IPSEA

School discriminated against disabled child by excluding him from swimming, club and school trip

B, who was aged 10 at the time of the discrimination, has ADHD and was on School Action Plus.

During the Autumn term of his final year at primary school, B was excluded from class swimming lessons for several weeks. He was also not allowed to attend an after-school club. In the Spring term his class went on a trip to Liverpool Docks and waterfront and B was not allowed to attend.

B’s mother made a claim to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) that St John’s Church of England Primary School Stoke-on-Trent had discriminated against B by treating him less favourably for a reason related to his disability and by failing to make reasonable adjustments to enable him to be included in lessons and activities alongside his non-disabled peers.

The Tribunal found that the school had discriminated against B and that the failure of the school to include disability as an aspect to be considered in their behaviour policy was a significant contributory factor. The school was ordered to:

• Include the decision in any records kept by them in relation to B;
• To amend any records referring to the exclusions to include a statement that these were found to constitute unlawful discrimination under the Disability Discrimination Act;
• Apologise to B;
• Carry out appropriate training;
• Review the school’s Behaviour Policy to ensure to it complies with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act and the Code of Practice.

Although B has now moved onto secondary school his mother was delighted with the outcome and hopes that no other child will have to experience the same exclusion from his peers that B experienced.

IPSEA are pleased to have supported this case which highlights a school’s failure to ensure its policies comply with the Disability Discrimination Act and to ensure that its staff have had appropriate training to meet the needs of disabled pupils.

Back to top