How to transform your organisation through disability equality

[This interactive workshop will be relevant to] [Context] [Objectives] [Training Outcomes] [Principles underpinning the workshop] [Programme] [Application Form]

This interactive workshop will be relevant to:

Those with an interest in and commitment to disability equality for staff and learners in all areas of lifelong learning including:

• Strategic leaders and managers – principals, heads of service, chief executives, directors
• HR directors
• Premises and campus managers
• Equality and diversity managers and champions
• Disabled staff in consultation and involvement forums within their organisations
• Other staff throughout the lifelong learning sector.

The lifelong learning sector includes FE colleges, Sixth form colleges, Adult and community learning, Work-based learning, Museums, libraries and archives, Higher education institutions.

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Training Context

In March 2008, the Commission for Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning, initiated and supported by NIACE, launched its final and summary reports under the title ‘From
Compliance to Culture Change’ www.niace.org.uk/projects/commissionfordisabledstaff/Default.htm

The Commission had a number of keymessages:

• The vital need for proactive strategic leadership and management for disability equality
• The need to move from making 'reasonable adjustments' for disabled people to anticipating and preparing for their full inclusion
• Mandatory Disability Equality Schemes for learning organisations in the public sector (sometimes subsumed into Single Equality Schemes) being an excellent basis on which to achieve culture change
• Systemic failure in public policy to address the requirements of disabled staff to the extent that there is widespread institutional discrimination.
• Lack of progress in achieving disability equality for employees compared with disability equality for learners

Crucially, the Commission believed that implementing its recommendations not only benefits disabled staff but goes to the heart of ethical and effective organisational functioning: achieving disability equality will bring improvements for everyone. Achieving disability equality will bring improvements for everyone.

The Disability Equality Implementation Group (DEIG), a sector-led group with secretarial support from LLUK, the sector skills council responsible for the workforce in lifelong learning, has continued the commission’s work to oversee implementation of the recommendations. DEIG, at the link http://www.lluk.org/disability-equality-implementation-group%20.htm has published two guides for the sector about attracting disabled people to work in the lifelong learning sector and disability disclosure, accessible at these links: -

http://www.lluk.org/documents/attracting_disabled_to_employment_in_the_lifelong_learning_sector.pdf
http://www.lluk.org/documents/staff_disability_disclosure_in_the_lifelong_learning_sector.pdf

NIACE is represented on the DEIG and offers this training, consultancy and other expertise to support DEIG's vital agenda.

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Objectives

The workshop aims to:

• Introduce the work of the LLUK Disability Equality Implementation Group (DEIG), following on fromthe report of the Commission for Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning
• Establish the importance of disability equality as of benefit to disabled people but also to whole organisations
• Enable lifelong learning organisations to implement the relevant recommendations of the Commission
• Assist lifelong learning organisations in meeting their Disability Equality Duty
• Explore proactive ways of achieving disability equality
• Prepare lifelong learning organisations to have the confidence to make the disability equality commitment.

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Training Outcomes

By the end of the session, participants will have:

• Demonstrated understanding of the work of the LLUK Disability Equality Implementation Group and the Commission for Disabled Staff
• Undertaken activities to underpin understanding of the Commission’s recommendations
• Explored resources useful for delivering disability equality
• Discussed the recommendations and established the current position of their organisations in relation to them
• Undertaken action planning to achieve implementation of the recommendations and meet the requirements of the LLUK disability equality commitment
• Investigated proactive ways of identifying, recruiting, supporting and developing disabled employees
• Explored scenarios involving disabled employees and examined the legal position
• Resolved and clarified outstanding issues

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Principles underpinning the workshop

They will be:

• Based on inclusive and participative practices whilst taking into account individual participants’ needs andlearning preferences
• Accessible and flexible
• Conducted in a stimulating environment, taking into account, respecting and valuing the diverse experiences of participants - whose contributions will be assimilated constructively into the day.

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Programme

09:30 Arrival and registration (tea/coffee available)

10:00 Welcome and introduction to the day
Objectives for the day

10:10 Background to the LLUK Disability Equality Implementation Group (DEIG) and Commission for Disabled Staff

10:30 Saying and doing the right thing

• From medical to social model
• The language of disability and impairment
• From ‘reasonable adjustments’ to an ‘anticipatory’ approach
• Discussion and feedback

11:40 Resources for disability equality

12:00 The Commission’s 11 recommendations for lifelong learning organisations and how they can be adopted through the LLUK disability equality commitment

12:30 Lunch (with opportunities for further informal exploration of resources)

13:15 Exploring the recommendations and planning action

13:45 Scenarios involving disabled staff and the legal position:

• Which are most important and which are most problematic?
• Questions
• Points of information

14:30 Proactive ways of achieving disability equality

• effective disclosure
• using targets and benchmarking
• innovative projects and reaching out
• innovative ways of working
• physical/premises adjustments

15:15 Summary of the day – the transforming potential of disability equality

15:30 Evaluation and close (tea/coffee available)

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Application Form