What We Learned: School Uniform and Reasonable Adjustments
We have been speaking to parent carers about their children’s experiences at schools and reasonable adjustments around uniform. Reasonable adjustments are required under the Equality Act 2010 ensure that disabled pupils are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled pupils and can participate in all aspects of school life. Some students will experience sensory difference, such as those with Autism and ADHD, that impacts their tactile experience of clothes, and a description can be found here on the National Autistic Society
Reasonable adjustments for autistic pupils’ sensory differences
A Reasonable Adjustment should be in place under the “Ordinarily Available Provision” in school – adjustments around uniform is just one of many areas schools change in their day-to-day running to support a child with Special Educational Needs and Disability. The local offer has new guide to what that provision should look like
In here it states that schools should “Have flexibility with uniform policy for those sensitive to particular materials or fittings”
To get more in depth information, you can also use our Guide to Inclusion and SEND in Kingston Schools to look at an individual school’s policies.
Kingston PCF’s Guide to SEND and Inclusion in Kingston Schools
Reasonable Adjustments Shared with Us
Some good practices we have heard about:
Parent at a local primary school told us they are “very flexible on uniform”. They can wear things such as navy joggers instead of trousers, black trainers instead of school shoes and a white tshirt instead of a shirt.“ always stipulated they needed to be in the same colour”
A couple of parents from another primary school, one who was in the specialist resourced provision praised how flexible their school had been. Someone shared son could not tolerate the collar or label on a normal school tshirt so was able to wear a plain white round neck tshirt. He has severe sensory needs.
Parent shared that a primary school had listened to her son’s concern about wearing a
We actually had the most feedback about primary schools who were “always helpful”.
Some issues that have been raised
A parent carer was told that their Reception age child did not have a diagnosis so they could not offer the “Reasonable Adjustment”. However under the Equality Act someone does not require a diagnosis to be classified as disabled.
Some parents told us that their Infant and Junior School were good but now at high school they show “no flexibility to sensory needs”
A parent was concerned about her child and “how she will cope with the uniform demands at secondary, when she is overwhelmed this is the first thing she struggles with”
A parent shared their child was “in trouble” for wearing jogging bottoms and was told to wear a skort on top of this which would have added to the discomfort
A parent carer shared her frustration that schools do not follow offices where casual clothes are more accepted now, they had asked for Reasonable Adjustments during GCSE – despite the school refusing their child wore joggers and trainers and her results were not effected.
Other helpful reasonable adjustments
Other elements the parents mentioned being helpful for their children’s sensory needs include providing ear defenders, a sensory room, weighted blankets.
What Next?
We noted that there are not currently sensory strategies on the Reasonable Adjustment bitesize advice page of the Local Offer, linked below. Kingston PCF will talk Achieving for Children about using local examples to support an equity of adjustments across the borough.
We will also take your concerns to local strategic partners and the SENCO network to discuss these issues. There has also been some recent guidance drafted by healthcare professionals around Sensory Integration which we hope to be able to share with parent carers soon.