This section is about making sure you are treated fairly in education or training. It covers pre-school education, schools and colleges, work-based training and adult education or life-long learning and it is aimed primarily at students or pupils and their parents or carers, but also anyone who may be interested in learning more about this area.
The right to education is a universal human right set out by the United Nations. In the UK, that right is now seen as a right to an effective education. In other words, that doesn’t just mean having an opportunity to go to school. It means that education and training providers should take account of learners’ circumstances and needs in helping them to fulfil their potential.
Under British anti-discrimination legislation, you also have the right not to be discriminated against when you are at school, college, university or any other place of learning or training.
In this section, you can find out about:
- Getting into education – this includes choosing schools, fair admission to all types of education, expecting reasonable adjustments to be made so that you can attend the provider you choose and discipline and exclusion from schools.
- Being treated with respect – this includes respect for religion and belief, as well as things like school uniform and bullying.
- Having the opportunity to reach your potential – this includes access to specific courses or subjects, being allocated to teaching groups fairly, being assessed fairly and having equal access to extracurricular activities.
- Education and training after the age of 16 – this may be at school, university, college, through an employer or in any other learning environment.
- What you can expect from education providers.
You’ll find examples throughout about what might constitute discriminatory or unfair treatment in education. If, after reading the information in this section, you feel that you may have been treated unfairly, you can find out more about your rights under the law.
This section does not look at the general workplace rights of teachers, lecturers or other school or college staff. For information on rights at work, go to the section Rights in action: working and earning.
It also does not cover what to do if you are responsible for ensuring everyone is treated fairly in a school, college, university or other place of learning. For information on the responsibilities of education and training providers, go to the section for education providers.