This page is about schools in England. It does not cover Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
The Act, regulations and DfE advice
The Equality Act 2010 sets out schools' duties towards pupils in Part 6, Chapter 1 (sections 84–89). The public sector equality duty, or PSED, is in section 149. The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 set the publication duties explained below.
The DfE's The Equality Act 2010 and schools is non-statutory departmental advice, dated May 2014. The GOV.UK publication page was last updated on 28 June 2018. DfE paragraph references on this page refer to that edition; publication timings below come from the 2017 regulations.
Who is bound?
The pupil provisions cover maintained schools, academies, independent schools and non-maintained special schools. The responsible body is the local authority or governing body for a maintained school, and the proprietor for an academy, independent school or non-maintained special school (section 85(7)–(9); DfE paragraphs 1.4–1.6).
The PSED applies to public bodies, including maintained schools and academies (DfE paragraph 5.1). Section 149(2) also applies to a person exercising public functions, for those functions. The Act's pupil protections and the PSED have different scope: an independent school's pupil duties do not depend on it being a public authority.
The specific publication duties apply to the authorities listed in Schedule 2 of the 2017 regulations. Its education entries include maintained-school governing bodies, local authorities in relation to their pupil referral units, and academy proprietors.
The three aims of the general duty
When carrying out their functions, public authorities must have due regard to the need to:
- Eliminate unlawful conduct: discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act.
- Advance equality of opportunity: between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.
- Promote good relations: between those groups, including tackling prejudice and promoting understanding.
Source: section 149(1), (3)–(5). Advancing opportunity includes considering how to reduce disadvantage, meet different needs and encourage participation where it is disproportionately low. Meeting disabled people's needs includes taking account of their disabilities.
Consider equality before and when policies are developed and decisions are taken, and keep the implications under review. Responsibility for the duty cannot be delegated. DfE paragraphs 5.4–5.7 explain that a written record helps demonstrate consideration; a formal equality impact assessment document is not a legal requirement.
What must schools publish, and when?
For the authorities covered by the 2017 regulations:
- Equality information: publish information demonstrating compliance with the general duty at intervals of no more than one year from the last publication (regulation 4(1)–(2)). This includes information about people affected by the authority's policies and practices who share a relevant protected characteristic. The requirement to include employee information does not apply to an authority with fewer than 150 employees; the other information duty still applies (regulation 4(3)–(4)). For this count, local-authority employees at a maintained school are treated as employees of its governing body (regulation 2(3)).
- Equality objectives: prepare and publish one or more specific and measurable objectives, then publish at intervals of no more than four years from the last publication (regulation 5). Choose objectives that address the school's circumstances and contribute to the general duty (DfE paragraph 5.26).
- Public access: publish both in a form accessible to the public. They may sit within another published document (regulation 6). DfE paragraph 5.25 suggests an equalities page with the information or links to it.
Annual publication of information and publication of objectives are separate requirements. DfE paragraph 5.29 says subsequent information should include the steps taken and progress towards the school's objectives.
Protected characteristics and pupils
Section 4 lists age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
For the schools chapter, age and marriage and civil partnership are excluded by section 84. The remaining characteristics apply to pupil discrimination protections. Age remains relevant to schools as employers (DfE paragraph 5.2).
The statutory harassment prohibition for pupils does not cover gender reassignment, religion or belief, or sexual orientation (section 85(10)); discrimination protections still apply. Section 149(7) lists the characteristics relevant to advancing opportunity and good relations, including age but excluding marriage and civil partnership. Its first aim still concerns conduct prohibited by the Act.
Section 85 covers admissions, education, access to benefits, facilities and services, exclusion and other detriment. The curriculum's content is excluded from the schools chapter by section 89(2); the way education is provided remains covered by section 85(2).
Reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils
Schools must take reasonable steps to avoid substantial disadvantage caused by a provision, criterion or practice, and provide auxiliary aids or services where reasonable to avoid that disadvantage. The school duties apply to admissions and to education and access to benefits, facilities and services (section 20(3), (5) and (11); Schedule 13, paragraph 2).
Where the duty concerns information, reasonable steps include providing an accessible format. A school cannot require the disabled person to pay its costs of complying (section 20(6)–(7)).
Consider adjustments for individual pupils and potential adjustments for disabled pupils generally. DfE paragraphs 4.22–4.23 explain the anticipatory approach and the individual assessment of what is reasonable. The school's reasonable adjustment duty does not include altering physical features; those are addressed through accessibility planning (DfE paragraph 4.13; Schedule 13, paragraph 2(2)).
Accessibility plans
The responsible body must prepare a written accessibility plan, keep it under review, revise it where necessary and implement it. Schedule 10, paragraph 3 gives the three areas:
- increasing disabled pupils' participation in the curriculum;
- improving the physical environment so disabled pupils can benefit from education, facilities and services;
- improving delivery to disabled pupils of information that is readily accessible to pupils who are not disabled.
Information must be delivered within a reasonable time and in ways that take account of pupils' disabilities and preferences expressed by pupils or parents (paragraph 3(3)). The responsible body must have regard to allocating adequate resources to implement the plan (paragraph 4(1)). DfE paragraph 4.30 explains that the plan can stand alone or form part of another document, such as the school development plan.
Governors’ duties and recommended checks
For a maintained-school governing body or academy proprietor subject to the duties above:
- Make equality part of decisions. Consider the implications before and at the time of decisions, and keep them under review. A named lead can organise work, but responsibility for the PSED cannot be delegated (DfE paragraph 5.4).
- Ensure publication meets both intervals. Publish annual equality information and specific, measurable objectives at least every four years, accessible to the public (regulations 4–6). DfE recommends including evidence of the steps taken and progress made towards the school’s equality objectives (paragraph 5.29).
- Ensure pupil duties are met. Review admissions, access to education and services, and exclusions against section 85, including reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils.
- Implement and review the accessibility plan. Keep the written plan under review and revise it where necessary. When preparing it, have regard to the need to allocate adequate resources for implementation (Schedule 10, paragraphs 3–4).
Use a record made at the time to show the considerations behind a significant decision. This is good practice, rather than a requirement to use a particular assessment form (DfE paragraphs 5.5–5.7).
Related leadership guides
Read the SEND hub and SENDCO role page alongside work on disabled pupils' access. For wider leadership practice, read what every school leader needs to know about SEND and inclusive practice. Prepare for leadership responsibilities with the headteacher interview guide and the headteacher, deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher role pages. Organise decisions and follow-up with the School Leader Planner®.