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Home > Expertise > Education Law > Disability & Education Discrimination > Failure to Make Reasonable Adjustments

Failure to Make Reasonable Adjustments

If a school, college or university has failed to implement adjustments for disability, you may face exclusion, disadvantage or unfair treatment. Aldwych Legal can connect you with a solicitor from our network to assess the circumstances and advise on an education reasonable adjustments claim.
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Equality Law

When Support Is Not Put In Place

Disabled pupils, students or employees may face barriers when an institution knows, or should know, that adjustments are needed to prevent substantial disadvantage.

Under the Equality Act 2010, the duty may require reasonable steps, with disputes often turning on knowledge, reasonableness, effectiveness and the education provider’s response.

Aldwych Legal can help assess the circumstances, clarify available options and connect you with a solicitor from our network for advice on a potential claim.

Issues That May Shape Your Case

  • Whether the individual meets the Equality Act disability definition.
  • Whether the provider knew, or ought to have known, of need.
  • The substantial disadvantage compared with people who are not disabled.
  • Whether proposed adjustments were reasonable, practicable and sufficiently effective.
  • Delays or refusals in implementing agreed education adjustments.
  • Evidence of requests, decisions and resulting impact on participation.

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Reasonable Adjustments Support

Legal support for denied reasonable adjustments

A failure to make reasonable adjustments can affect access to education, services or employment. Aldwych Legal can help you understand your position, challenge an adjustment decision, pursue a reasonable adjustment discrimination claim and, where appropriate, connect you with a solicitor from our network.
Legal Advice And Assessment
Receive advice on whether a requested adjustment may be required, how a refusal could affect your position and the options available. We can assess potential claims involving schools, colleges, universities, employers or service providers.
Negotiated Resolution
Where a dispute may be resolved without proceedings, we can support discussions about the adjustments required and appropriate remedies, including settlement negotiations designed to protect your legal position.
Education Adjustment Disputes
We can assist when a school, college or university has failed to implement, withdrawn or rejected adjustments for a disabled pupil or student, helping you pursue an appropriate legal challenge concerning access and participation.
Claims And Representation
If a formal claim is appropriate, we can help develop the legal case and connect you with a solicitor from our network. This may include advice and representation where you are seeking a solicitor for failure to make reasonable adjustments.
Failure to Make Reasonable Adjustments

Adam Hussain

Meet Your Specialist Education Lawyer

Adam Hussain has successfully handled education disputes involving leading institutions. His wider casework includes matters involving UCL, London South Bank University, Edge Hill University, the University of Central Lancashire and City, University of London.
 
His experience spans allegations of plagiarism and unauthorised AI use, academic appeals, suspension and expulsion, disputed placements and fitness-to-practise investigations. These are cases in which a carefully prepared response can be critical to a student’s degree, professional reputation and future career. His education work also extends to school exclusions and special educational needs placement concerns, helping families challenge decisions affecting their children’s access to appropriate education.
 
Adam’s approach is built on close examination of the institution’s own evidence and procedures. He scrutinises assessment instructions, authorship records, supervisor reports and panel reasoning to identify what is unsupported, inconsistent or procedurally unfair. He then develops focused representations and appeals, distinguishing grounds for challenging an allegation from evidence relevant to mitigation or the severity of a sanction. Clients receive a clear explanation of where their case is strongest and what is needed to support it.
 
An LL.M. graduate of King’s College London, Adam has undertaken Barriser training at The University of Law and is pursuing PhD research in Legal Science at Royal Holloway, University of London. His academic background complements practical experience in public law, professional regulation, human rights and institutional decision-making.
 
As Director of Aldwych Legal, Adam brings this combination of academic understanding and contested casework to the firm’s education practice. 
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How We Help

Practical Support When Adjustments Are Not Made

Aldwych Legal can help you organise the evidence, clarify the adjustments sought and communicate your position effectively. We provide practical advice on correspondence and complaints, and can connect you with appropriate solicitors or barristers where a formal challenge, negotiation or representation is required.

01

Reviewing Your Evidence

We review relevant records, correspondence, support plans and impact information to identify what was requested, what response followed and where the practical difficulties arise. This helps shape focused advice for an education reasonable adjustments claim or other dispute.

02

Shaping Effective Requests

We help you express the adjustments needed in clear, workable terms and prepare communications to the school, college, university, employer or organisation involved. Our advice can support constructive engagement while preserving a clear record of your concerns.

