From September 2002 all children with disabilities have the right to challenge any discrimination they experience within Education.
DOES THE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT COVER ALL CHILDREN?
The Act is for children who have a..
“….physical, or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long term adverse affect on a person’s ability to perform normal day to day activities”.
So, the Act may cover any children who have difficulties in any of the following areas…
Difficulties with mobility
Sight or hearing difficulties
A progressive condition such as multiple sclerosis
Learning disabilities
An ongoing medical condition such as epilepsy
WHAT DOES THE DDA DO?
If a school discriminates against a child for something that can be linked directly to the child's disability this would be against the DDA law. This could be in any of the following areas:
Admissions to a school
What a child is taught – the curriculum
School sports
The serving of school meals
How a child is taught – the teaching and learning
School trips
WHAT DOES DISCRIMINATION MEAN?
There are two types of discrimination:
1. LESS FAVOURABLE TREATMENT…
A school may be discriminating against a child if they are treating a child differently from others because of their disability and if they cannot justify what they are doing. For example if a child cannot go to their local school because of their disability or if they cannot go on a school trip because they have diabetes, then the school may be discriminating again those children.
Sometimes the school may be able to give good reason for treating a child “less favourably” if they can show that it did so because of “material and substantial” reasons. Some forms of selection might be allowed – if, for example, a school is a church school and requires all their students to be members of a certain religion.
2. FAILURE TO TAKE REASONABLE STEPS…
A school has to “take reasonable steps” to make sure that a child with a disability is not at a considerable disadvantage compared to other pupils at the school.
Examples of this may be if a child within a secondary school with dyslexia is told that he or she cannot have her teacher’s lesson notes and should take notes during the lessons like everyone else.
DOES THE DDA COVER ALL CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS?
The Education Act 1996 says that children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty that calls for special provisions to be made for them. There may be children who have disabilities and are covered by the DDA, but who may not have special educational needs. A child with severe asthma may not have special educational needs – he or she may be able to learn in exactly the same way as other children. However, because of their medical needs, they may have a disability under the DDA. So there may be some children who have extra help for their educational needs within schools, who may not be covered by the DDA.
The DDA also makes sure that schools also make adjustments for disabled parents. This means that disabled parents must be able to get into school, to have interpreters at parents’ meetings etc.
ACCESS TO SCHOOL BUILDINGS
The DDA legislation means that all schools will have to have plans to gradually improve access within the school for children who are disabled. The plans should include:
Improvements in accessing the subjects that are taught in school – the curriculum.
Physical improvements to the school to increase all children’s access to school buildings.
Improvements in how information is given to children. For example, it may be that information has to be available in Braille, audiotape or large print designs.
These plans should be made available to parents.
WHAT DO SCHOOLS NEED TO DO?
The DDA law says that schools will be expected to take “reasonable steps” to meet the needs of disabled children who might want to attend their schools. Schools have to think about a wider range of needs of children with different disabilities. Schools have to regularly review all their policies, practices and procedures that govern their work, to make sure that disabled children are not at a disadvantage because of their disability.
Schools do not have to make physical changes to their school buildings or provide specialist equipment or support. School changes such as these are covered by other pieces of legislation.
WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU THINK YOUR CHILD MAY HAVE BEEN DISCRIMINATED AGAINST?
If you feel your child has been discriminated against, then you should first contact the Head Teacher. If you don’t feel that talking about the problem with the Head Teacher has answered your concerns then the school and the Local Education Authority will have a complaints procedure, which you could follow.
WHO ELSE COULD I TALK TO?
If you don’t feel that you have really dealt with the discrimination your child has faced you can ask the DISABILITY RIGHTS COMMISSION (DRC) for advice and information.
Their address is as follows:-
Disability Rights Commission (DRC) Freepost MID 02164 Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 9BR
DRC Helpline: 0845 622 633
Email: tribunalequeries@sent.gsi.gov.uk