What does the Equality Act mean for schools?
The Equality Act is Britain’s anti-discrimination legislation which provides a legal framework to protect people from unfair treatment. The Act came into force on 1st October 2010 and brought together 116 pieces of equality legislation, including nine major laws under one Act. This was to make it easier to follow, strengthen protections, and promote a fair and equal society.
The Equality Act outlines nine groups, known as protected characteristics, that it is illegal to discriminate against in the workplace and in the provision of goods and services, including in all schools and educational settings.
The nine protected characteristics are:
- Age
- Disability
- Race
- Religion/ belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Gender reassignment
Schools cannot unlawfully discriminate against staff during the recruitment and selection process or at any stage during their employment.
In terms of education, schools cannot unlawfully discriminate against pupils in relation to admissions, how they provide education for pupils, how they provide pupils access to any benefit, facility or service, or by excluding a pupil or subjecting them to any other unfavourable treatment.
The protected characteristics that affect pupils are:
- Disability
- Race
- Religion/ belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Gender reassignment
There are four main types of discrimination outlined in the Equality Act 2010.
| Type of discrimination | Example- staff | Example- pupil |
| Direct discrimination:
Unfavourable treatment of a person because of their protected characteristic |
An applicant doesn’t get shortlisted for interview because of their ethnicity | A mixed-sex school only offers inter-school sports competitions for boys and not girls |
| Indirect discrimination: When a general policy, practice or rule has a disadvantageous impact on one or more protected characteristics | A school holds senior leadership meetings after school on a Friday (this could indirectly discriminate against Jewish staff) | A school’s ‘sensible hairstyle’ policy does not allow pupils to wear their hair in locs (this could be indirect race and/ or religious discrimination) |
| Harassment: Unwanted conduct relating to a protected characteristic that humiliates, offends or causes distress | Some members of staff set up a WhatsApp group where they post sexist ‘jokes’ about other colleagues | A member of staff makes inappropriate comments about a pupil’s heritage |
| Victimisation: The unfair treatment a person may encounter after making a complaint of discrimination (whether the alleged victim or witness) | A member of staff complains that she may have been overlooked for a promotion because she is pregnant. After making the complaint she is given an excessive workload | A pupil has made a complaint about a member of staff’s unfair treatment of them. After making the complaint, they have been treated worse |
It is also unlawful discrimination to treat someone unfairly due to a perceived protected characteristic or a person’s association with someone with a particular protected characteristic.
E.g. Based on perception: The highest scoring candidate doesn’t get the job because the interviewers think they might be transgender (this is discrimination regardless of whether they are transgender or not)
E.g. Based on association: A school refuses to admit a pupil because they have gay parents
The Equality Act goes a step further regarding the protected characteristic of disability. Whilst everybody is protected under the characteristic of race, disability protects disabled people but not non-disabled people. Schools must make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils (and staff) to remove barriers and level playing fields. For example, some pupils will have a teaching assistant and may have additional time for exams. Without the support, the gap between SEND and non-SEND pupils would widen. It can fall under direct discrimination if a school fails to provide reasonable adjustments.
Public-sector organisations must adhere to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and not discriminate.
All maintained schools and academies have to demonstrate how they show due regard to the need to:
- Promote equality of opportunity
- Tackle discrimination
- Foster positive relations between different people
Promoting equality of opportunity means:
- Removing or minimising disadvantages experienced by people with protected characteristics due to having that characteristic
- Taking steps to meet the needs of people with protected characteristics that differ from those who do not have that protected characteristic (including taking account of a disability).
- Encouraging protected groups to participate in public life and any other activity where participation is disproportionately low
Tackling discrimination means:
- Ensuring staff, parents/carers and pupils are not unfairly discriminated against
- Taking steps to prevent discrimination (through clear policies and processes)
- Trying to protect people from discrimination by others
Fostering positive relations means:
- Tackling prejudice
- Promoting understanding- giving pupils opportunities to learn about people from all walks of life
Further information about the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty can be found here: