What can we learn from our 2006 Disability Equality Schemes and their Action Plans?

1. What can we learn from our 2006 Disability Equality Schemes and their Action Plans? Mark Pimm, Disability Service Manager, Birkbeck Deb Viney, Diversity Advisor, School of Oriental & African Studies [SOAS] Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

2. Introduction 1 • As speakers today our job is not to tell you how to write your DES+AP nor to tell you how to implement the action plan. Our job is to facilitate the delegates’ discussion of what their institutions could learn from their drafting and implementation of the 2006-2009 DES+AP. • We hope to provide a framework for discussion of the drafting & implementation processes, based on how that worked in our educational institutions, so that we can all learn from each other. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

3. Introduction 2 • We view the DES + AP as a modular activity and document. In this way a very large overall task can be broken down into smaller manageable chunks, for drafting and / or implementation, which may be delegated to responsible officers. • This management technique can also be helpful in monitoring and reporting progress on the Action Plan. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

4. Introduction 3 • The DES+AP has the potential to provide a vehicle for change for disability issues. • We are now moving towards the DES+AP being one of the vehicles for change for equality. It is essential that institutions accept that disability is different from the other protected characteristics in that it involves individuals’ support needs and hence has resource implications. • It is important that institutions consider incorporating the other diversity characteristics from the start of the development process, the inclusion of such characteristics must be integral, not as a “bolt on”. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

5. Objectives for this session • What was helpful in drafting the DES and its Action Plan? • What went less well in the drafting phase, what opportunities might there be to improve the drafting process in future? • What was helpful in implementing the Action Plan? • What went less well in the implementation phase, what opportunities might there be to improve the implementation process in future? Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

6. External resources which contributed to the drafting of the DES • The Disability Rights Commission’s guidance for post-compulsory education • Examples of DES + AP documents from other educational institutions • Collaborating with other educational instititions • A template based on the ECU’s 2006 guidance document Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

7. Internal contributions to the drafting of the DES + AP • Allocating time for the DES drafting process. • Allocating resources: DES working group, DES Project Manager, responsible officers. • Engagement of students (very important, especially early on) and staff, visitors & senior management. • Identify key stakeholders (who may become “responsible officers” in due course or who may be responsible for selecting those officers. • Obtain specialist advice and support for stakeholders who will be producing various sections of the DES + AP. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

8. Plan the DES project, its processes (drafting & implementation) and the associated structures • Establish a working group for the DES + AP • Appoint / identify a project manager • Assign clear roles to working group members • Identify the “responsible officers” who will be delegated to draft and eventually implement the various sections of the Action Plan • Agree a suitable timeline for the drafting and implementation of the DES + AP Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

9. Identify existing internal resources which can contribute to the DES + AP development • What baseline data is already available? e.g. Previous feedback from disabled students Previous feedback from disabled staff Statistics on numbers of disabled students Statistics on numbers of disabled staff Data providing comparisons with other institutions • What other expertise does your institution have? • Academics with an interest in disability / other equality issues • Specialist disability support staff Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

10. Engagement 1: early and on-going student involvement • Make use of existing student feedback (both content and mechanisms) • Consider an event specifically for disabled students about the DES+AP (e.g. Student Voices) • Consider other additional means of engaging with students • Plan how on-going student and involvement will work Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

11. Engagement 2: involving staff, especially disabled staff • Consider mechanisms for involvement of disabled staff to obtain their contributions e.g. forums, email, staff groups, Trade Unions • Consider mechanisms to involve ALL staff in the development of the DES + AP • Plan how on-going student and staff involvement will work Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

12. Engagement 3: involving senior management • Involve senior people in the DES working group • Consider identifying a “champion” at senior management level • Ensure that the governance process by which the DES + AP will be ratified has been agreed (e.g. which committees will review and approve it). • Brief the VC and the senior management team involving them in the process of drafting the DES+AP – especially decisions about the vision / purpose represented in the DES + AP. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

13. Engagement 4: involving middle managers Consider how to engage (especially in the vision / purpose of the DES+AP) middle managers from the two parts of the staff: Academics e.g. Heads of Department, professors, Heads of Centres Administrative or “Support” staff e.g. Heads of Professional Services Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

