May 4 th 2011 Supporting Disabled Students Assistant Director Disability Office
Jan 14, 2016
May 4th 2011
Supporting Disabled
Students
Assistant DirectorDisability Office
Disabled students
Disabled students by College 2010/11
Humanities and Social
Science
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Science and Engineering
Autistic Disorder 16 3 15
Specific Learning Difficulty 626 148 346
Blind / Partial Sight 40 3 14
Deaf / Partial Hearing 30 12 11
Wheelchair / Mobility 49 4 17
Personal Care Support 2 0 0
Mental Health 121 18 35
Unseen Disability 278 57 101
Multiple Disabilities 46 5 19
Other Disability 118 26 57
Total Disabled Students 1,326 276 615
No Disability 17,388 4,197 8,278
Total Students 18,714 4,473 8,893
Disability Office
2 Advisory teams – Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) and Disability
Advisors plus Student Support Assistants
SSAs include Study Skills Tutors, Mental Health Mentors, Note takers, Library Assistants, Proofreaders
What the Disability Office does
Pre-application visits Liaise over building adaptations Assess individual evidence and
requirements and create Learning Profiles
Advise on technology and equipment
Loan equipment Assist students to claim funding
What the Disability Office does
Source and match personal assistants
Dyslexia screening, referral for Ed Psych assessment, tutoring
Advise University on disability policy issues
Staff development/ training
Liaison with Schools
What the University does
Disability Policy Disability
Committee and 5 sub-groups
Disability Equality Scheme (soon to be a Single Equality Scheme)
Equality and Diversity functions
Equality Act 2010
Passed in April 2010 Effective from 1 October
2010 Now covers 9 “protected
characteristics” (equality strands)
Brings together existing legislation on disability (Disability Discrimination Act), race and gender
Harmonises and strengthens previous discrimination legislation.
Equality Act 2010
Equality Act 2010
Definition of Disability
A physical or mental impairment that has a
Substantial and long-term adverse effect on the
ability to carry out normal day to day activities.
“substantial” = more than minor or trivial “impairment” = long term medical
conditions
and fluctuating or progressive conditions.
Equality Act 2010
New protections include:
discrimination by association or perception
discrimination arising out of disability - replaces the DDA's "disability related discrimination“.
indirect discrimination.
Equality Act 2010
Draft Code of Practice: Further and Higher Education (consultation ended December 2010)
The Equality Act retains the objective justification test that a measure must be a “proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”
However, it is not discrimination to treat a disabled person more favourably than a person who is not disabled
The Public Sector Duty replaces the Disability Equality Duty from April 2011.
Liaison with Schools/Colleges
DO recent initiative = Key contact or contacts from DO allocated to
each School Liaison is about processes, procedures,
issues – not individual student adjustments Liaison – Vet School - Dr Geoff Pearson and
Lorna Hume; Disability Office - Melanie Scott, Jan Gardiner and Sheila Williams
Key areas for discussion:
Adjustments
Competence standards
Fitness to practice/Fitness to study (in relation to disability) - (Claire Phillips – has drafted a document relating to Students studying veterinary medicine with a disability for admissions webpage)
For Further Information
6-8 South College St
From 1st August 2011:
3rd Floor, Main Library
Tel: 650 6828
Visit our website:
www.ed.ac.uk/disability-office