Reasonable adjustments are just that

Last week I joined Kirstie Law on BBC Radio Kent, talking about education law and how it relates to pupils with disabilities and special educational needs.

If you didn’t catch it you can listen to it on the BBC Sounds App here https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p07y228l Evidently, they don't often get callers, so it was great to talk with 3 different people about their experiences. 😉 It’s available until 14th February 2020

Reasonable adjustments are accommodations that schools, whether state-funded or independent, have a duty to make.  These adjustments apply to disabled pupils, where the disability creates a long-term and substantial adverse effect on the pupil’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

The pupil may or may not have special educational needs, and they still may require reasonable adjustments.

Schools are required to comply with the Equality Act 2010 in respect of two of the three types of adjustment:

• Provisions, criteria and practices

• Auxiliary aids and services

Provisions, criteria and practices include the way the school is run.  For example, if a pupil has an adverse reaction to wearing the school uniform, due to the content of the material, a reasonable adjustment would be to vary the uniform policy for that pupil.  This might also apply where a pupil needed to be extra warm. 

Another policy that may need reasonable adjustments is a behaviour policy.  Many pupils with disabilities find managing behaviour challenging, particularly if their needs are not being properly met.  In 2018 the Upper Tribunal found the government’s equality laws at the time were unlawful, and the judgement requires schools to make reasonable adjustments to prevent or manage challenging behaviour. 

Auxiliary aids and services cover adjustments such as coloured overlays, different coloured paper, a larger font or learning support to overcome a disability.

Parents should be aware that a school cannot justify the failure to provide a reasonable adjustment, however, what is deemed to be ‘reasonable’ is not defined by law, and will vary from one situation to another.

If we think about the adjustments a restaurant might make that are deemed reasonable, we can see how the menu may offer vegetarian, vegan and/or gluten-free alternatives – this would be anticipatory – i.e. considering what adjustments its customers might want.  It may also be happy to swap out a particular side dish, say the broccoli and switch it for green beans if green beans are elsewhere on the menu.  However, asking a restaurant to change the ingredients in a casserole, is unlikely to be seen as a reasonable request, unless you are in a restaurant where you cook your own meal from the raw ingredients.

Reasonable does not have to be expensive, however, where there is a cost incurred for the adjustment, it is not possible for the school to pass this on to the pupil’s family.  This obligation applies to both state and independent schools.