The duty to make adjustments applies to all of the education setting’s activities and the decisions that are made by teachers and staff including: admissions; exclusions; access to trips; attendance; help and support; learning activities and materials; the application of policies
Education settings must make adjustments if:
- A child or young person is disadvantaged by a practice or rule because of their disability or the failure to provide an aid
- It’s reasonable to make the changes or provide the aid to remove the disadvantage
- Whether something is ‘reasonable’ depends on things such as:
- The child/young person’s disability and what support, if any, they receive through an EHCP
- How practicable the changes are and the resources of the education setting
- The cost of making the change or providing the aid
- If the change requested would overcome the disadvantage the child/young person experiences
- If there are other ways of overcoming the disadvantage
- Health and safety considerations and the interests of other pupils.
The duty to make reasonable adjustments in education is anticipatory. This means settings must consider in advance what they need to do to make sure all children with SEND can access and participate in the education and other benefits, facilities and services they provide for those within their settings.