14. Engagement 5: visitors and other external stakeholders • Consider mechanisms for obtaining the views of visitors on disability issues. • Identify other external stakeholders and consider mechanisms for engagement. • Decide which external disability organisations your institution will work with and how this will proceed. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

15. Managing the implementation process for the DES + AP • Communicating and disseminating the DES+AP content - internally and externally. • Facilitating stakeholders / responsible officers to implement Action Plans & monitor institutional progress on those plans. • Modular implementation: each section led by a responsible officer. • Monitoring & reporting. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

16. Disseminating the content of the DES+AP • Internally Consider strategies for informing staff about the content of the DES+AP. For example: an article in the in-house magazine; all staff emails; links on the website; briefings for departments / services / teams; meet with staff groups. Consider strategies for informing students about the DES+AP. For example: articles in appropriate places such as the Students’ Union magazine; emails to all students; weblinks; making reference to the DES+AP in publicity materials as appropriate. • Externally Most institutions used a relatively passive method such as placing the DES+AP on a website. One could, for example, offer briefings to local feeder institutions or to local disability groups. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

17. Facilitating stakeholders / responsible officers The institution must support the responsible officers to implement Action Plans & monitor institutional progress on those plans. This might be done by providing (if necessary paying for) specialist advice; incorporating the DES+AP work into job descriptions and appraisal processes. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

18. Modular implementation 1: The Project Manager establishes a strategy for implementing the DES+AP including: • Establishing a variant of the (drafting phase) working group to include all those who are responsible officers and support them through the implementation phase. Meetings provide regular contact (keeping the work on the agenda) and peer support. • Creating a reporting structure for progress towards completing APs (frequency, format, responsibility). • Agree a process for reporting to the institutional committees. • Allow for revision of Action Plans in the context of current developments. • Each section led by a responsible officer. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

19. Modular implementation 2: • The Project Manager and working group (stakeholders) need to agree the frequency for reporting on monitoring (either termly or 6 monthly seem to be good intervals). • Each meeting allows each responsible officer a chance to review the progress on their section of the AP in the preceding 3-6 months, giving consideration of what was achieved, what targets need to be re-scheduled and what targets need to be revised. These reports should also be passed to the appropriate committees for review. • The stakeholders also look forward to the next 3-6 months, considering the organisational and planning requirements for the relevant action points in their section of the plan, especially any resource / funding / time implications for their section so that those resources can be allocated. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

20. Monitoring & reporting on the implementation of the DES Stakeholders need to agree the format of their shared reports and the process by which they will be collated and disseminated. One of the difficulties is that so far virtually all reporting is internal and there is little or no external scrutiny of the reporting / monitoring process (e.g. By HEFCE or the DRC or EHRC). Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

21. Successes in developing and implementing a DES+AP • The greatest achievements occurred where the responsible officers were committed to the DES+AP and they had the time and other resources to allow them to undertake the work. • The work was most effective where the APs were readily understandable & realistic (ideally SMART targets). • The additional legal requirement associated with the Disability Equality Duty, especially development and implementation the DES+AP, helped institutions to keep disability issues on the agenda for the three years from 2006-2009, this built upon the gains which resulted from the introduction of the SEN and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA, later known as DDA IV). • The DES+AP work provided a structure to the operational activities of the disability specialist staff. • The regular reporting on progress against the Action Plan targets provided increased opportunities to highlight the work of disability specialists within each institution. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

22. Opportunities for future improvement in developing and implementing a DES+AP For the responsible officers the main barriers were: • lack of resources (especially funding and time) and we noted that where work was clearly associated with funding this had a greater influence on the institution. • lack of commitment to the DES+AP. For the project managers: • the difficulties were mainly around finding sufficient time within a busy job to actually manage the DES+AP implementation. Pimm & VIney DES writing conf Sep 09

23. References • The Disability Rights Commission’s Code of practice for post-16 education was published in 2006. This is supposed to be available on the EHRC website, but I was unable to locate it there! • The Equality Challenge Unit’s [ECU] guidance document “Shaping your Disability Equality Scheme”. March 2006