All pupils should be helped to fulfil their potential. Reasonable adjustments can help level the playing field by minimising the disadvantages that pupils with disabilities might face compared with their peers.

Here’s everything you need to know about reasonable adjustments and how they can help disabled pupils in schools.

What are reasonable adjustments?

Reasonable adjustments are changes that organisations and people providing services must make if someone’s physical or mental disability puts them at a disadvantage compared with others who aren’t disabled.

This is separate to requirements related to physical changes that make a building accessible, such as disabled toilets.

It means schools have a legal obligation under the Equality Act to support pupils who are disabled with reasonable adjustments, making sure they can benefit from what the school offers in the same way as a pupil who isn’t disabled.

A school must not discriminate against a disabled pupil because of something that is a consequence of their disability.

For example, preventing a disabled pupil on crutches from going out at break time because it would take too long to get out and back would be considered discriminatory.

Schools should think about how all aspects of the school day could be adjusted to meet the needs of the disabled child, including attendance and behaviour so that everyone is set high expectations and feels they belong in the school community.

Here’s a list of organisations that may help to get special adjustments in school: