Draft Disability Equality Scheme 2006-2007

DISABILITY EQUALITY DUTY (DED)

 Introduction

The Disability Discrimination Act, 1995 (DDA) introduced laws to end the discrimination facing many disabled people.

The Disability Discrimination Act (amended 2005), has introduced a new duty on disability equality that includes general and specific duties for Grant Aided Special schools, which includes the Craighalbert Centre.

In line with guidance, e.g. the Scottish Social Services Council’s Code of Practice and the Education (Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Act 2004, Craighalbert values and celebrates the diversity of all people.  As an organisation providing education and care to children and families, we take seriously our responsibility to dispel prejudice and to produce, within our community, a positive attitude to all people. 

The Board of Governors and Centre staff, believe all members of our community, and those who visit us, have the right to feel valued for who they are. Our commitment to this is shown in our values and the care we offer, in the curriculum and in our policies and procedures.

General Duties
In carrying out its functions, Craighalbert Centre will have due regard for the need to:

• Promote equality of opportunity between disabled persons and other persons;
• Eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under the Act;
• Eliminate harassment of disabled persons that is related to their disabilities;
• Promote positive attitudes towards disabled persons;
• Encourage participation by disabled persons in public life and in the work of the Centre;
• Take steps to take account of a disabled person’s disabilities even where that involves treating disabled persons more favourably than other persons.

Specific Duties
The specific duty regulations require Craighalbert Centre to produce and publish a Disability Equality Scheme (DES). This is the Centre’s first DES and it will be reviewed annually with an annual report published. This DES will run for three years until December 2009.

The DES will include a statement of:

• The way in which disabled people have been involved in the development of the scheme;
• Methods for impact assessment;
• An action plan that sets out the steps the Centre will take towards fulfilling its general duty;
• Arrangements for gathering information in relation to the delivery of education;
• Arrangements for putting the information gathered to use, in particular in reviewing the effectiveness of its action plan and in preparing the subsequent DES.

Accessibility Strategy
The Scottish Executive Education Department requires Craighalbert Centre to produce an Accessibility Strategy setting out targets for improvement across:

• The Curriculum,
• The Physical Environment
• Information/Communication.

The first Accessibility Strategy has been completed and evaluated.  Alterations to the building have taken place and a new wheelchair accessible minibus is being delivered.

Curriculum for Excellence (CfE)
A unified set of principles and purposes for the whole curriculum in Scotland has been created and will be implemented from August 2008. The CfE seeks to enable all young people in Scotland to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors. There are obvious connections between the DED and the CfE and staff felt the DES was a good opportunity to develop those links. The discussions with pupils, parents, carers and staff will focus on the four capacities described in CfE in relation to the DED.

Involvement of pupils, parents, carers and staff in the scheme

The pupils at the Centre are under the age of eight years and every effort will be made to get views from the children through informal discussions using AAC as required. Many of the children have an additional placement in a mainstream nursery or school and children and staff from those schools will be invited to be involved.

The children and young people who attend periodically and on Saturdays are involved in discussions with a member of staff, who is a qualified counsellor. A sibling group has just been formed providing another source of valuable information.

At an initial meeting with a group of parents and staff, it was agreed that the Centre has well developed policies and an ethos of equality of fairness.  The building is purpose built and some further improvements have been made over the years.  It is therefore felt, the group of parents and staff would want to look at the deeper meaning of DED. The Centre has had some encounters with parents, students and staff with disabilities and this has given valuable experience. Staff are very familiar with the Equality and Fairness Indicators, but the Centre acknowledges treating everyone alike will not overcome the disadvantage individuals with disabilities experience and there is a need for more favourable treatment to ensure equity of opportunity.

Impact Assessment
All Centre policies will be impact assessed in order to prioritise key policies. The assessment willconsider the potential/actual positive or negative impact of the policy and make recommendations for revision of the policy.

Disability Equality Duty Action Plan

The action plan sets out the steps towards meeting the general and specific duties of the DED.

In the first year it will concentrate on the CfE and the impact the four capacities will have on educational attainment and opportunities for pupils attending Craighalbert part or full time.

The second year of the plan will develop the views of parents and staff in more detail.  

The key priorities in the draft Action Plan are to:

• Establish a task group to develop the DES

• Impact assess Policies and Procedures

• Work collaboratively with pupils, their families and staff

• Create a rolling plan for implementation of DED

Disability Equality Scheme 2006-2007