Thursday 13 th October 2016 Disabled Students’ Allowances: Responding to Reform #dsa
Chair: Professor Alan Hurst F ormerly of the School of Education & Social Sciences, University of Central Lancashire
Georgina Watts Team Leader, Disabled Students’ Allowances, DfE
Responding to Reform Georgina Watts - Department for Education Manchester, 13 October 2016
5 Disabled Students’ Allowances based on need X based on individual intervention, rather than reducing barriers for all students X little focus on impact of various interventions (what actually makes the difference?) X requires student to demonstrate the impact of their disability, go for an assessment etc. X some bad practice X not clear it offers best value for taxpayers money
6 How can disabled students in Higher Education be better supported? Introduce a set of reforms to: Improve the current system Incentivise HE providers to move to a social model of support: inclusive practice
7 Supporting disabled students in Higher Education DSAs Reasonable adjustments Inclusive learning environment
8 Continued improvement to the current system • NMH Quality Assurance Framework • Conflict of Interest strengthened, will cover NMH too • Supplier sourcing
9 NMH Quality Assurance Framework Registration Qualifications Audit Cost bands
10 Incentivising the social model: reforms • Less specialist NMH responsibility of HEIs • Peripherals and consumables • Accommodation The Exceptional Case Process
11 Incentivising the social model: facilitating a sector- led response • Disabled Student Senior Leadership Group: benefits inclusive practice reasonable adjustments student voice
12 Future: continuous improvement of the DSAs system • Assurance • Review systems and processes • Greater engagement with disabled students
13 Future: expanding the bottom of the triangle • HEPs do review of needs first and adjustments they can make • Encourage HE providers to develop inclusive practice – Teaching Excellence Framework – HEFCE funding
14 Work with the sector
Tracey Eldridge-Hinmers Senior Associate, Veale Wasbrough VizardsDfE
Reasonable Adjustments Tracey Eldridge-Hinmers, Senior Associate www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
Why does getting it right matter? • Moral imperative • Disabled young people still less likely to go to university than their non-disabled peers • 42.1% of disabled young people aged 18 -24 not in employment education or training compared with 18.6% of their non-disabled peers (2012) • 71% of disabled graduates in employment compared with 42% of disabled non-graduates (2012) www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
Why does getting it right matter? In 2015, disabled graduates had lower employment rates, higher unemployment rates and higher inactivity rates, across both working age and young populations. The gap in both the employment rate and inactivity rate was narrower across the young population. However the unemployment rate disparity was wider for the young population, with the unemployment rate of young disabled graduates 2.8 percentage points higher than young graduates that are not disabled. www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
Employment Rates, Unemployment Rates and Inactivity Rates by Disability Status (2015) www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
Why does getting it right matter? • The public sector equality duty • Internal management time and legal fees dealing with complaints • Complaints to the OIA • Legal sanctions • County Court claims • Judicial review • Intervention by the EHRC • Brand and reputation www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
The definition of disability • A person has a disability for the purposes of the Act if he or she has a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substanial and long term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day to day activities • Substanial – more than minor or trivial • Long term - has lasted or is likely to last for at least 12 months or for the rest of the disabled person’s life • Normal day to day activities? www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
Who has obligations under the Equality Act? • Universities and higher education institutions in England and Wales • Obligations owed to EU and international students • Liability for acts of employees • Liability for acts of agents • • Governing Body is responsible for obligations under the Equality Act www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
The reasonable adjustments duty • Where a provision, criterion or practice puts disabled students at a substanial disadvantage compared with those who are not disabled, to take reasonable steps to avoid that disadvantage • Where a physical feature puts disabled students at a substanial disadvantage compared with people who are not disabled, to take reasonable steps to avoid that disadvantage or adopt a reasonable method of providing the service or excising the function • Where not providing an auxiliary aid or service puts disabled students at a substanial disadvantage compared with students who are not disabled, to take reasonable steps to provide that auxiliary aid /service • Does not apply to competence standards www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
Making reasonable adjustments • The duty to make reasonable adjustments is anticipatory • It requires universities to anticipate the needs of disabled students for reasonable adjustments • No need to anticipate every barrier • Confidential requests • What is reasonable? www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
Auxiliary aids and services An auxiliary aid includes an auxiliary service and is anything which provides additional support or assistance to a disabled student. Examples include: • a piece of equipment; • the provision of a sign language interpreter, lip-speaker or deaf-blind communicator; • extra staff assistance for disabled students; • an electronic or manual note-taking service; • induction loop; • video phones; • audio-visual fire alarms; • readers for students with visual impairments www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
Factors to consider • Would a step overcome the substanial disadvantage • Practicability of the adjustment • The type of education or other benefit, facility or service being provided • Financial and other costs of making the adjustment • The availability of grants, loans and other assistance • The extent to which aids and services will otherwise be provided • The resources of the education provider and availability of financial or other assistance • The effect of the disability on the individual • Health and safety requirements • The interests of other people, including other students www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
Non-medical help NMH refers to practical support provided to students that falls short of medical treatment. NMH is classified into four bands, 1 being the least significant and 4 the most www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
Band 1 • Practical support in your sessions, for example, art studio / laboratory assistance. • Accessing books in the library. • Orientation for students who may have visual impairment. • Text checking (proof reading assignments). www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
Band 2 • Note taking. • Exam reader / scribe. • Assistance with organising a student’s timetable and academic tasks. • Assistance with managing time to help meet deadlines. www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
Bands 3 & 4 Band 3 • Transcribing interviews for research assignments. Band 4 • Specialist tuition (e.g. for conditions such as dyslexia). • Mental health mentoring. www.vwv.co.uk | Offices in London, Watford, Bristol & Birmingham - Lawyers & Parliamentary Agents
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