The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (c. 10), also known as SENDA, is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. It is intended as an adjunct to the

Disability Discrimination Act 1995 The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (c. 50) (informally, and hereafter, the DDA) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which has now been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010, except in Northern Ireland where the A ...

, which legislated to prevent the unfair treatment of individuals, in the provision of

goods and services Goods are items that are usually (but not always) tangible, such as pens or Apple, apples. Services are activities provided by other people, such as teachers or barbers. Taken together, it is the Production (economics), production, distributio ...

, unless justification could be proved. This legislation was deemed necessary as the previous Act did not encompass educational organisations. This was further replaced by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. The act required

schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

colleges A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...

providers, statutory youth service and

local education authorities Local education authorities (LEAs) were defined in England and Wales as the local councils responsible for education within their jurisdictions. The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902, which transferred education powers from school bo ...

to make 'reasonable provisions' to ensure people with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

or special needs were provided with the same opportunities as those who were not disabled. The Act stated that

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

occurred when the educational establishment/body either fails to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate individuals with special needs or a disability, or when they give them less favourable treatment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Special Educational Needs And Disability Act 2001 United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2001 United Kingdom Education Acts Anti-discrimination law in the United Kingdom Disability legislation in the United Kingdom Special education in the United Kingdom

See also

References