The Equality Act for Educational Professionals A simple guide to disability inclusion in schools

"A definite must for SENCOS." -- Urmston Junior School "A good insight into process of tribunal and what the Equality Act means." -- Team Leader, St Paul's CE Primary School 'A much needed resource in supporting schools, centres, day nurseries and community childcare provision to understand the complexity of the issues surrounding SEN... A valuable tool.’ -- Gerri Ross – Head of Old Moat Sure Start Children’s Centre, UK "Straightforward and easily accessible...I would recommend this book to undergraduates and professionals alike who have an interest in ensuring that the rights of disabled children are upheld." -- Dr Craig Blyth, School of Education, University of Manchester, UK Under the Equality Act (2010), all schools and service providers have a legal obligation to make provision for disabled pupils, staff and school users. If you’re feeling confused and concerned about the content and implications of the Disability Duty Act (1995) and the more recently released Equality Act (2010), and how it affects your setting, this essential book will help you unpick the issues in a user-friendly and easily accessible way. This highly practical resource: explains the main parts of Equality Act (2010) as it affects disability in a way that will encourage all members of staff within a school to feel confident that they are correctly implementing its requirements; discusses ‘reasonable adjustments’ and ‘less favourable treatment’ which are at the heart of the legislation; shows how ‘less favourable treatment’ and ‘reasonable adjustments’ apply to admissions, exclusions, handling of medicines and during school trips; uses examples and case studies throughout, and highlights the key factors for success in making reasonable adjustments; takes readers through the process of an alleged act of discrimination against the school, and how it may be resolved, up to and including the SEND tribunal process. The author brings a wealth of experience to this topic, both as a parent of a disabled child and as a trainer of professionals. She uses her unique insight to develop skills and awareness in anyone who follows her material, and shows through tried and tested concepts and methods, how schools and settings can avoid costly and stressful tribunals. Headteachers, teachers, SENCos, Sure Start Centre Managers and anyone who works in educational settings will find this book essential to their professional development and a fantastic source of support and help.

1. Introduction a. Jargon busting b. A new fundamental principle c. The parts of the Disability Discrimination Act d. Equality Act 2010 e. Definitions of disability and SEN i. Hidden impairments ii. SEN, disabled or both f. Models of disability i. Medical ii. Social 2. The DDA a. Disability discrimination duties i. Less favourable treatment ii. Reasonable adjustments iii. Avoiding Discrimination b. Commonly raised issues c. Planning duties d. The Codes Of Practice e. School improvement and the DDA 3. Admissionsand exclusions a. The law on exclusions – a rough guide 4. Managing medicines 5. School Trips 6. The Disability Equality Duty 7. Working with parents a. Disclosure and information issues b. What can we do for parents? c. The SENDIST Tribunal process

Geraldine Hills is the founder and director of Inclusive Choice Consultancy,a training consultancythat provides Equality Act-related training to educators and other professionals, and is a guest lecturer at the University of Manchester.