Learning objectives•To identify the key issues for Colleges and teachers in responding to recent legislation aimed at supporting learners with disability.

•To audit the provision of support for disabled students in the College and determine what more can be done.

•To examine the barriers in your own teaching environment and the actions you could take in advance to remove or minimise.

Disability

Removing barriers to curriculum access and

promoting inclusive learning

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. For the purposes of the Act:

•substantial means neither minor nor trivial•long term means that the effect of the impairment has lasted or is likely to last for at least 12 months (there are special rules covering recurring or fluctuating conditions)• it impacts on normal day-to-day activities include everyday things like eating, washing, walking and going shopping•a normal day-to-day activity must affect one of the 'capacities' listed in the Act which include mobility, manual dexterity, speech, hearing, seeing and memory

The scale of disabilityAccording to statistics from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, one in five people of working age in the UK has a disability or long-term health condition. Around 3.5 million disabled people are in employment – approximately one in eight of all working-age people in employment. This represents an employment rate for disabled people of 50% whereas the working-age population as a whole has an employment rate of about 80%

Facts and figuresDisability – LLUK estimates only 2.3% of staff have voluntarily declared their disability within the FE Sector. FE Student declared disability

Types of Disability 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04

Other medical condition 32,940 43,440 44,726Disability affecting mobility 17,779 24,159 23,633Hearing impairment 17,200 23,306 23,360Mental ill health 12,070 16,876 18,466Visual impairment 12,882 16,081 16,293Multiple disabilities 10,243 13,657 15,499Other physical disability 10,618 13,247 12,658Emotional/ behavioural difficulties 3,834 5,088 6,163Profound complex disabilities 1,583 1,943 2,493Temporary disability after illness 1,433 1,999 2,020Other 46,584 52,337 53,563

No disability 3,307,399 3,652,862 3,598,018

Not known 1,186,916 1,176,333 795,766

Legislation

The Disability Discrimination ActThe Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face. This Act has been significantly extended, including by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. It now gives disabled people rights in the areas of:•employment•Education•access to goods, facilities and services, • to rent property and for tenants to make disability-related adaptations •functions of public bodies

It affects an institution's core business such as teaching with two exceptions. From 1st September 2003 an institution has to make 'reasonable adjustments' involving the provision of auxiliary aids e.g. induction loops and of services e.g. provision of interpreters (Part 2). And from 1st September 2005 physical adjustments must be in place e.g. access to buildings (Part 3).

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) became law in May 2001 and came into effect on 1st September 2002. This legislates for the prevention of discrimination against disabled staff and students. The law covers admissions and enrolments and the provision of other 'Student Services'. 'Student Services' includes education, training, accommodation, leisure facilities, catering facilities, library facilities, career and welfare services etc.

The Disability Equality Duty (DED) covers the full range of what public sector organisations do – including policy making and services that are delivered to the public.People who work in the public sector have to consider the impact of their work on disabled people, and take action to tackle disability inequality. This should mean that disabled people have better employment opportunities and do not come across discrimination when, for example, using a service. It should also help promote positive attitudes towards disabled people in everyday life.

Since 4 December 2006, significant public authorities like education have had to publish a 'Disability Equality Scheme.'The scheme must include:•a statement of how disabled people have been involved in developing the scheme.•an action plan that includes practical ways in which improvements will be made.•the arrangements in place for gathering information about how the public sector organisation has done in meeting its targets on disability equality.A year after the publication of the scheme, an annual report needs to be produced. It should contain a summary of the steps the organisation has taken to fulfil the duty, the results of the information-gathering exercise, and how the information has been used.

What is disability discrimination?Discrimination against disabled applicants or students can take place by treating them less favourably than someone without a disability for a reason relating to their disabilityfailing to make reasonable adjustments to prevent them being placed at a substantial disadvantage in comparison with a person who is not disabled.

The disabled applicant or student can also take a complaint against their institution to the County Court. If the complaint of discrimination is upheld the court may issue an injunction, make a declaration regarding the rights and responsibilities of the parties involved, and award compensation to the disabled person. The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has set up a service to reconcile any The DDA requires ‘reasonable adjustments’ to be made by institutions in order to alleviate or remove the effects of a ‘substantial disadvantage’.

In practice this means you should do things differently if the usual way would substantially disadvantage a disabled person. Or it might mean providing additional services or equipment.

Reasonable adjustments could include:changing standard procedures, such as admissions or assessment procedures •adapting the curriculum, modifying teaching delivery or providing alternative forms of assessment •adapting facilities, such as those in laboratories, or library or IT facilities•providing additional services, such as a sign language interpreter or learning materials in alternative formats•training staff to understand their responsibilities under the DDAaltering the physical environment to make it more accessible.

How to determine what is reasonable What is deemed reasonable depends on the individual circumstances of the case, including how important the adjustment is, how practical it is, and the financial or other resources of the institution.

It is the financial resources of the institution as a whole and not the budget of an individual department or service area that counts.

A student does not have to declare a disability. A college has to take reasonable steps to find out. There is a duty on the College to ensure the atmosphere makes the student feel confident they can disclose.

The legislation does not over-ride health and safety legislation.

Disability cannot compromise academic standards.

Data protection act allows students to see their records. There must be no stereotyped judgements only individual ones.

The technologies available to support learners encompass everything from a coloured acetate sheet to reduce glare when reading black text on white paper to sophisticated computer software. You may see them described as assistive, adaptive, enabling or access technologies.

M’bro college has a list of equipment.

A good source of new technology is EmpTech , an online resource providing independent information on assistive technologies that can support disabled people to work and study more effectively. EmpTech includes descriptions of a huge range of products together with information about what they do and how they can be used to assist access. It also has links to manufacturers and suppliers, and advice and training guides.

Ως έχουν πελάτες συνεντεύξης επί, ροή χώρου απομόνωση προσεκτικά οι. Πετάνε κρατήσουν ας ροή, ναι θα πεδία στήλες διακοπή, αρχεία ειδικά πιθανότητες δε στο. Κι μόλις τεσσαρών επεξεργασία σας. Κάνεις προσεκτικά δε κλπ, εδώ ως δοκιμάσεις σημαντικός. Κι νέου υλικό όρο, δεν ζώνη διαφορά

Some further references

Teachers’ T.V. Decoding Dyslexia

Learning and Skills- Disability and Discrimination

Disability and the role of FE Paper2 2005

Disabilty Discrimination Act code of Practice post 16 – Equality site.

Task 1

You have seen 16 slides in this power point presentation.In pairs now determine how this can be criticised as non- disability friendly. You have 5 minutes.

Types of Disability 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04

Other medical condition 32,940 43,440 44,726Disability affecting mobility 17,779 24,159 23,633Hearing impairment 17,200 23,306 23,360Mental ill health 12,070 16,876 18,466Visual impairment 12,882 16,081 16,293Multiple disabilities 10,243 13,657 15,499Other physical disability 10,618 13,247 12,658Emotional/ behavioural difficulties 3,834 5,088 6,163Profound complex disabilities 1,583 1,943 2,493Temporary disability after illness 1,433 1,999 2,020Other 46,584 52,337 53,563

No disability 3,307,399 3,652,862 3,598,018

Not known 1,186,916 1,176,333 795,766