1.1 Current legislation and codes of practice
Every Child Matters 2003 and Children Act 2004
These were put into place to ensure that all organisations and agencies involved with children between birth and 19 years should work together ensure that children have the support needed to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and ahieve economic well-being.
The key aspect of the Act was to overhaul child protection and chilren’s services in the UK. Every Child Matters has been futher developed through the publication of the Children’s Plan 2007 which sets out to improve educational outcomes for all children.
Race Relations Act 1976 and 2000
This places a statutory duty on schools to promote race equality. It makes it against the law for a person to be discriminated against, whether directly or indirectly. Schools are expected to improve the educational achievements of all children and to promote equal opportunities and good relations between different racial groups. Schools are also required to have a race equality policy which is linked to an action plan.
Disability Discrimintaion Act 1995 and 2005
This made it illegal for services (shops and employers) to discriminate against disabled people. According to this Act, a person has a disability if ‘he /or she/ has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his /or her/ ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. Now it is a statutory requirement to encourage the inclusion of children with disabilities into mainstream schools.
The Disability and Discrimination Act 2005 builds on the 1995 Act by requiring all schools to produce a Disability Equality Scheme. This must set out ways that schools promote equality of opportunity and promote positive attitudes towards pupils, staff and others who are disabled. Also, there must be an Accessibility Plan