03

Challenging Inadequate Responses

Where adjustments have been refused, delayed or implemented inadequately, we can help prepare a measured complaint, escalation or formal response. We identify the outcome sought and frame the issues clearly, including where specialist input from a solicitor may be appropriate.

04

Coordinating Legal Support

If informal engagement does not resolve the matter, Aldwych can connect you with a solicitor from our network and, where appropriate, a barrister. We help coordinate the handover, ensuring the relevant documents, chronology and objectives are clearly presented.

Locations We Serve Across the UK

A Closer Look

Key considerations in a failure to make reasonable adjustments claim

A failure to make reasonable adjustments matter can turn on the person’s disability, the organisation’s knowledge, the adjustment sought, and its practical effect. Careful examination of policies, communications, decision-making, evidence and timing may be needed, particularly where education arrangements have changed or support was delayed.
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Applicable Duty

The relevant education setting, disability-related disadvantage and applicable Equality Act requirements may determine whether an adjustment duty arose and how it should be assessed.

Reasonableness and Effectiveness

The proposed adjustment must be considered in context, including whether it would reduce disadvantage, remain practicable, and address the barrier actually experienced.

Knowledge and Evidence

Medical information, school records, correspondence and witness accounts may help establish what was known, when concerns were raised, and whether support was considered or refused.

Timing and Impact

Chronology may be central to an education reasonable adjustments claim, including missed opportunities, changing needs, consequences of delay, and any internal decisions or complaints.

Why Choose Us

Why Choose Aldwych for Reasonable Adjustment Discrimination Claims

Concerns about failure to make reasonable adjustments in education often require advice that is legally grounded, proportionate and specific to the circumstances. Aldwych Legal combines specialist legal advisory input with a clear, practical and strategic approach, while connecting clients with appropriate solicitors or barristers where additional representation is needed.

01

Specialist Focus

Aldwych brings a specialist legal advisory approach to failure to make reasonable adjustments in education, giving clients focused guidance rather than a generic response to disability-related concerns.

02

Tailored Judgement

Advice is shaped around the client’s circumstances, priorities and objectives, rather than a standard template. That tailored perspective can be particularly important where adjustment issues affect education and personal wellbeing.

03

Clear, Practical Advice

Aldwych communicates in clear, practical terms, helping clients understand the significance of their concerns and the choices available without unnecessary jargon, alarmist language or promises.

04

Connected Professionals

Clients seeking a solicitor for a failure to make reasonable adjustments matter can be connected with an appropriate solicitor from Aldwych’s network where representation is required, alongside its advisory input.
Failure to Make Reasonable Adjustments FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

It generally means an education provider knew, or should reasonably have known, that a disabled pupil or student faced a substantial disadvantage, but failed to take a reasonable step to reduce it. The duty and available adjustments depend on the institution and circumstances.
A disabled pupil or student may have a claim, depending on the institution, relationship and applicable Equality Act duties. Parents or carers can help gather evidence and communicate, but the affected person is usually central to the case. We can assess eligibility and the appropriate route.
Useful material includes medical or professional evidence, education plans, correspondence, records of meetings, adjustment requests, relevant policies and examples of disadvantage. Evidence should show what adjustment was needed, when it was requested, how the provider responded and the impact of its decision.
Early advice can help before making a formal complaint, particularly where an adjustment has been refused, delayed or withdrawn. Our legal team can review the facts, identify possible routes, help prepare correspondence and explain whether negotiation, representation or proceedings may be appropriate.
Potentially. A provider may breach its duties by refusing a suitable adjustment, failing to consider alternatives or taking too long to act. The circumstances, the provider’s knowledge of the disability and whether the proposed step was reasonable will all be important.
Remedies depend on the forum and circumstances. They may include an agreement to implement adjustments, changes to procedures, staff training, a formal declaration or compensation where available. Our team can explain realistic outcomes and help pursue a proportionate resolution.
Time limits can be short and depend on the institution, type of claim and legal route. Some school discrimination claims have tribunal deadlines measured in months, while other proceedings follow different rules. Prompt advice is important, even if the provider’s complaints process is ongoing.
Yes. Adjustments may need review when a student’s needs, course, assessment arrangements or learning environment changes. Request reviews in writing, keep records of the impact and seek reasons for any refusal. If the provider will not engage, legal advice can help determine next steps.

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