Disability equality
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005 brought in a duty on all public authorities to promote disability equality. The disability equality duty includes two main elements:
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a general duty
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a specific duty
Both duties apply to publicly funded schools.
Responsibility for the duty lies with:
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the governing body of a primary or secondary school
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the governing body of a community special school or a foundation special school
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the local authority with respect to PRUs it runs
The duty builds on schools’ existing responsibilities regarding employment and service provision duties that have applied to schools since 1996 when the DDA was first implemented (parts 2,3 and 4).
The general duty requires schools when carrying out their functions to:
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promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people
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eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under the DDA
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eliminate harassment of disabled people that is related to their disability
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promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
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encourage participation by disabled people in public life
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take steps to meet disabled people’s needs, even if this requires more favourable treatment
The duty applies across all schools’ duties:
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to the school in its main function of providing education to pupils
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to the school as an employer
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to the school as a provider of services to parents and carers and the wider public
In addition to the general duty, the school has a specific duty to publish a Disability Equality Scheme, which builds on existing practice and shows how the school is meeting its general duty to promote disability equality across all its areas of responsibility. Schools are required to undertake the development of their scheme in a particular way and to include particular elements. They must:
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involve disabled people (pupils, staff, parents) in the preparation of the scheme
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set out in their scheme:
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how disabled people have been involved in its preparation
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their arrangements for gathering information on the effect of the school’s policies on:
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the recruitment, development and retention of disabled employees
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the educational opportunities available to and achievements of disabled pupils
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the school’s methods for assessing the impact of its current or proposed policies and practices on disability equality
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the steps the school is going to take to meet the general duty (the schools action plan)
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arrangements for using information to support subsequent scheme
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implement the actions in their scheme within three years
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report on their scheme annually
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review and revise their scheme every three years
The school is not required to do anything under its scheme that is unreasonable or impracticable. Schemes must be published by 4 December 2006, except for schemes for primary schools, special schools and PRUs. These schemes must be published by 3 December 2007. The local authority has responsibility for the scheme for a PRU.
