EHRC criticises cancellation of school trip over disabled child

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has criticised a Scottish school's “lack of planning and foresight” for cancelling its annual trip for fear of legal action over being unable to include a disabled child.

The decision to cancel the visit to an outdoor activity centre was taken after the school, Crown Primary in Inverness, received a complaint from the child's parent that her child would be unable to take part in the activities on the trip. The school sought legal advice from Highland Council, which advised that the visit should be cancelled.

In a response to an enquiry from the local MP,  the EHRC said that although it did not necessarily have all the information it needed to comment fully, “there appears to have been a lack of planning and foresight and the council's approach in scrapping the trip entirely may not have been proportionate. What does appear to have happened is that the council felt unable to defend their actions and decided the easiest answer was to withdraw the trip entirely."

The EHRC added that the council's decision to cancel the trip was not unlawful, but it hoped that practice in other schools could better demonstrated than in this case.

“Schools need to be aware of their anticipatory duty under the Disability Discrimination Act when planning school trips,” a spokesman told Local Government Lawyer.

Highland Council told the BBC that “the school had tried hard to meet the needs of the disabled child”. The authority said there was no alternative to cancelling after taking legal advice.