We received a petition asking:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ensure that no child or teacher is discriminated against in school because of their HIV status.”
Details of Petition:
“We are concerned about cases of HIV-positive children and staff being discriminated against in schools. This discrimination is illegal but there are still cases where schools are unwilling to employ staff and children are excluded or refused a place simply because they are living with HIV. We ask the Government to: 1. Provide schools with specific guidance on their responsibilities not to discriminate against people living with HIV under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 2. Ensure schools are maintaining the confidentiality of HIV-positive pupils and staff members 3. Ensure the changes to sex and relationships education produce a curriculum which addresses both the facts about HIV and teaches young people to be supportive and non-discriminatory of those living with HIV.”
· Read the petition
· Petitions homepage
Read the Government’s response
We recognise that there are varying degrees of compliance amongst schools with their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005 and the Government is taking action in this area to address the issue. Officials and Ministers at the DCSF have raised awareness of schools’ responsibilities frequently over the past 6 months. Baroness Morgan and Sarah McCarthy-Fry have both addressed the issue of schools’ compliance with the DDA 2005 in speeches and in Parliamentary questions. Additionally, Sarah recently wrote to both local authorities and headteachers and school governors emphasising how important it is that schools comply with the DDA and outlined the actions that they can take to ensure compliance.
To further support this effort to encourage improved compliance, officials from the Special Educational Needs and Disability Division at the DCSF and senior policy advisers from the National Strategies hosted a live blogging session on the Education Guardian website on 3 June 2009 12-2pm. This session aimed to address any concerns that headteachers, teachers, governors and parents may have about schools’ responsibilities under the DDA. For further information please follow this link: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/
Turning now to your first point about the Government providing schools with specific guidance regarding HIV-related discrimination, the then Department for Education and Skills and Disability Rights Commission produced the guidance Implementing the Disability Discrimination Act in Schools and Early Years’ Settings. This guidance provides interactive information, advice and guidance for schools and early years’ settings and outlines the actions that they should take to comply with the DDA 2005.
Officials from the Special Educational Needs Division at the DCSF have informed me that they met with the National Aids Trust recently and discussed the possibility of placing a link on the Teachernet site to the guidance that the National Aids Trust has produced for schools and teachers. This link can be found at: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/disability/disabilityandthedda/otherguidance/
In terms of ensuring that schools are maintaining the confidentiality of HIV-positive pupils and staff members, all schools are required by law to keep all medical records of all its pupils and staff confidential, including those of HIV positive pupils and staff.
To better address these issues through education, officials in the DCSF will be discussing with the National Aids Trust how schools can produce a curriculum that addresses the facts about HIV and teaches young people to be supportive to those living with HIV.
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