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

disability.office@ed.ac.uk

Visit our website:

www.ed.ac.uk/disability-office