Equality Act
The Equality Act 2010 replaces the previous
antidiscrimination laws, including the Disability Discrimination
Act, with a single Act.
It has simplified the law, removed
inconsistencies and made it easier for people to understand the law
and comply with it. It also strengthens the law to help tackle
discrimination and inequality.
Being reasonable
Your key duty is to act "reasonably", given your available
resources. Nobody is required to make changes or adaptations to
their services which are unreasonable or too expensive.
The law is "anticipatory", which means that you need to think
ahead about how you would be able to adjust your setting and
practice if you were asked to look after a disabled child.
For example, you may know that it would not be possible to
remove a flight of steps in your house, but you might have ideas
about how to make a room more accessible by re-arranging furniture,
adapting play activities, using signs and symbols or producing your
information for parents in large print.
You do not need to make these changes unless they are necessary
for a specific child you are caring for (or the parents of a child
in your care), but considering the issues involved in advance will
help you meet your duties under the Equalities Act.
NCMA members can find out more about how the Equalities Act
impacts on childminders in NCMA's Equalities Act
factsheet.
Even more from NCMA
Join NCMA for further
support and encouragement while you're running your childminding
business. Find out more about the benefits of
being an NCMA member here.