Reading School disabled children sitting the 11-plus.
Reading School disabled children sitting the 11-plus.
Here at the Exam house We strongly believe exams should be as accessible as possible.
What ever they are.
We also believe they should be fewer exams. Especially those who are already in a state selective school. Who would have had to do a series of 11 plus exams just to get in. So what is the point of GCSEs for this lot?
News today, English grammar schools have been warned not to discriminate against disabled children sitting the 11-plus.
this is because o a legal challenge from a visually-impaired child in Reading, Berks. who was informed the day before that he could not join the rest of the 11 plus candidates and take the exam. He simply could not take the 11 plus exam for the Reading school.
The tribunal ruled the Reading grammar school was responsible for putting the access arrangements and adjustments in place.
Reading School said it would amend its processes in line with the ruling.
The access arrangements included larger fonts on the exam paper. This according to Reading school could not be made possible. The cited cost. It would cost more than £2,000.
The mum said the child was "upset and in tears" when he was told he was unable to sit the exam.
Sight loss charity the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) referred the case to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
Reading school accepted the adjustments requested by the child were reasonable . However, they argued they had no previous knowledge of the request. The request was made via Slough Consortium of Grammar Schools, despite allowing the alternative test arrangement to take place.
The court said Slough Consortium of Grammar Schools needed have a written policy to set out how access arrangements should be made for disabled children for the 11 plus exams .
The UK's human rights watchdog weighed in too. It went to send letters to all the UK's grammar schools and consortiums to remind them of the Equality Act 2010 . Which makes it clear not to discriminate against disabled children.
EHRC chief executive Rebecca Hilsenrath said: "Grammar school education needs to be available to all children and that means grammar schools making reasonable adjustments for entry exams in accordance with the law."
In a statement Reading School said it was "committed to making reasonable adjustments for all candidates relating to our entrance test".
Dr Mark Fenton, chief executive of the Grammar School Heads Association, said: "Grammar schools take their duties under the Equalities Act very seriously and make a large number of adjustments every year for children with a range of disabilities who are taking admissions tests.
"When a test is taken in a different school from the one to which the child has applied it is obviously important that the right information is shared so that appropriate adjustments can be made."