Disability Discrimination Bristol Claims Not Reflective of Reality

March 7, 2022 Chopsy Baby

Opinion

Last year, there were no claims of Disability Discrimination registered with The First-tier Tribunal Health Education & Social Care Chamber (Special Educational Needs and Disability) regarding education settings in Bristol.

But does an absence of cases point to a lack of discrimination or barriers to justice?

Parents or those with parental responsibility – including Local Authorities where it has a care order – can bring claims of disability discrimination regarding schools, nurseries and pupil referral units which are maintained by a local authority, independent schools, academies and free schools to Sendist.

Disability Discrimination Bristol Claims the text is in the article

There are strict rules and time frames around bringing claims, which must be about discrimination such as

• Discrimination arising from disability
• Failure to provide a reasonable adjustment for a disabled child
• Direct discrimination
• Indirect discrimination
• Harassment or
• Victimisation

Despite there being no registered claims during 2021, Bristol Send support groups would say there is a proliferation of unlawful and discriminatory activity taking place in the city regarding disability discrimination by some of the city’s schools. But why are we not hearing about it and what is stopping parents going to Sendist?

The fact is, taking equality action can be lengthy, expensive and time consuming. Putting together a case really requires the use of legal experts, preferably those with a background in education and equality laws. Often parents opt to do it themselves and though this should be possible through the Tribunal system, it certainly leaves an imbalance of power in the case which can result in disadvantage to the outcome.

If you use legal experts it is expensive. There is no award or financial compensation for the discrimination at the end of the hearing, even if you win – although the judge may award remedies. This means all money put towards legal experts – which for tribunal cases can run into tens of thousands – is a loss.

Even if you do win, cases are often ruled as confidential, meaning that although parents may have won their claim, the finding is effectively secret to protect the identity of the child. The schools are able to move on without their unlawful inclusion failures being made public. Some schools will employ solicitors and a barrister to ensure this happens.

Families of disabled children often have their own disabilities to contend with, especially around neurodivergence, meaning the same barriers their children and young people are facing in education are the same ones preventing them from being able to engage, plan, organise and navigate their way through a legal process.

Certainly disability discrimination in education is prevalent in Bristol education settings, a fact echoed in the Bristol Alternative Learning report of 2020 which found that Behaviour polices widely adopted by the city’s secondary schools – such as ‘Ready to Learn’ – are in some places failing to make allowances for protected characteristics, including disability.

For more information about how to bring a claim against a school for disability discrimination, visit: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/945195/send4-parents-eng.pdf