disability discrimination occur in schools

Disability discrimination is when a school treats disabled pupils worse than non-disabled ones or fails to take positive steps to help them. Discrimination can occur at all stages of a pupil’s education and even outside the classroom in extra-curricular activities. The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination because of a disability, as well as a number of other characteristics like race, age and sex. This page explains what schools must do to ensure they don’t discriminate and how they can deal with situations where this does happen.

Direct disability discrimination is when a school treats a pupil in a way that’s linked to their protected characteristic, for example when they refuse to let them go on a school trip because they use a wheelchair. This is always unlawful. Indirect disability discrimination happens when a school applies a policy or practice to all their pupils which is likely to have a particular adverse effect on disabled pupils, but they can prove that it’s a proportionate way of achieving a legitimate aim. For example, the school carries out a risk assessment before allowing a wheelchair-user to go on a school trip and concludes that it’s not safe to do so because they cannot guarantee the safety of the child or the other pupils on the trip.

The law says that schools must make reasonable adjustments for their disabled pupils to avoid putting them at a substantial disadvantage compared with their peers. This includes making changes to facilities and services, but also adjusting the way things are done. The duty to make reasonable adjustments is ‘anticipatory’, which means that schools must consider in advance what they need to do to avoid putting disabled pupils at a disadvantage.

Can disability discrimination occur in schools?

For example, if your child has a visual impairment and they want to attend a public school but the school doesn’t offer sign language interpretation for assemblies, this could be discrimination. It’s the school’s responsibility to make sure that they can provide suitable sign language interpreters for all events, including assembly.

It’s worth remembering that a person’s disability law can have up and down periods, for example, when someone has a flare up of an illness, or when they experience more symptoms than usual due to their condition. These are called ‘continuing significant adverse effects’, and they can last for a few weeks, or more than a year.

It’s important to note that this information is based on current legislation and guidance, and might change in the future. For this reason, you should contact your local authority’s equality service for further advice and support. They can also help you if you have any concerns about how your school is complying with the law. You can find your local authority’s equality service by visiting our local authority directory. They can offer you confidential and impartial support, and will have details of all the local services that can help you with your complaint.