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Involve and influence – Disabled staff seminars
The Commission for Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning
| Date | Location | Ref | Apply Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Jun 07 | Metropole Hotel, Temple Street, Llandrindod Wells, Powys LD1 5DY | C15-17/06/07 | |
| 12 Jun 07 | Novotel Sheffield, 50 Arundel Gate, Sheffield S1 2PR | C15-18/06/07 | |
| 25 Jun 07 |
King’s Fund, 11-13 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0AN |
C15-41/06/07 |
FULL |
| Fee: £35 (includes lunch, tea/coffee) | |||
Do disabled staff have equality at work in the Lifelong Learning sector, what are the challenges for employers, how do we recognise best practice?
These seminars will give disabled staff, human resource managers and senior managers an opportunity to review and discuss the evidence provided to the Commission for Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning so far. They are a major opportunity to provide evidence and have your say in shaping the recommendations, interim and the eventual final report and subsequent guidance from this commission. We will be exploring the major themes for the commission which are:
 | What are the barriers and success factors facing disabled people who wish to access professional training, continuing professional development and leadership and management training, to work in lifelong learning? |
| To what extent does current legislation and policy impact on the recruitment, training, career development and deployment of disabled people? |
| What is the current practice on recruitment, retention, training, career development and deployment of disabled people into teaching and learner support roles? |
| To what extent do disabled teaching and learner support staff impact on the quality of teaching and learning, and learner experience in the post compulsory education sector? |
| How do employee organisations plan for and manage issues of disability within their workforce? |
Priority places will be given to disabled staff working in lifelong learning, human resource managers and senior employing managers, and senior staff with responsibility for Involve and influence providing initial teacher training, continuing professional development and other related courses for staff in lifelong learning.
The Commission for Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning
The Commission aims to investigate and report on the experiences of disabled staff in the lifelong learning sector. It will report its findings to the public, the government, training providers, unions and lifelong learning employers and staff.
Who are disabled staff?
By disabled staff, we are using a broad definition to include physical, sensory and cognitive impairments, mental health difficulties, long-term health conditions, learning disabilities and neurodiversity, learning differences or difficulties such as dyslexia or dyspraxia. This will include that defined by the Disability Discrimination Act, but also include wider social interpretations of disability. We recognise that the definitions and categories we have used are limited and some people may have difficulty identifying with them. However, we hope that you will understand that our intention is to be as inclusive as possible. We strongly take the view that it is not an individual’s condition or impairment which causes any ‘problems’, but rather the ways in which society creates barriers and fails to make allowances and adjustments, excluding them from work and social life.
Background
In policy terms, disabled staff appear to be largely invisible in the lifelong learning sectors. There is a belief that they are under-represented in teaching but there is little clear statistical data on this. While some data does exist about the numbers of staff who have disclosed a disability, the validity of this data is questionable. The public sector Disability Equality Duty applies to both staff and learners and so any solution to questions about disabled teachers and other staff is now part of a legal requirement. NIACE recognises that teachers and other staff with disabilities have not had as much attention as, for example, black staff. This commission is an attempt to put this right.
It is estimated that 20% of the workforce have a disability. However, trade union records and data from higher and further education institutions find that only about per cent of people working in the Lifelong Learning Sector have declared a disability. Similarly, the Sector Skills Council Lifelong Learning UK estimates that only 2.3% of staff working in the FE sector in England have voluntarily disclosed a disability.
Without good data and information, it is impossible to know the extent to which disabled people are trained, recruited, retained and promoted within the Lifelong Learning sector. It is believed that many disabled people leave the sector due to their disabilities. This may be avoidable. Without disabled teaching and learning staff strongly visible in the work force we risk,
| discriminatory practices |
| lost opportunities for role models |
| wasting valuable teaching and other professional talent, and |
| sending the wrong messages to learners, employers and communities. |
It is difficult to promote positive encouragement for disabled people to enter the sector, or adequately to encourage and support disabled staff in the existing workforce to maximise their opportunities for career progression. Disclosure and recognition of disabled staff is important, particularly in the Lifelong Learning Sector where staff have the potential to influence the experiences and attitudes of a wide range of adults. In order to develop good practice in employing and retaining disabled staff, it is essential to understand how the sectors are currently managing the disabled workforce.
What are the issues for disabled staff?
Firstly, we believe that there are many disabled staff who are fully integrated into the workforce, receiving the right support to be able to stay in their jobs and have appropriate career development opportunities. There are however many challenging issues faced by disabled staff, their colleagues and employees. Evidence from the literature and anecdotal reports show that:
| disabled people are bullied and harassed in the work place. This includes being forced to take disability-related leave as annual leave; being made to undertake tasks which are difficult because of their disability but not essential to their role; and that they not supported by employers when necessary |
| there has been a loss of skilled and qualified people from the workforce, including those with specialist skills in scarce subjects. This loss may be through ill-health retirement, reduction of hours, reduced pay or downgraded work |
| skilled and qualified people leave the workforce, become economically disadvantaged and enter the welfare benefits system |
| disabled staff are largely invisible in senior positions in the lifelong learning system. There is clearly some inequity here, just as there is in relation to black staff |
| there are too few education staff to act as role models for disabled people to aspire to. |
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Programme
| 09:30 | Arrival and registration (Tea/coffee available) | ||||||||||
| 10:00 | Welcome and introduction from
the chair Leisha Fullick – Chair of the Commission for Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning |
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| 10:15 | Keynote address (Speaker invited) |
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| 10:55 | The work of the Commission for
Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning – Remit and Evidence Dr. Christine Nightingale, Development Officer – Inclusive Learning, NIACE |
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| 11:30 | Coffee break | ||||||||||
| 11:45 | Involve and influence Discussions on the Commission’s major questions
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| 12:45 | Lunch | ||||||||||
| 13:30 | Involve and influence Proposing recommendations for policy and practice |
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| 14:30 | Employment issues in the
Disability Equality Schemes Kathleen Jameson, Disability Rights Commission |
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| 15:10 | Summary and concluding remarks from the chair | ||||||||||
| 15:30 | Close of Seminar (Tea/coffee available) |
This programme is correct at the time of going to press. The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the published programme in the event of one or more of the advertised speakers being unable to attend. Delegates will have no claim against NIACE in respect of such changes.
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Also in June 2007...
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