David Wolfe, barrister at Matrix Chambers, delivered a clear and concise presentation on equality law issues that can arise during the admissions process, with particular focus on disability. To quickly recap on where the law has got to: most of the Equality Act came into force in October 2010 – and at this date the previous anti discrimination legislation was repealed (including the Disability Discrimination Act, the Race Relations Act, the Sex Discrimination Act and other law). The Equality Act (and related Codes of Practice and guidance) is now a single stop shop for discrimination law (although note that the SEN framework as contained in Part 4 of the Education Act 1996 is unaffected).

Schools were reminded that equality law only protects children who have a protected characteristic – including disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, sexual orientation and pregnancy or maternity – age and marriage are also protected characteristics but it is not unlawful for schools to discriminate against pupils because of their age, or, bizarrely, because they are married. So, outside of the school context, a pupil who is discriminated against because he or she goes to an independent school is not protected from discrimination under the Equality Act, as going to an independent school is not a protected characteristic. Note that the position may be different under the European Convention of Human Rights, which includes different (and potentially wider) anti-discrimination provisions to the Equality Act definitions.

Explaining the law on disability discrimination, David reiterated that schools should always consider whether an applicant or pupil has a disability, because this triggers obligations under the Act (most importantly, the duty to make reasonable adjustments). Disabilities can sometimes be hidden – as in the case of cancer, or many mental impairments. A disability is defined as a long term physical/ mental impairment which has a substantial adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out day to day activities. Long term means lasted or likely to last 12 months. Therefore, a person that has a broken leg is not going to be disabled within the meaning of the Act. Deciding whether a person with a mental impairment is disabled can be very tricky – eg. someone who is dyslexic may be disabled – it would depend on the nature and severity of their condition, the same could be said of someone with a depressive illness.

In the admissions context, schools need to make sure that they are not applying unjustified discriminatory criteria to applicants. Disability discrimination can be direct, indirect or discrimination can be related to someone’s disability. An example of discrimination related to someone’s disability is a school having a policy of not admitting applicants as pupils who need extra support in class. David’s central message was: think about what you are doing (and not doing), and think about why you are doing it. If it cannot be justified, as a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim,’ it’s probably unlawful.  

Schools were encouraged to adopt a ‘can do’ attitude and be open and supportive of people with disabilities.   One way to do this is to encourage parents of applicants to discuss their learning needs with the school in advance so that it can consider what adjustments it can make. A school can also ask about reasonable adjustments it can make for applicants during the admissions process on its application form (note – this is not the position in the employment context). Making a reasonable adjustment during the entrance exam may include allowing an applicant some extra time to complete the test, or allowing them to sit the test in a separate room, or on a ground floor.

Schools can avoid falling foul of the disability provisions of the Equality Act by following this thought process in every case:

-      is the duty to make reasonable adjustments triggered? (is the pupil at a disadvantage?)
-      if yes, what reasonable steps could be taken to remove the disadvantage?
-      is it reasonable for the school to do that for this pupil?

‘Reasonableness’ is to be considered in light of a range of circumstance-specific factors – including the impact on the child, cost, the financial position of the school, the impact on other children, classroom organisation and health and safety. This means that what is a reasonable adjustment will vary from school to school and child to child.

The as-yet-not-in-force provision requiring schools to provide auxiliary aids and services as part of the reasonable adjustments duty was also discussed. Auxiliary aids and services are often referred to as ‘expensive’ adjustments, like hiring teaching assistants and providing specialist equipment like laptops. ISC is engaged in ongoing dialogue with the DfE about how and when this duty on schools will be implemented.

Related posts:

1. Collaboration and unity at ISC’s Admissions Conference
2. SEN2008 – another successful ISC special educational needs conference
3. The 2011 ISC Annual Conference: enlightening and inspiring

Parents are encouraged to talk to their children and find out what is attractive about the online gaming environment and what sort of games their children play; whilst children are reminded that the e-safety tips which apply generally to internet use, also apply in the online gaming context. The tips for children can be summed up by SMART:

S – Safe. Avoid giving out personal information when posting online.

M – Meeting. Meeting someone you don’t know in real life can be dangerous.

A – Accepting. Accepting messages, or opening files, pictures or texts from people you don’t know can lead to problems – they may contain viruses or be nasty messages.

R – Reliable. Someone online might lie about who they are and information on the internet may not be true. Always check information with other sources, such as websites, books or someone who knows. If you like chatting online it’s best to only chat to your real world friends and family.

T – Tell. Tell your parent or a trusted adult if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried, or if you or someone you know is being bullied online.

More information can be found on the UK Safer Internet Centre website. The UK Safer Internet Centre was established in January 2011 and its aim is to act as an awareness centre.

