Human rights of disabled children breached after school transport denied by Education Authority

The Education Authority (EA) breached the human rights of two disabled children by failing to provide them with access to education.

The pupils were denied access to school transport throughout the Covid pandemic as they had respiratory conditions which required ventilation.

One was unable to attend specialist education placements in person for all but one day of nursery and for the entirety of the P1 and P2 academic years.

The cases were brought by the Children’s Law Centre (CLC) on behalf of the two children.

The CLC legal team argued that prolonged and disproportionate coronavirus restrictions on school transport for reasons related to disability were unjustifiable and unlawful.

After the EA provided solutions for each child, the team secured High Court declarations where the body acknowledged that the two children were treated differently because of their disability.

Rachel Hogan of the Children’s Law Centre, said: "This is a significant legal milestone for these children, and for all disabled children who have been denied access to services which enable equality of opportunity.

"The High Court declarations reinforce the importance of ensuring that public authorities do not place unlawful systemic barriers in the way of disabled people, including disabled children.

"Failure to ensure accessibility of services throughout society is capable of breaching the human rights of groups of children who are protected by law."

She added: “We hope these landmark declarations serve as a significant reminder to public authorities and duty bearers more generally that disabled children and young people are entitled to equal treatment and equality of opportunity in all aspects of life."

The parent of one of the children said: "I felt no person or child should be treated differently due to their disability and medical requirements and excluded from transport and vital education and learning with their peers.

"My child was made to feel different. This declaration will hopefully promote learning from public bodies and understanding that all children should be treated inclusively.” A parent of the other child said: "While my child was being denied access to school transport and denied their right to education, other children were permitted to travel on packed school buses with no masks.

“My child was denied access purely on the basis of their disability, with no serious effort to risk assess the situation or consider the best interests of my child.

“I’m pleased with the declaration, I only wish it wasn’t yet another case where a disabled child has to go to the courts to get access to services.

"I hope the Education Authority learns from this and properly considers the impact policies have on disabled children."

An EA spokesperson said: “Whilst we cannot comment on individual pupils, we will take on board all learnings from these cases and are firmly committed to the principle of equality of opportunity for all pupils.

“Supporting our children and young people to not only access but thrive in education remains our priority”.

Both cases were subject to anonymity orders so the children, their parents and the schools involved cannot be identified.

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