The local authority will seek to ensure that schools within its jurisdiction do not disadvantage or discriminate against a disabled pupil because of their disability.
Disability: The Equality Act 2010 defines a disability as “when a person has 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”.
This broad description covers physical disabilities, sensory impairments, such as those affecting sight or hearing, and learning disabilities and also some specified medical conditions, HIV, multiple sclerosis and cancer are all considered as disabilities, regardless of their effect.
The Act sets out details of matters that may be relevant when determining whether a person meets the definition of disability. Long term is defined as lasting, or likely to last, for at least 12 months.
Schools: all maintained schools and settings for which Southampton City Council is responsible.
Discrimination: A public body (in this case, a school) must not disadvantage a disabled pupil because of something that is a consequence of their disability. The interpretation of “discrimination” within relation to disability in this accessibility strategy reflects changes specified in the Equality Act 2010.
There can no longer be justification for direct discrimination in any circumstances (under the previous Disability Discrimination Act, schools could justify some direct discrimination – if was a proportionate means of meeting a legitimate aim).
This accessibility strategy also seeks to protect pupils against indirect discrimination – to ensure that a school does not do something which applies to all pupils but which is more likely to have an adverse effect on disabled pupils only.
The local authority will work closely with schools and school governors to agree reasonable adjustments which will allow disabled pupils full access to school facilities and activities. We will also work together with all settings to anticipate, predict and plan for the needs of disabled pupils.
Reasonable adjustments: In the Equality Duty 2011, the duty to make reasonable adjustments applies only to disabled people. For schools, this duty is summarised as follows and this accessibility strategy recognises and promotes these principles:
Where something a school does places a disabled pupil at a disadvantage compared to other pupils then the school must take reasonable steps to try and avoid that disadvantage.
In addition to having a duty to consider reasonable adjustments for particular individual disabled pupils, schools will also have to consider potential adjustments which may be needed for disabled pupils generally as it is likely that any school will have a disabled pupil at some point.
It is important to note that the duty on schools to make reasonable adjustments is anticipatory. Schools should not wait until a disabled pupil arrives before making or planning to make adjustments. This may be too late and could lead to a pupil being substantially disadvantaged, it is important therefore for schools to plan a broad range of accessibility improvements over time.
Schools are not obliged to anticipate and make adjustments for every imaginable disability and need only consider general reasonable adjustments - e.g. being equipped to produce large font papers for pupils with a visual impairment even if there are none currently admitted to the school.
It will be for schools to consider the reasonableness of adjustments based on the circumstances of each case. (The Equality Act does not set out what would be a reasonable adjustment or a list of factors to consider in determining what is reasonable). However, factors a school may consider when assessing the reasonableness of an adjustment may include the financial or other resources required for the adjustment, its effectiveness, its effect on other pupils, health and safety requirements and whether aids should be made available from other agencies through the Education Health & Care Assessment process introduced in 2014.
What would be a reasonable “adjustment” is often a matter of judgement and, wherever possible, should be decided by agreement between the local authority, the school and parents/carers e.g. the right of a pupil to attend a school of their choice (within the context of SCC’s admissions procedures) should be balanced with the responsibility of the council to make the most efficient use of its resources – see Annex A for further clarification.