Guides and training packages for schools on the Disability duties in the Equality Act

The Council for Disabled Children has launched three guides to the disability duties in the Equality Act for schools: 

• Schools on the Disability duties in the Equality Act 
• Early Years providers on the disability duties in the Equality Act 
• FE colleges on the disability duties in the Equality Act 

These include a guide for day-to-day decision-makers, a guide for governors and trustees and a handbook for schools on the accessibility planning duties. All the guides place an emphasis on a whole setting approach to the duties. The duties don’t really work unless everyone embeds them in their own area of responsibility, whether class, subject, pastoral, management or leadership responsibilities. 

The guides set out the more strategic duties, the Public Sector Equality Duty and the accessibility planning duties, alongside the day-to-day duties and draw on recent case law. 

Alongside the guides is a webinar for schools on the disability duties in the Equality Act. The new schools’ webinar was commissioned by the DfE to spread an understanding of the disability duties and to help to embed them across the life of the school. An introductory unit is for school leaders and senior managers and encourages the strategic use of the material, to plan and embed the duties in everyone’s responsibilities.