receive a copy upon request. The plan should outline objectives to overcome barriers to accessing the curriculum and an action plan to improve physical access and reasonable adjustments in a classroom setting.
Children with Medical Conditions
Government guidance 'Supporting Pupils in Schools with medical conditions' says:
Pupils at school with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they have full access to education, including school trips and physical education.
Schools should consider what reasonable adjustments they might make to enable children with medical needs to participate fully and safely on visits. (24)
It is generally not acceptable practice to prevent children from participating, or create unnecessary barriers to children participating in any aspect of school life, including school trips, e.g. by requiring parents to accompany the child. (25)
Disability Discrimination in Schools
Discrimination can take many different forms. Click below to find out more about each type.
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When a school treats a person badly because of something connected to their disability, and does not have a good reason for doing so
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Where the school treats a disabled pupil worse than a non-disabled pupil in a similar situation because of their disability.
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Where a school have a particular policy or way of working that impacts disabled pupils in a worse way than non-disabled pupils
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Where a school does not put in place a reasonable adjustment for a pupil who is considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010
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Where a pupil is treated in a way that makes them feel humiliated, offended or degraded
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Where the pupil is treated badly because they or their parents/carers have made a complaint of discrimination against the school
When else does the Equality Act apply?
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The Equality Act 2010 requires providers to make sure they do not discriminate on the grounds of disability. This includes admissions. It means providers must take reasonable steps to make sure children with SEND can take part in their activities. They should make extra considerations to safeguard these children.
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Good practice is that all activities both within and outside of the school should be planned to ensure that they are accessible for all children to be able to attend and enjoy along with their peers.
Section 35 of the Children and Families Act 2014 says that schools and nurseries can only exclude a child from activities if:
it is not reasonably practicable for them to be included;
being included would prevent them from receiving the support they need; or
being included would prevent the efficient education of other children or the efficient use of resources.
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Some students may need additional support to complete exams, such as having a reader, a scribe or extra time.
Some of this support would be considered a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act and should be available without consulting the exam board. This would include things like rest breaks and taking the exams in smaller rooms with fewer pupils, rather than in the main exam hall.
What can I do?
If you feel your child is being discriminated against, you can discuss this with school. Ideally you should speak to the SENCo as this is the person who has responsibility for SEND provision across the whole school.
You may want to look at the school’s SEND information report and SEND policy to familiarise yourself with what school say they will do. If you feel school are not working in line with their own policies, you can raise this as a concern.
It can be useful to remind school of their duties under the Equality Act and ask for reasonable adjustments to be made to support your child.
If you still have concerns, you can raise these with the Head Teacher or make a formal complaint to the school and Governing body. The school’s own website will have information about their complaint’s procedure.
If you feel your child has been discriminated against, you have the right to make a disability discrimination claim against the school. This involves asking the SEND Tribunal to consider whether the school have acted in a discriminatory way. You can find out more here