Some of Us

1
Some of Us
Some of us humans cannot walk, Some of us cannot
even talk, Some of us get picked on for having
red hair, Some of us spend our lives in a
wheelchair, Some of us dont care how other
people feel, Some of us feel pain that will never
heal, Some of us find it hard to breathe, Some of
us feel our life wed like to leave. Some of us
humans have to learn That the way we live, others
may yearn. Some of us humans have to see The way
that you should treat thee and ME!
2
Writing YourDisability Equality Scheme

• Sarah Herbert (Learning Needs Advisory Teacher)
• Cathie Routley (Teacher of the Hearing Impaired)

3
DDA definition of Disability

• A person is disabled if they have a mental or
  physical impairment which has a substantial and
  long-term adverse effect on their ability to
  carry out normal day to day activities.
• New inclusions

4
Who are your disabled stakeholders?

• About 7 of children may count as disabled
• About 6.76 children in primary and secondary
  schools are at school action plus or have a
  statement

5

• 24 of adults may count as disabled
• About 2.1 million disabled parents in the UK with
  children under 16.
• Nearly 4 of teachers declare a disability

6
Why does it matter?

• Talk video

7
?

• What would you see if a similar video was made
  to illustrate the difficulties that a disabled
  adult or child has in school?

8
Life Chances

• Disabled people are only half as likely as non
  disabled people to be qualified to degree level
  and are twice as likely as non disabled people to
  have no qualification at all. This pattern of
  inequality has not changed over time.

9
Employment

• Nearly half of the disabled population of working
  age in Britain are economically inactive.
  However, one third of inactive disabled people
  would like to work, compared with just under one
  quarter of non disabled people.
• The average gross hourly pay of a disabled person
  is 10 lower than that of the average
  non-disabled person.

10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
Why? Whats New?

• Requirement to be proactive in ensuring equal
  treatment.
• About cultural change in institutions, weaving
  disability equality into all aspects of the
  schools policies and practices.
• About a whole organisational approach that
  develops over time.

15
How Does it Fit?
16
The Six Requirements

• Promote equality of opportunity between disabled
  persons and other persons.
• Eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under
  the Act.
• Eliminate harassment of disabled persons that is
  related to their disabilities.
• Promote positive attitudes towards disabled
  persons.
• Encourage participation by disabled persons in
  public life and
• Take steps to take account of disabled persons
  disabilities, even where that involves treating
  disabled persons more favourably than other
  persons.

17
Activity

• Take planning tool 1 and in your groups fill in
  each square with possible actions that a school
  could take.

18
Activity

• Take planning tool 2 and give some of the actions
  you would like to take marks out of 4 for impact
  and do-ability.
• Then use the matrix (planning tool 3) to
  prioritise for your school.
• (those items that score high on do-ability and
  impact will obviously be your priorities)

19
The Stages

•  
• Involving Disabled People
• Mapping (audit)
• Setting the DES and action plan
• Assessing the impact of policies and activities
• Getting on with it
• Report and review

20
The first Disability Equality Scheme

• The DRC accept that your first scheme will be
  slightly different from subsequent schemes, as
  you will be setting up systems for consultation.
• Your first action plan is likely to grow as you
  undertake impact assessments and identify more
  action that is necessary.

21
Enforcement

•   Ultimately, legal action can be taken against
  schools if they fail to comply with the DED. The
  DRC, its successor, the Commission for Equality
  and Human Rights (CEHR), or any individual, who
  believes that a school is failing to meet its
  general duty can ask a court to judicially review
  the actions (or inactions) of an authority. The
  DRC and the CEHR can also take action against
  schools who have not met their specific duties by
  issuing a compliance notice which is enforced in
  the courts.

22

• How to Structure your Scheme

23
listen
write
do
24
First Step

• Form a working party
• Disabled people
• Senior School Leader
• SENCo
• Other staff member
• Governor
• Parent
• Pupil Voice

25
1.1

• Whole school statement regarding the vision and
  values of the school with ref to disability
  equality.
• Mentions staff, parents and pupils

26
1.2

• Statement about how disabled stakeholders have
  been and will be involved in the DES.

