Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People

NIACE welcomes the opportunity to respond to this interim analytical report. NIACE supports moves that enable people with disabilities to participate fully in all aspects of society. We also strongly support the assertion in this report that government strategy must focus on breaking down the barriers that prevent disabled people from fully accessing services and opportunities, including education.

NIACE welcomes this report and in particular:

NIACE is disappointed that:

Presentation

The Strategy Unit may wish to reconsider the presentation of the report which is difficult to access. As a physical document the layout is clumsy, unwieldy and difficult to read. It does not lend itself to being adapted in size to make the font size accessible or adaptable for text readers (we are pleased to see that it is accessible in Braille format). There is a lack of coherence, it is difficult to follow consistent lines of thought or argument in the document, and this is compounded by unclear citations.

Definitions and perspectives of disability

Considering the breadth of consultation listed we are surprised that the introductory sections of the report reflect such a narrow definition of disability, one that largely restricts itself to a medical model, focussing on physical disability and learning difficulty with little reference to long term enduring and disabling health conditions or mental health conditions. In the section that identifies the causes of employment- related disability, there is nothing about mental health conditions brought about by stress, inequalities or harassment. In themselves the descriptions reveal a worryingly paternalistic and problem-based view of disability, despite claims later in the report that government departments and service providers should adopt a social model.

Barriers and solutions

Barriers identified by this report are rather clumsily defined and appear to ignore the wealth of literature that has been working on these for more than 20 years.

We also feel that there is an element of naivety about how barriers can be defeated by involving disabled people in policy and decision-making. Page 45 describes a “virtuous circle of benefits” which indicates that disabled people will become empowered and enabled, because disabled people are involved in decision-making processes. Feedback from those who do involve disabled learners in the decision making process indicate that the process is not that simple without other actions factored in, such as, learning the skills of decision making, and ensuring that there is feedback and accountability mechanisms in the decision making process. Citizenship for marginalised people is not changed overnight. Opportunities to develop the skills of advocacy require learning opportunities in adult life.

The role of education in improving the life chances of disabled people

The report focuses heavily on the educational processes for children and young adults. We hope that the continued investigation will explore the role of education for adults with disabilities. We would urge the investigation team to examine Professor John Tomlinson’s report on ‘Inclusive Learning’ (HMSO, 1996) and the work that has followed this landmark report, to counter the view held in this report, that policy “focus in education is on special education needs” (Page 16).

We are pleased to see that the report acknowledges that transport can pose an immense barrier for adults with disabilities. NIACE has been actively involved in consulting about how transport provision and funding can impact on learning for adults with disabilities.

NIACE is disappointed that this report reflects a narrow view of how the life changes of disabled people can be improved. To say that empowerment can be enhanced through ‘direct payments’ and ‘advocacy’ (Page 195) ignores we feel the important role that learning has. Evidence from both NIACE and the Wider Benefits of Learning Research Centre show that learning can benefit an individuals health, well-being and self-esteem leading to greater confidence and independence, as well as economic benefits both to the individual and the economy. That is not to say that NIACE disagrees with direct payments. These we believe are essential for individuals to purchase appropriate support in personal care, which often enable people with disabilities to have more access to learning opportunities. Equally we believe that advocacy is vital. As an organisation that actively seeks the views of adult learners including those with disabilities in order to advocate on their behalf for improved educational provision, NIACE would highly recommend it. However, we believe that adults in particular should have opportunities to learn and to practice self-advocacy, a skill that can be taught, and one that both requires and develops self-esteem and confidence.

Legislation

In terms of education, NIACE feels that the Disability Discrimination Act including Parts 3 and 4, have gone a long way to initiating the sort of changes in learning opportunities for learners with disabilities that the report wants to see. Learning and Skills Council funded work that is currently being undertaken by the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) with National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) and Skill (National Bureau for Students with Disabilities) as partners are developing both improved practice and strategies for improved inclusion into learning for adults with disabilities. We would urge the investigating team to review the ways in which the DDA is having an impact in education for adults in particular.

Conclusion

NIACE is pleased to see that the report advocates greater collaboration and partnership working between government departments and service providers. We hope that this collaboration will extend to seeking the advice and services of experienced voluntary sector, non-government organisations and expert disability groups.

NIACE would be pleased to offer advice and help to the team responsible for this report and look forward to a more comprehensive and accessible report in the final stages.

Further details

If you would like further details or information about this response please contact:

Dr Christine Nightingale
Development Officer - Learning and Health
NIACE
21 De Montfort Street
Leicester
LE1 7GE
christine.nightingale@niace.org.uk
0116 2047084

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