Jordanhill school discriminated against pupil

"Jordanhill School, in the west end of Glasgow, said they could not accept the boy, who was disabled and had dyslexia, because it could not afford to fund the levels of support required."

"However, the family took the case to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal (ASNT), which ruled Jordanhill had "unlawfully discriminated" against the pupil by refusing to offer him a place at the school."

"The Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has published the ruling on its website, said the decision was a reminder for all schools that they should plan for and take account of the needs of disabled pupils when setting their budgets."

"The commission added: "Their duties under the public sector equality duty and the specific duties, mean that they need to assess and review the impact of policies and practices, such as admissions policies and budgetary decisions."

"Details of the ruling emerged the day after Jordanhill was accused of "selecting" its intake because of its policy towards pupils with special needs."

"Maureen McKenna, the director of education for Glasgow City Council, made the claim after the school warned prospective pupils with Additional Support Needs (ASN) they could lose support services."

"The school, which regularly tops exam league tables, argues it is not covered by special needs legislation in the same way as other state schools because it is the only publicly-funded mainstream secondary in Scotland not under council control and the 2004 Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act relates to local authorities."

"As a result, the school argues it is not funded to provide the specialist services required for some pupils with more severe additional support needs...."

"Formerly run by Jordanhill College of Education as a demonstration school, Jordanhill it is now funded directly by a grant from the Scottish Government rather than through the local authority."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/education/jordanhill-school-unlawfully-discriminated-against-special-needs-pupil.129747341