Questionnaire: Experienced Discrimination School?

Understanding discrimination in schools

Schools in the UK have a legal duty to provide equal access to education for all pupils. This applies regardless of race, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation or other protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

Despite these protections, discrimination does still happen in some schools. It can take many forms, some obvious and some harder to recognise. Pupils may face unfair treatment from teachers, staff or other students. Sometimes discrimination happens through policies or practices rather than individual actions.

Working out whether you have experienced discrimination can be difficult. Not everything that feels unfair counts as unlawful discrimination, but your concerns are still worth exploring. The following questionnaire may help you reflect on your experiences and decide whether to take things further.

Questionnaire: have you faced discrimination at school?

Consider each question carefully. Think about specific incidents rather than general feelings where possible.

• Have you been given tasks or roles at school based on your gender rather than your abilities or preferences?
• Were you steered towards or away from certain subjects or courses for reasons unrelated to your academic performance or interests?
• Have you been refused admission to a school or denied access to facilities because of a disability or other protected characteristic?
• Are you regularly subjected to insulting or offensive language from students, teachers or other staff?
• Do you feel that teachers give more encouragement or attention to students of different races, genders or backgrounds than they give to you?
• Have you been told you cannot join a club, team or activity for reasons other than genuine eligibility requirements?
• Has your school failed to make reasonable adjustments for a disability or health condition?
• Have you been excluded from trips, events or opportunities that other students can access?
• Do staff dismiss or minimise complaints when you raise concerns about unfair treatment?
• Have you been treated differently because of your religion, including requests for time off for religious observance or wearing religious clothing?

If you answered yes to several of these questions, you may have experienced some form of discrimination. The more yes answers you have, the stronger the indication that something may be wrong.

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What counts as discrimination

Discrimination in schools can be direct or indirect. Direct discrimination means being treated worse than others specifically because of a protected characteristic. For example, being told girls cannot study engineering would be direct sex discrimination.

Indirect discrimination happens when a school policy or rule applies to everyone but puts some groups at a disadvantage. A strict uniform policy that does not allow head coverings could indirectly discriminate against pupils whose religion requires them.

Harassment and victimisation are also covered by the law. Harassment means unwanted behaviour related to a protected characteristic that creates a hostile environment. Victimisation means being treated badly because you complained about discrimination or supported someone else's complaint.

Schools must also make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils. This might include providing learning materials in different formats, allowing extra time in exams, or adapting physical spaces.

What you can do next

If you believe you have experienced discrimination at school, there are several steps you can take.

Start by keeping a record of what happened. Note dates, times, what was said or done, and any witnesses. This will be useful if you decide to make a formal complaint.

Speak to a trusted adult. This might be a parent, carer, or another family member. They can help you decide how to proceed and offer support.

Raise the issue with the school. Most schools have a complaints procedure, and many issues can be resolved through discussion. Ask for a copy of the school's equality policy and complaints process.

If the school does not resolve the matter, you can escalate your complaint. For state schools in England, this may mean contacting the local authority or the Department for Education. The process differs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. You can find details on GOV.UK.

Organisations like the Equality Advisory Support Service can provide free advice and guidance. Citizen's Advice also offers help with discrimination issues. In some cases, you may be able to take a claim to court, though this is usually a last resort after other options have been tried.