In this section
Disability discrimination claim
At the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), we hear and decide parentsī claims of disability discrimination.
Schools must not discriminate against disabled pupils in their admissions arrangements, in the education and associated services they provide, or in relation to exclusions from the school. Local education appeals panels will consider claims of discrimination in relation to admissions to, and permanent exclusions from, Local Authority (LA) maintained schools. We will hear all other claims about schools under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
Schools must not treat disabled pupils less favourably because of their disability, without justification. They must also make reasonable adjustments so that disabled pupils are not disadvantaged compared with pupils who are not disabled. But in making these adjustments they do not have to remove or alter physical features or provide extra aids and services.
- What can I make a claim about
- Admissions
- Education and associated services
- Exclusions
- If the school is not fully accessible
- Where to send a claim
- Contacting an education appeal panel
- Who to claim against
- The “responsible body”
- The responsible body might depend on the circumstances
- From when you make a claim to when you get our decision
What can I make a claim about
Please read this section carefully. It will help you decide whether you can claim. You can make a claim about disability discrimination in a school in England. This includes nursery schools and nursery classes in schools. You can make a claim about:
- admissions;
- exclusions; or
- education and services linked to education.
We do not handle all claims about admissions and exclusions. If you are unsure who to claim to please contact us for more details.
Admissions
Schools and Local Authorities (LAs) must not discriminate because of a child´s disability:
- in the way they decide who will get a place in schools (this includes any rules when schools are “over subscribed” (more people apply than there are places available), and how they use the rules;
- in the terms in which they offer pupils a place at the school; or
- by refusing to accept, or deliberately not accepting, an application form from a disabled pupil for admission.
Education and associated services
This covers the teaching provided by teachers and other school staff. It also includes what happens at lunchtime and other breaks and activities such as after-school clubs, school trips, and school orchestras. Adult education provided in schools and services to parents are not covered.
Exclusions
It is against the law to discriminate against a disabled pupil by excluding him or her from the school because of their disability. This applies to exclusions whether they are permanent or fixed term, including lunchtime exclusions.
If the school is not fully accessible
Schools and LAs must have plans and strategies to make school premises more accessible to disabled pupils. But we cannot hear claims about failure to do this. Ofsted and the Secretary of State for Children, Families and Schools are responsible for making sure that schools carry out these duties.
Where to send a claim
Some claims go to education appeal panels, others come to us.
All Local Authorities have education appeal panels. They hear claims of discrimination about admissions and permanent exclusions in schools maintained by LAs, including community schools, voluntary-aided and voluntary-controlled schools and foundation schools. All other claims should come to us, How to Make a Claim booklet explains how to make a claim to us.
Contacting an education appeal panel
If you want to appeal about admission to a LA-maintained school or permanent exclusion from one, you will need to contact the Local Authority for information on what to do. Only use the form in this booklet if you are making a claim to us.
Who to claim against
Your claim is against the “responsible body”. Who the responsible body is will depend on the circumstances of the claim. You do not have to tell us who you think the responsible body is. You need only to give us the full name and address of the school at which the alleged discrimination took place, and the name of the relevant Local Authority. We will send the claim to whoever we think the responsible body is.
The “responsible body”
The “responsible body” is the organisation which is responsible for the school, or for the activity during which you say there was discrimination. This will depend on the type of school and the circumstances of each case. You cannot claim against the head teacher or any individual person you consider was responsible.
The responsible body might depend on the circumstances
In maintained schools, Local Authorities are sometimes responsible for certain aspects of school life - for example, school meals or school transport. In schools where LAs have these responsibilities, they are also responsible for making sure that discrimination does not take place in the way they carry their responsibilities out.
From when you make a claim to when you get our decision
You should have our decision on your claim in about three to four months (four to five months if August is included) from the date we receive it.
The timetable below shows the number of working days each stage of your claim may take. Working days do not include Saturdays, Sundays, bank holidays, any day between 25 December and 1 January, or any day in August.
- You make a claim and we decide whether we can deal with it.
- If we cannot deal with the claim, we will write and tell you within 10 working days.
- If we need more information before we can make a decision about registering your claim, we will write and ask you to send this information. You will normally have 10 working days to reply.
- If we can deal with the claim, we will send the “responsible body” a copy of the claim within 10 working days of receiving it and write to you at the same time. We will write to ask you and the responsible body about hearing dates.
- The responsible body must then provide a “response”and any more and any more evidence within 30 working days.
- At the end of the period, we will send you a copy of the responsible body´s response and evidence, and send them a copy of your evidence. We will also ask you to confirm who you will bring to the hearing.
- We will confirm the place, date and time of the hearing and who will be coming from the responsible body about 10 working days beforehand.
- We will send you and the responsible body a written decision, usually within 10 working days after the hearing.
You and the responsible body can ask us to increase a time limit. To do so, you must write to us giving your reasons.
If you have any questions relating to disability discrimination within school please contact our helpline 0870 241 2555.
