A High Court ruling has confirmed that schools have to make reasonable adjustments for children with conditions that give rise to behavioural problems.
The court was ruling on a case which was part-funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, acting on behalf of a nine-year old student who was excluded from the classroom at school because of disruptive behaviour linked to his ADHD. The student had scratched his teacher’s arm while being removed from school and was excluded as a result. The school argued that this case was not covered by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), as the child’s behaviour constituted a tendency to physically abuse other people. However, the judge upheld the Tribunal’s decision that the school should have made reasonable adjustments under the requirements of the DDA to prevent the incident escalating in the first place. The ruling has been welcomed by the Commission.