There is now a vast range of high quality online resources for school staff on issues relating to child safeguarding and online safety. The UK Council for Child Internet Safety also today launched a suite of good practice guidance documents for industry (companies who provide interactive environments used by children – such as social networking sites and online forums). This is to be welcomed as the previous guidance was published in 2005 – and technology has come on leaps and bounds since then. Hopefully new internet players will comply with the guidance when they become aware of it. Some of the material in the guidance may be of interest to schools. The guidance can be accessed here.

Related posts:

1. UK Kids Online – What you ought to know about your pupils’ online behaviour
2. LittleGossip – “Facebook’s bitchy little sister”
3. Admissions Conference 2011 – Equality Act technical issues

Excessive use – key findings (11-16 year olds) 

• 53% felt that they spent less time with family and friends than they should because they were on the internet (European average was 34%)
• 37% said that they have unsuccessfully tried to spend less time on the internet
• 20% said that they have gone without eating or sleeping because of the internet

If this is surprising, it may suggest you need to pay more attention to your pupils’ online behaviour. If young people are spending so much time on the internet that they are falling behind in their schoolwork, that is an issue that schools must address. It’s not all negative though – the vast majority of children aged 9 – 16 use the internet for schoolwork – and many of those children will use the internet appropriately for this purpose. This affirms the importance of embedding online learning skills into the curriculum.

The report did not express a view on whether it was possible to have an ‘internet addition’. However, there are medical professionals in the UK that do believe that young people are increasingly developing internet addictions, and the private Capio Nightingale Hospital, based in London, has a Young Person Technology Addiction Service. For more on addiction, have a look at the ‘Machine Heads’ feature in TES.

Vulnerable groups

Whilst on the whole the report found that UK children are web savvy, it did highlight vulnerable groups. Younger children in particular lack certain key digital and safety skills. For example, more than a third of 11-12 year olds cannot block messages from people that they don’t want to hear from.

The report does not highlight SEN groups, but clearly schools will recognise that SEN pupils may be at greater risk when engaging with online communities, for example in a social networking forum. Would an autistic pupil necessarily realise that it’s not a good idea to acquiesce to a request to send an image of themselves in their birthday suit, for example? It is imperative that schools teach online safety, and start early. This is especially important for primary schools. Being digitally literate is just as fundamental in the 21st century as being able to read and write. Make sure your pupils: a) know how to keep their personal information private, b) can block those they don’t want to hear from, and c) know how to report those who may seek to harm them.

Parental/ teacher engagement

The study also involved interviewing parents. Compared with our European neighbours, UK parents are very good at actively mediating their children’s use of the internet, for example by talking to them about what they do on there. Parents do more mediation with younger children, including staying nearby and explaining why websites are good or bad.

Teacher mediation is strong in the UK too, with over 92% of children reporting that their teachers had done one of the forms of active mediation asked about. This shows that efforts to promote online safety are working.

But: there are still a minority of children who are not skilled in online safety and are not getting guidance from school or their parents. Also, with the diversification of platforms to access the internet (handheld devices, more use in bedrooms) and the proliferation of harmful websites (anorexia and cyberbullying chatrooms, suicide sites), it is vital that schools continue in their efforts to promote online safety and continually raise their game to stay on top of online developments.

ISC’s ICT Strategy conference on 25 January 2011 will discuss some of these issues.

EU Kids Online is funded by the EC Safer Internet Programme. The UK study interviewed a sample of 1,032 young people aged between 9 and 16 during May/ June 2010, along with one of their parents or carers. It was part of a wider cross-Europe survey, which looked at the experiences of 23,000 children in 25 European countries.

All the reports of the EU Kids Online project are available at www.eukidsonline.net

More Blogs on Cyber Issues

Related posts:

1. Online safety – ClickCEOP application launched on Facebook
2. Safer Internet Day – 8 February 2011
3. LittleGossip – “Facebook’s bitchy little sister”

Tackling this issue requires a change in our culture and attitudes towards food and exercise – a complex social problem.  Key to encouraging exercise is to make it a fun activity that school pupils can get involved in and one way of doing this is to take part in this week’s Bike Week, (14th-22nd June.) Bike Week aims to promote exercise through cycling and consists of many events throughout the country, many of which are aimed at children. To find details of events in your area visit their Event Search.  Bike Week is also focussed on bringing families together and enabling them to enjoy an activity that is both healthy for the whole family and positive for the environment.

To find out more on how you or your school can get involved, visit Bike Week’s website. You can also run your own event and promote it on their site, which could be great for all schools. If you are an independent school with ISC let us know your plans and we will publicise it.

Related posts:

1. The School Open Day Season is upon us!
2. SEN2008 – another successful ISC special educational needs conference
3. You’ll never be bored at boarding school