Commentary on Sections Part 2: Discrimination on Grounds of Religion or Belief Section 49: Educational establishments
188.Section 49 extends the prohibition against discrimination on the ground of religion or belief to the educational establishments listed in the Table set out in the section. This Table also indicates who is the responsible body for the purposes of this Part of the Act, in relation to each educational establishment listed. The Table does not extend to educational institutions or establishments in the further or higher education sectors as these are covered by existing secondary legislation.(1)
189.The section makes it unlawful for an educational institution to discriminate against a person in respect of the terms on which it offers him/her admission as a pupil or by refusing to accept an application to admit him/her as a pupil. Where a person is already a pupil of the establishment it is unlawful to discriminate against him/her in the way the establishment affords him/her access to any benefit, facility or service or by refusing such access. It is also unlawful to exclude a pupil or subject him/her to any other detriment. A pupil of the establishment includes any person who receives education at the establishment.
190.Subsection (2) requires that, for England and Wales, the terminology used in any of the Education Acts would have the same meaning in this Part. Subsection (3) requires that, for Scotland, the terminology used in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (c.44) would have the same meaning in this Part.