Part IV: Education

This part of the Act covers schools, colleges, universities and other post-16 education, but there are different rules for schools and post-16 education.

Schools

The legal framework for disabled access to schools looks at access in 3 areas, each disabled child should have:
Access to the curriculum
Access to the built environment
Access to written information/communication

Access to Curriculum

The point is to make sure disabled pupils have access to a full, broad and balanced curriculum. While schools already provide additional support to enable pupils with learning disabilities to access the curriculum through the Special Educational Needs framework, the DDA requirements extend this to children with other impairments like visual or hearing impairments.
It should cover access to:
• classroom and learning support
• after school clubs
• field trips
• leisure, sport and cultural activities
• timetabling
• options
Sometimes enabling access to the curriculum will be a technical or physical adjustment – like changing timetabling, or ensuring lessons involving equipment (like science) are held on the ground floor in an accessible area.

Access to the built environment

This covers improving the physical environment of the school to increase the extent to which disabled pupils can take advantage of education and associated services.
It includes all areas of the physical environment such as lifts, kerbs, exterior surfaces, doors, gates, building entrances and exits, toilet and changing facilities, parking, floor coverings, signs, furniture, ramps, handrails, lighting, heating, blinds, induction loops, well designed room acoustics and way finding systems etc.
It also covers physical aids to access equipment such as technology equipment, enlarged computer screens and keyboards, sound field systems, specialist desks and chairs, specialist pens, scientific equipment.
Wolverhampton Local Education Authority has undertaken a massive programme of physical access improvements to schools in the city.

Access to information

This is about improving the delivery to disabled pupils, in a reasonable time, information provided to non-disabled pupils. This should be done in formats which take account of views, expressed by the pupils or their parents, about their preferred means of communication.
Disabled pupils should have access to all information e.g. handouts, timetables, textbooks, information about school events etc. in their preferred format e.g. Braille ,audio tape, large print, through sign language, symbol systems, through ICT or providing information orally. This must be done within a "reasonable timeframe."

Colleges

This covers universities and colleges, adult and community education, and schools providing adult education courses.
School 6th forms are included under the schools provisions.
Providers of post-16 education and education services are not permitted to discriminate against a disabled student regarding:
Admissions
Teaching learning and other services provided (like the canteen, student union bar, libraries, accommodation, or study trips)
Excluding them from the course or institution
This means they must not treat the disabled student less favourably for a reason relating to disability, and must make reasonable adjustments. They must also prevent disabled (and other) students from being victimised.
Both duties are based on what is reasonable and what is justifiable. So if the cost of the adjustment meant the college couldn’t afford to run the course, or if the adjustment prevented other student from doing the course, the adjustment would not be seen as reasonable.
Similarly discrimination is justifiable if it can be demonstrated as necessary in order to maintain academic standards.

You can find out about some of the Part III cases that have been brought under the Disability Discrimination Act here>>

Taking a case further

If you think you have been discriminated against on grounds of disability in education, your first step should be to bring the issue up with the school/college, by talking to the Head Teacher or Principal, and make them aware of the problem and any adjustments that are required.
If this does not get results you can try the Board of Governors, or Wolverhampton Education Authority’s complaints scheme.
You may want to contact the EHRC helpline to get their opinion on the issue:
Telephone: 0845 6046610
Textphone: 0845 6046620

EHRC Helpline, Freepost RRLL-GHUX-CTRX, Arndale House, Arndale Centre, Manchester, M4 3AQ
Email: englandhelpline@equalityhumanrights.com