Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) applies to all early years providers whether or not they are in receipt of government funding.  From 2002, it has been unlawful to discriminate against disabled children in the provision of any services.

The DDA defines disability as:
A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on a person’s ability to perform normal day to day activities.

Under the DDA there are two core duties that apply to all early years providers and a failure to comply with these duties may constitute unlawful discrimination.  The two key duties are:

• To ensure that a disabled child is not treated ‘less favourably’
• To make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled children.

There are differences in the way in which the duties apply to schools and to other providers.  Part 3 of the DDA offers guidance for all providers that are not schools, whilst Part 4 of the DDA covers schools.  Further information can be found on the following web page.

Disability and Discrimination Act on Teachernet