Disability access in post-16

The Disability Rights Commission has published a code of practice in relation to post-16 education. It covers all aspects of disability and educational activity, in and out of formal courses.

The code contains statements of legal requirements and examples of good practice and situations which may lead to discrimination. It is particularly helpful in defining things such as genuine course requirements which do not infringe the legislation and requirements introduced by course designers which do.

As it will constitute the basis for judgments at tribunal, ASCL would advise members in colleges to make a copy of the code available to all senior post holders and use it as the basis of disability rights training for heads of department.

Colleges may also find it useful to have a copy of the equivalent schools' publication, and vice versa, so that all partners have a clear understanding of how disability law applies to diploma students.

Both documents can be found at www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publicationsandresources/disability