I think this is highly unreasonable re disabled pupils

[loopyluna]

I'm posting on here as, where I live, noone seems to find this as anything to get worked up about and I wanted to know if UK mummies felt the same...

My two eldest DC go to a private senior school. (Private schools here are much more affordable than the UK and are a lifestyle choice accessible to most.) I am very happy with the school, the teachers, pastoral care etc. It's got a good reputation and long waiting lists.

My niggle is that the school is comprised of several old buildings on a hill. The amount of stairs, inside and out, is phenomenal. All the classrooms, labs, music rooms and chapel can only be accessed by stairs. Only the dining room, library and offices are on the ground floor. I asked, when we first visited the school, what would a pupil do if they had an accident and needed crutches, and was told that, they would be allowed to leave to class 5 minutes early to avoid being jostled!

However, whenever I've mentioned to DH or other parents, that I am concerned that there is no accessibility for disabled pupils, I receive shrugs and "well they just have to go elsewhere!" The nearest comp has a v v bad reputation and I am actually upset that a physically disabled child would not have the choice of a better school, more caring enviroment etc.

AIBU or am I right to think that this would not be allowed in the UK?

[Dawndonna]

There are some things that can be done, and some that can't, but as I say, there are many businesses (I include independent schools, here) that do say 'oh we can't', without having applied because it's an easy answer.

[EndoplasmicReticulum]

But OP - you are assuming that your children's school would be unwilling to make any alterations, without having actually asked the school.

Other parents are not the people to ask.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

In all fairness op asked what would happen if a child had an accident on crutches and was told about leaving class early. That's pretty standard and fair enough. I mean it would be slot of effort to rearrange timetables and classrooms for a short period of time. 4-6 weeks maybe less depending on injury.

Had the op asked " so how would you cater for disabled students" she may have got a different answer. As the arrangements would have to be long term and less likely to be a sudden situation like a sprained ankle would be. Ie, they would know for the beginning of school year rather than a kid hurting themselves over a weekend and turning up Monday on crutches.

[Talkinpeace]

Oxford University has taken wheelchair students for a long time - there are ways round everything

[FyreFly]

GobbySadcase I would just like to point out in this instance that the reason EH has been able to make Osborne House accessible is due to it's 80 or so years in use as a convalescent home before EH took over management of the property, so that when it was taken into guardianship it was already nearly fully accessible due to the historic alterations. EH now maintains a policy of "preserve-as-is" rather than taking it back to its original state, so the alterations have been kept, and, as you say, are sympathetic.

Most of EH sites are not fully accessible unfortunately, and this does cause a headache when trying to install new exhibitions on partially-accessible sites, for instance where there is already a permanent display already in the accessible space, and you have to put the temporary one in a non-accessible room. It is far, far from ideal, but when I worked for them we had to work within the building's limitations.

I deviate from the point, but it is not true as some have said on this thread that you are only prohibited from making external alterations to listed buildings. Any structural alteration (i.e. putting in a lift / fireplace, even down to installing new doors or windows) would have to be carefully considered before being granted Listed Building Consent.

[Blu]

DS will spend a year of his secondary education using a wheelchair, as he did in primary.

Thanks to the BSF (Building Schools for the Future) programme our local secondary is having much needed overall improvements - and will open as an accessible school in September. There is another in our neighbouring borough, too.

It really isn't acceptable for the majority of public buildings used by young people and thier families (i.e schools) to be inaccessible.

[HollyBerryBush]

One of my jobs, each year is to mingle amongst parents and visit competitor secondary schools, see what their spiel is, facilities, how the head is talking the talk, quite bluntly so we can negate and counter any thing they say.

I'd be open to naming and shaming a particular school I visited last year that had no facilities for pupils with disabilities, multi floor, no lifts, a 60's build. I queried it and was told "oh we had one of those once" - so I pushed it and said "but you are a sports college, what if a pupil breaks a leg?" and was met with a blank stare.

It's an outstanding school. Personally I wouldn't put my dog in it.

[Thereonthestair]

In the uk, if you have a child in a wheelchair, a we will do by the time he goes to school, what happens, if you have the energy and the money, is you fight, and then you fight some more, and then you keep fighting.

And you get used to it because that's the way it is.

I have a ds with cerebral palsy. He has no learning disability, but he cannot walk.

I want to send him to my nearest school. It's private and has the right ethos for me and my family. I do not want to send him to my state school, not for any reason other than 120 pupil entry for a child who cannot walk is considered madness by us and our full medical team. He would just fall over, get knocked over, even though they have a lift anecdotal evidence indicates that this lift is not really working for children like my ds because if the rest of the school.

Maybe I am wrong in tha but my instinct is it is not the school for ds. And that's without actually even thinking about education, that's just thinking about access and size.

So I want to send ds privately, I struggle with that as in principle I don't approve, but in practice I want to do what I can for ds, and I can afford it. But the state will only pay for medical hours until they change the law next year. We haven't got a statement and we will need a 1 to 1 to allow ds to access the curriculum in the school we want. He can learn but not move from room to room. So we are on for a battle because the choice is denied just because of a disability (not funds). Ds is denied so much because of his disability this is a fight we just have to have.

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

Right!
Of my experience in 4 Public Schools, only one was, IMO too difficult to negotiate.
Winchester; ok
Westminster; very accommodating and had to rapidly adapt for a boy who became an amputee during a school holiday
Eton; very accommodating and did install adaptations for a boy who subsequently didn't take up the place
Harrow; on a very steep hill which requires crampons to exit the car park (we ruled this out for this reason)

gimmeanaxe you ask about Eton's accessibility - why? My DS manages very well, thank you. But, didn't you mention you have a daughter? She wouldn't get a place anyway

With regard to age of buildings and listed status, the old Wembley Stadium was flattened in spite of its listed status because it couldn't be adapted - the structure's materials meant it couldn't be chopped about for lifts, ramps, etc without rendering the building dangerous. Other adaptations (walkways for visually impaired, for instance) would have meant existing walkways would have been difficult to negotiate in the event of fire as they would have been too restricted in width. The FA, and other interested parties, had such massive wealth that they could afford to do as they were told and change the building to comply with the law and, don't forget, the capacity vastly outnumbers most buildings in the UK anyway.

Any questions???

[PenelopePipPop]

YANBU OP. I'm a UK mother who feels the same way.

In England and Wales the obligations of the school are defined under ss.6, 20 and 85 and Schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. All schools, private and state have to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled pupils to avoid substantial disadvantages to specific students. In addition they must develop and maintain an accessibility plan detailing how they plan to promote accessibility of their premises for disabled students over time. This is consistent with our obligations under EU law and also with Art 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. I'm not entirely sure whether the CRPD protects disabled pupils access to private education on the same basis as others because Art 24 makes explicit reference to 'free education' but the tone of the preamble is all about equal access which should logically include making sure independent schools cannot discriminate against them.

In any event in England and Wales independent schools cannot discriminate against them because domestic legislation says so.

The position on listed buildings is slightly tricky because the Equality Act obligations don't trump listed building status and the duty is only to make 'reasonable' adjustments. If the adjustments will substantially harm the character of the building to be preserved then they may not be possible. That said plenty of public buildings with listed status have been sensitively altered to become accessible so it is completely possible - the Osborne House example someone posted is a good one.

It should be noted that acessibility does not always or even often require installing expensive lifts or ramps. Many of the changes that make environments more accessible are achieved by applying a little forethought to classroom and corridor layout and can be achieved at minimal cost - the Centre for Accessible Environments is always interesting on this stuff.

[MidniteScribbler]

Has the OP actually asked the school what they would do if a child with a disability applied? Our school was very inaccessible due to the age of the building, but as soon as a child that uses a wheelchair applied, we spent $80k making it as accessible as possible. It was just not something that had been at the top of the priority list until someone came along to make it necessity.