27
1.3

• Gathering Information
• on the effect of school policies on
• recruitment development and retention of disabled
  employees
• educational opportunities and achievements of
  disabled pupils

• How information will be used for reviewing
  the action plan and to inform subsequent schemes.

28
1.4

• Impact Assessment
• setting out the methods for assessing the impact
  of its current and proposed policies and
  practices on disability equality.

29
2

• The main priorities and actions set out under the
  six requirements as headings.

30
Remember The Six Requirements!

• Promote equality of opportunity between disabled
  persons and other persons.
• Eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under
  the Act.
• Eliminate harassment of disabled persons that is
  related to their disabilities.
• Promote positive attitudes towards disabled
  persons.
• Encourage participation by disabled persons in
  public life and
• Take steps to take account of disabled persons
  disabilities, even where that involves treating
  disabled persons more favourably than other
  persons.

31
3.1

• Implementation
• an action plan detailing
• lead responsibility
• resources
• performance criteria/expected outcomes
• clear timescales
• date and process for review

32
3.2

• Publication
• as for other policies in school, must be
  published and made available to anyone who asks
  for it. (consider accessibility!)

33
3.3

• Reporting
• report on progress annually
• report on effect of what has been done

34
3.4

• Reviewing and revising the scheme
• every three years
• scheme has already set out how information will
  be used to review action plan and inform
  subsequent schemes (1.3)
• must involved disabled people again (working
  party).

35
Video Activity

• Some examples of disability equality in action.
• What can you learn?

36
Key Factors for Effective Reasonable Adjustments
Exemplified in CPD DVDs
37
Challenges in school

• PE for pupils with a physical difficulty
• Lunch and break times for pupils with social and
  communication difficulties
• Ensuring access to after school clubs for all
  disabled pupils
• Bullying, peer relationships, lack of role
  models of disability.
• Encourage applications from disabled people

38
Harassment

• Immediate challenge to pupils using negative race
  or disability related or sexist language
• Peer mentoring
• More detailed reporting and follow up of
  incidents of bullying
• In 2002 DRC 38 of young disabled people said
  that they had been bullied at school
• National Autistic society 40 of children found
  to have been bullied (2006)

39
Promoting positive attitudes

• Respectful attitudes to disabled pupils, staff
  and parents
• Representation of disabled people in positions of
  responsibility in the schools
• Positive images of disability in school, books
  and other materials

40
Encouraging participation in public life

• Including governors and staff with a disability
• Enabling disabled pupils participating in the
  extended day provision of the school.
• Citizenship curriculum

41
More favourable treatment

• Providing additional coaching or training for
  disabled pupils staff or parents
• Special facilities for disabled pupils at breaks
  and lunchtimes
• Interviewing all disabled applicants who meet the
  minimum requirements for a job

42
Common Issues

• Access to out of school opportunities
• Insufficient reasonable adjustments for BSED and
  ASD leading to exclusion
• Consideration of disabled carers
• Fear of bullying

43
Success !

• Schools will know they are succeeding in making
  reasonable adjustments when disabled
  pupils/staff/parents etc are participating
• In the classroom
• In the curriculum
• At breaks lunchtime and beyond the school day
  and when..

44

• Disabled people feel part of the life of the
  school
• They are included in all parts of school life
• Staff feel confident working with disabled pupils

45
(No Transcript)
46
Plenary

• Look through your accessibility plan and consider
  how it might develop in order to meet the needs
  of the DES.
• Look at the DES checklist and consider what
  action you need to take in order to meet the
  requirements.

47
On your Disc

• Model DES
• Is Tom Disabled?
• Outline DES notes and Guidance
• My School, my family, my life Telling it like it
  is.
• Gathering Information Grid
• Planning Tools used today
• Learning Environment Checklist

48
Further Information

• More information available from
• www.drc.org.uk and
• www.teachernet.gov.uk