About This Publication
This is the Final Report of the Commission for Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning. The Commission was established in March 2007 to investigate and report on current practices in the employment of disabled people in the lifelong learning sector and to make recommendations for improvement.
The report’s 160 pages set out the major challenges to achieving real inclusion for disabled staff. Citing and quoting a deeply impressive body of evidence, it finds no grounds for complacency: there is a clear problem about the under-representation of disabled staff in lifelong learning, and little evidence of organisations adopting a strategic approach to current and future disabled staff.
All this points to a systemic failure to address the issue seriously, leading to widespread institutional discrimination against disabled staff. The report explains authoritatively and in depth why this should be so and identifies the main issues that need to be addressed to change this situation. Every organisation involved in lifelong learning, and every individual with an interest in the needs of disabled staff, will find this report essential reading.
Find out more about The Commission for Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning
The report’s 160 pages set out the major challenges to achieving real inclusion for disabled staff. Citing and quoting a deeply impressive body of evidence, it finds no grounds for complacency: there is a clear problem about the under-representation of disabled staff in lifelong learning, and little evidence of organisations adopting a strategic approach to current and future disabled staff.
All this points to a systemic failure to address the issue seriously, leading to widespread institutional discrimination against disabled staff. The report explains authoritatively and in depth why this should be so and identifies the main issues that need to be addressed to change this situation. Every organisation involved in lifelong learning, and every individual with an interest in the needs of disabled staff, will find this report essential reading.
Find out more about The Commission for Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning
Contents
| Preface | |
| Acknowledgements | |
| Terminology used in the report | |
| List of abbreviations |
|
| Part 1: Summary and Context | |
| Section 1 | Executive summary - [PDF] Executive summary (plain English version) - [Word] |
| Section 2 | The context of the Commission’s work |
| Part 2: What we found out: the good, the bad and the inconsistent | |
| Section 3 | An introduction to the issues |
| Section 4 | Disclosure |
| Section 5 | Mental health |
| Section 6 | Recruitment and employment of disabled staff |
| Section 7 | Support for disabled staff at work and their capacity to work effectively |
| Section 8 | Learning and training opportunities |
| Section 9 | Access to Work |
| Section 10 | Workplace and workforce |
| Section 11 | Attitudes and disabled staff |
| Section 12 | Employment equity and working practices |
| Section 13 | Disability leave and associated issues |
| Section 14 | The ‘agency’ of disabled staff in promoting disability equality |
| Section 15 | Disabled staff as role models |
| Part 3: Conclusions, outcomes and recommendations | |
| Section 16 | Conclusions |
| Section 17 | Outcomes and recommendations |
| References and bibliography | |
| Appendix 1 | Remit of the Commission |
| Appendix 2 | Gathering the evidence – methodology |
| Appendix 3 | Members of the Commission for Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning |