The start of the school year is a good time to think ahead about school trips and events that you have planned over the year ahead.
For many pupils this will include special events such as the school prom, residential trips and school outings.
For teachers and school leaders this may often come with complex and difficult decisions regarding pupils who have additional needs, for example medical, mental health or special educational needs. There may also be concerns regarding the behaviour of pupils and whether they should be allowed to attend certain school functions or visits and, in some cases, safeguarding issues can be a concern.
In this FAQ document, we have put together advice on some of the common areas that concern school leaders.
We have a pupil with very challenging behaviour and we want to prevent them from attending the prom
This needs to be carefully considered. The school should ensure that the range of consequences for poor behaviour are clearly set out in the school’s behaviour policy where it should state that sanctions, for example the rescinding of privileges such as attending extra-curricular activities like the school prom, can be applied if, for example, a pupil repeatedly demonstrates unsafe, persistently defiant or aggressive behaviour. The policy should also clearly set out for pupils and their parents / carers the expectations of behaviour in (and outside of) school and also what would constitute behaviour that falls short of those expectations.
When considering the application of such a sanction to a pupil, it is important as always to consider the wider context of the situation, including possible underlying reasons for poor behaviour, regardless of whether or not a pupil is known to have special educational needs (“SEN”) or a disability (note that a diagnosis is not required for a pupil to be considered disabled). The school has duties under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that pupils are not discriminated against on the grounds of protected characteristics, one of which is disability. The school therefore needs to ensure that any criteria to attend a trip or event does not discriminate against disabled pupils by unfairly increasing their risk of a place being withdrawn. Reasonable adjustments must be made, for example removing, adapting or amending criteria for individual pupils, so the school can meet its Equality Act duties. The duty to make reasonable adjustments requires schools to take positive steps to ensure that disabled pupils can fully participate in education and other services and facilities that the school offers. A failure to give proper consideration to this may result in a tribunal claim for disability discrimination being brought against the school and/or a formal complaint being made. Schools must consider each pupil individually and must not take a blanket approach to the application of policies – these situations can be nuanced and each will require individual consideration and tailored advice.
We have a pupil with mental health needs and the trip leader does not want to take them on the year group residential as they’re concerned something bad will happen either to the pupil or others – can we prevent the pupil from attending the residential trip?
It is imperative that the school undertakes a detailed risk assessment well in advance of the proposed trip. As stated above, consideration needs to be given to reasonable adjustments that could be made to support pupils who may be disabled in accordance with the school’s duties under the Equality Act 2010. The fact that a pupil has mental health needs should not automatically preclude them from attending a residential trip but proper time needs to be given to planning the trip safely and ascertaining how adjustments might be made. This may include, for example, a school selecting a different venue from ones that may have been used in the past to accommodate an individual pupil’s needs.
On a practical level it is important to fully engage with the pupil’s parents / carers as they will likely have their own concerns and suggestions as to how the identified risks might be mitigated so as to keep the pupil and others safe. The views of all known specialists working with the pupil should also be sought so as to feed into a comprehensive risk assessment. Depending on the circumstances it may also be necessary to inform the school’s insurers / the RPA of the pupil’s proposed attendance on the trip as they may have certain requirements.
Can we require a parent to accompany their child on a school trip?
First and foremost the school needs to be clear why this is considered to be necessary, and what other solutions can be considered as alternative measures (for example the deployment of another member of school staff to the trip to assist the usual staff). The school should be mindful of its Equality Act duties and consider what reasonable adjustments could be made so as not to disadvantage a pupil with a disability; for example making the attendance of a pupil with SEN on a trip conditional on their parent attending as a chaperone would likely mean that the school is discriminating against that pupil if they are considered to be disabled under the Equality Act. The first step would be to undertake a careful and detailed risk assessment to understand what the potential risks are for this particular pupil attending this particular trip to this particular venue (never just copy and paste a previous risk assessment!) and how the identified risks might be mitigated. The provision of auxiliary aids and services (for example the provision of extra staff assistance for disabled pupils) is recognised in law as an adjustment that can reasonably be expected for schools to make for children with disabilities.
As above, ensure that the parents / carers are engaged early on so that they can contribute to the planning and risk management. If the parent wants to attend the trip to support their child, other things to consider would be whether the school’s insurers / RPA need to be notified of a parent (i.e. not a member of staff) attending as a chaperone. Consideration needs to be given to what the school’s expectations are of a parent chaperone and how this is communicated clearly to the parent and agreed with the trip leader well in advance – for example is the parent expected to supervise any other children or just their own? Are they expected to refrain from using their mobile phone, taking pictures whilst on the trip etc.? What are the expectations regarding communication with the trip leader such as taking the child for an unscheduled toilet break, leaving the venue earlier than planned, what happens in the event of an emergency etc.
We like to reward pupils who have 100% attendance at the end of the year / we want to prevent those with low attendance from participating in a particular end of year event
There have been recent press reports about schools requiring pupils to have a certain percentage attendance rate without which they are not allowed to attend the school prom or other school events. This is problematic not least because there will undoubtedly be pupils in the school community for whom 100% attendance is completely unattainable, for example those who have medical needs or health conditions which require them to attend lots of medical appointments or which result in sickness absence from school. Children with such medical needs may well meet the legal threshold for disability under the Equality Act 2010 (bear in mind of course that a “diagnosis” of a disability is not required for someone to come under the protection of the Equality Act) therefore blanket policies of this nature are likely to be unlawful and leave a school open to claims of disability discrimination.
Many schools have in the past been accustomed to celebrating 100% attendance, for example with a certificate in assembly or attending a special event (such as a school trip or celebration). In addition to the advice above, consideration should also be given to those pupils, particularly primary school aged children, whose parents are unwilling or unable to get those children to school all the time, on time, and therefore the child’s attendance is low through no fault of their own. Such children can end up feeling isolated, marginalised and demoralised. Schools should consider alternative ways of celebrating pupils and their achievements, for example rewarding effort, resilience, and other attributes.
We want to celebrate pupils’ good behaviour and offer a reward trip in the summer term for those who have accrued points for good behaviour
As previously mentioned, the school needs to ensure that behaviour expectations are clearly set out in the school’s behaviour policy, and also that rewards and sanctions are clearly outlined and communicated to pupils, parents and carers. That said, it is imperative that the school is aware of its duties under the Equality Act and must ensure that pupils who may be disabled are not discriminated against. The school must not apply blanket policies – it is required to consider the protected characteristics of each pupil and to make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils. The particular concern with reward trips being afforded to pupils is that this disadvantages pupils whose behaviour may lead to a behaviour sanction due to a manifestation of their disability (the most common reason being pupils with diagnosed or undiagnosed neurodiverse conditions such as ASD or ADHD). The Equality Act states that it is unlawful to discriminate against a pupil in the way that the school affords the pupil access to a benefit, facility or service: school trips are regarded as a benefit and therefore should strictly be open to all.
Our advice is not to promote trips as reward trips.
Need further advice?
There is no standard advice that can be given – each situation is nuanced and a bespoke approach is often required, particularly when it comes to considering disability and making reasonable adjustments. Our School Support team are here to help school leaders navigate these decisions carefully and to ensure that schools are supported in undertaking appropriate risk assessments so as to avoid unwanted complaints and/or unexpected litigation. We also offer training to school leaders, teachers and governors on the Equality Act and other matters. Please contact us by email on schoolsupport@wslaw.co.uk or by telephone on 0345 070 7437.