Making reasonable adjustments: what early years leaders need to know

The Equality Act 2010 applies to all early years settings, including schools, private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers, and childminders, whether or not they receive government funding.

One of the key requirements of the Act is the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children.

What are reasonable adjustments?

Reasonable adjustments mean:

• changing what we do, how we do it, or the environment and support we provide
• when this is reasonable, 
• so that we are removing or reducing barriers that would otherwise put a disabled child at a substantial disadvantage.

It’s important to note that the duty is anticipatory. That means settings should think ahead about the barriers disabled children may encounter and take reasonable steps to remove or reduce them. It isn’t enough just to respond to the difficulties you observe children having (important though that is).

There is significant overlap between disability and special educational needs (SEN), but the two are not the same.

If a child's developmental differences have a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their day-to-day activities, they are likely to be considered disabled under the Equality Act. 

‘Substantial’ simply means more than minor or trivial.  ‘Long term’ means lasting 12 months or more.

This may include many children who are autistic or who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Disability covers hidden impairments, speech delays, and long-term health conditions (e.g., diabetes, epilepsy, severe asthma.

However, there are important distinctions. A child may have a physical disability without experiencing learning difficulties. Roughly 3 in 10 young disabled children do not have Special Educational Needs (SEN) or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), yet they are fully protected under the Act

Equally, a child may have a learning difficulty that requires additional educational support but does not have a substantial and long-term impact on day-to-day activities.

For the purposes of this blog, the key questions are:

• What barriers might children encounter in an early years setting?
• How can leaders design provision that removes or reduces those barriers?

A practical way to think about reasonable adjustments

When considering reasonable adjustments, a useful starting point is to ask three questions:

1. What barrier exists?
2. Could that barrier disadvantage a child because of their disability?
3. What reasonable adjustment could remove or reduce that disadvantage?

Let's consider how this might work in practice. The following examples are adapted from the very useful guide provided by the Council for Disabled Children [PDF]

Example 1

A nursery does not admit children until they are toilet trained. A mother seeks admission to the nursery for her child who has Hirschsprung’s disease. Hirschsprung’s disease may lead to the late establishment of bowel control and as a result the child is not yet toilet trained. The nursery refuses to admit the child because they are not toilet trained.

Here, the nursery has not anticipated this scenario when they developed a policy or protocol around expecting 3-year olds to be toilet trained.

Their blanket requirement that children must be toilet trained could place this child at a substantial disadvantage because of their disability. The nursery would therefore need to consider whether it could make a reasonable adjustment – for example, allowing the child to attend while they require support with toileting and changing – rather than simply applying its usual toilet-training requirement.

To avoid a scenario like this, the setting could have followed the following process:

What barrier exists?

A requirement that all children must be toilet trained before admission

Could this disadvantage a child because of disability?

Yes. A child's medical condition may mean that they cannot meet the requirement in the same way as other children (as in this example).

What reasonable adjustment could the nursery make?

It could consider adapting its toileting arrangements so that disabled children can attend while receiving the support they need with toileting and changing.

If the nursery has not anticipated this scenario, the same process would help them respond: 

• Identify the barrier
• Consider whether the barrier is an example of a child being disadvantaged because of their disability
• Consider whether reasonable adjustments could be made to include the child

This is very different from the situation many parents still encounter, where they are told at the outset that a setting ‘cannot meet their child's needs’.

It is important for leaders to be aware of indirect discrimination arising from blanket policies. In addition to the example given above, a strict ‘healthy snacks’ policy might disadvantage a child with diabetes, for example, who needs a carefully timed intake of calories.

It’s also important to note that settings and schools can never charge parents for the cost of making a reasonable adjustment.

Here is a second, adapted example, again taken from the guide provided by the Council for Disabled Children [PDF]

Example 2

A young autistic child has to queue to wash their hands before lunch. The autistic child is anxious and agitated in the queue. When another child teases them, they turn around and bites the other child. The nursery excludes the child for biting.

In this situation, there may have been opportunities to make reasonable adjustments before the incident occurred.

For example, the setting might have:

• Allowed the child to go and wash their hands first every lunchtime, in order to avoid the queuing
• Asked the child’s parents about ways of reducing or avoiding anxiety for their child
• Trained staff in understanding the nature of the child’s autism so that they could deploy techniques to reduce anxiety
• Provided a safe, low-stimulation space the child could access when feeling overwhelmed.

Importantly, these are adjustments that a setting could anticipate.

Staff training around autism, anxiety and emotional regulation should not begin only after difficulties arise. 

Additionally, where a nursery knows a child is autistic, it should proactively consider potential barriers and plan how those barriers could be reduced or removed.

Again, the process is:

• Identify the barrier
• Consider whether the barrier is an example of a child being disadvantaged because of their disability
• Consider whether reasonable adjustments could be made to include the child

This approach differs significantly from situations where children become overwhelmed, experience repeated difficulties and are then excluded, formally or informally, because the setting is viewed as ‘not the right environment’ for them.

How is ‘reasonableness’ defined?

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) suggest that you can evaluate what is reasonable for your setting or school by considering:

• Effectiveness: Will the step actually remove or reduce the disadvantage?
• Practicality: Can it be implemented easily within daily routines?
• Resources and Cost: Is it affordable and proportionate to the setting's size and budget?
• Impact on Others: Will it cause unreasonable disruption to other children?

What funding is available?

There are several potential sources of funding to help settings develop their inclusivity and make reasonable adjustments where appropriate. Your local authority will be able to guide you. At the time of writing (September 2026), funding includes:

• Disability Access Fund (DAF) 
• SEND Inclusion Fund (SENIF)
• Inclusive Early Years Fund (IEYF)

A note of caution

It is important not to take the wrong message from these examples.

It may be perfectly appropriate for a nursery to expect children in general to be toilet trained – as long as they are ready to make reasonable adjustments when appropriate. 

Equally, it isn’t ok for a child to be bitten or injured in their setting – that shouldn’t be downplayed. 

The point is not that expectations or consequences should disappear. Rather, it is that settings should think carefully about whether barriers exist, anticipate where difficulties may arise, and take reasonable steps to reduce those risks before problems occur.

Good anticipation, effective staff training and thoughtful planning can often prevent situations from escalating in the first place.

Working with parents and children

The CDC also advise that:

• It is good practice to involve parents and children themselves in planning reasonable adjustments. 
• Parents and children are often best placed to help settings think about what disadvantage might arise and what reasonable adjustments may work best.

Of course, involving a child in the early years is dependent on their age and level of understanding.

The legal position

The reasonable adjustments duty includes three key requirements:

1. To make adjustments to provisions, criteria or practices;
2. To make adjustments to physical features; and
3. To provide auxiliary aids and services.

These three requirements apply to all early years settings, including childminders, but not schools.

Schools are required to meet the first and third point, and the second is required through a different mechanism.

Legally, schools fall under Part 6 of the Equality Act, whereas non-school settings (PVIs and childminders) fall under Part 3. While non-schools have a direct duty to adjust physical features, schools fulfil this through three-year accessibility plans.

• It’s a myth that the duty to make reasonable adjustments does not apply to all settings in early years.
• Schools also have wider duties under the public sector equality duty. These do not apply to early years settings.
• All providers must make information available to parents and carers on how the setting supports children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Please note: this blog has been written for advice and guidance only. 

• For a comprehensive guide, please check the full guide from the CDC [PDF]
• You can also access free online training for early years staff from the CDC.