Mike Adams National Disability Team

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• Mike Adams National Disability Team
• www.natdisteam.ac.uk
• Lawrie Phipps JISC TechDis Service
• www.techdis.ac.uk

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Introduction

• Who are we?
• The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act
  (SENDA) and The Disability Discrimination Act
• SENDA and your students

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Who are we?

• National Disability Team
• HEFCE funded Programme, 6m over 49 projects
• TechDis
• JISC funded service, Technology and Disability

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What is SENDA

• Special Educational Needs and Disability Act
• Is relevant to Higher and Further Education
  because it amends the DDA (Disability
  Discrimination Act) 1995
• September 2002
• The DDA now includes all aspects of an
  institutions work, from marketing and enrolment
  to examinations and assessment.

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What does the legislation say

• Two key phrases in the legislation
• ...not to treat disabled students less
  favourably, without justification, for a reason
  which relates to their disability and
• to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that
  people who are disabled are not put at a
  substantial disadvantage compared to people who
  are not disabled in accessing further, higher and
  Local Education Authority-secured education.

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Case Study 1Less favourable treatment

• A young woman who is deaf and also has a mobility
  difficulty attends a specialist residential
  college for deaf people. The college is
  organising an outing for the students one
  evening. The young woman has been told that she
  cannot go on the trip because it would not be
  suitable for her because of her additional
  disability. She has been treated less favourably
  in comparison with the other students because of
  her mobility difficulties. This is likely to be
  unlawful.

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Case Study 2Less favourable treatment

• A student who is a wheelchair user is treated
  rudely by a member of computing service.
• The staff member is rude to everybody that day
  his bad treatment of the disabled student is not
  related to the students disability. The disabled
  student has not been treated less favourably than
  other students.

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Case Study 3Reasonable adjustment

• A partially deaf student who lipreads is
  attending a Business Studies course. One of her
  lecturers continues to lecture while
  simultaneously writing on the whiteboard. The
  student asks him to stop speaking when he turns
  his back to use the whiteboard so that she can
  follow what he is saying. The student is likely
  to be at a substantial disadvantage if this
  adjustment is not made.

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Case Study 4Reasonable adjustment

• A student with restricted growth requests that
  all university student notice boards are lowered
  in height so that he can read the information
  more easily. He is, however, able to read the
  notices without significant difficulty or
  discomfort when the boards are placed at their
  regular height. The students disadvantage
  compared to that of other students is unlikely to
  be found substantial.

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Institutional Response

• Whole-institution approach to disability issues
• Transparency in policy and practice
• Development of Action plans

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Learning Lessons the experience of Australia

• Impact on teaching and learning
• - Admissions
• - Reasonable adjustments to the curriculum
• - Materials in alternative formats.

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Sources of Support

• Within your institution
• - Disability officer/advisor
• - Disabled students
• LTSN and individual subject centres
• National Disability Team
• - Funded projects
• Specialist organisations
• HEFCE Mapping exercise

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Conclusions

• Understand the critique
• - Reflect on practice
• - Pro-active response
• Framework for inclusive practice
• Develop partnerships