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Disability Equality Scheme

December 2006

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

DISABILITY EQUALITY SCHEME

CONTENTS PAGE

1. FOREWORD FROM VC 4

2. INTRODUCTION 5

3. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK – THE DDA 6

4. SOCIAL MODEL OF DISABILITY 7

5. STRUCTURES SUPPORTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY (DISABILITY) 8

6. OVERVIEW OF DISABILITY AT UNIVERSITY OF EXETER 11

7. TIMETABLE FOR DES 14

8. DES QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ALL STAFF / STUDENTS 15 a) Copy of letter to all staff b) Copy of disability questionnaire for staff c) Copy of disability questionnaire for students d) Analysis of results from student questionnaire e) Written responses to student disability questionnaire f) Analysis of results from staff questionnaire g) Written responses to staff disability questionnaire h) Non-disabled staff responses

9. LETTER FROM DISABLED MEMBER OF STAFF 54

10.SUMMARY OF DES STAFF FOCUS GROUP MEETING 55

11.SUMMARY OF DES STUDENT FOCUS GROUP MEETING 57

12.GENERAL COMMENTS FROM DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE 59

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APPENDICES

A. DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT 2005/06

B. DISABILITY POLICY STATEMENT

C. EQUALITY & DIVERSITY ANNUAL REPORT 2005/06

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1. Foreword from Vice Chancellor, Steve Smith

The University of Exeter believes that the diversity of its community is an essential part of its values and enriches employment, research, studying and learning experiences."

We are committed to supporting students and staff to work and study in an environment that is free from unlawful discrimination and promotes equality of opportunity, the elimination of harassment and unlawful discrimination.

Through the Disability Equality Scheme we are working to create a culture and environment in which people feel free to disclose a disability, should they wish to do so, and ensures disabled students and staff achieve full participation in the University’s activities.

Some changes are swift to happen, others may take time to evolve. I have long experience of and commitment to equal opportunities, and I can assure you that they are one of my priorities as the Vice-Chancellor.

Steve Smith Vice-Chancellor

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2. INTRODUCTION

This DES has been written from a perspective that supports a social rather than medical model of disability. We recognise the considerable barriers that disabled people still face in society, the prejudice and the impact and processes of discrimination. In the past the education system generally and HEIs in particular have failed disabled people, and it is evident that we must be open to challenge ourselves and to change if we are to effectively support disabled staff and students.

This scheme is very much a starting off point in terms of recognising the scale of the changes that must take place here at Exeter University, and the steps we must take in order to implement those changes. It is essential that we establish a clear strategy around regularly involving our disabled staff and students.

From December 2006 we all have a responsibility to create an inclusive and affirming environment for all disabled members of the University community. We also acknowledge that equality and diversity means more than the promotion of disability equality and therefore would wish to also promote equality in terms of race, gender, age, religion and belief, sexual orientation and social class.

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3. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK

THE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT 2005

General Duty

Promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people

Eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under the DDA Eliminate harassment of disabled people that is related to their

disabilities Promote positive attitudes towards disabled people Encourage participation of disabled people in public life Take steps to take account of disable peoples’ disabilities, even where

that involves treating disabled people more favourably than others We are required to produce a Disability Equality Scheme by December

2006 The scheme must involve disabled people in its development. We must report annually on the progress of the Scheme We must be proactive in promoting equality for disabled people and

undertake a root and branch overhaul of our policy making procedures in a much more open manner.

Specific Duties

To assess the impact of our policies and practices on the ‘educational opportunities’ and the achievements of disabled students’. This will include aspects across the breadth of activities made available at Exeter.

To undertake specific information gathering on the effect of our policies and practices on the recruitment, development and retention of disabled members of staff.

4. THE SOCIAL MODEL OF DISABILITY

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We subscribe to the social model of disability as it is described by the Disability Rights Commission:

‘The poverty, disadvantage and social exclusion experienced by many disabled people is not the inevitable result of their impairments or medical conditions, but rather stems from attitudinal or environmental barriers’.(The Duty to Promote Disability Equality: Statutory Code of Practice, England and Wales. DRC 2005)

The medical or deficit model of disability claims that the individual is at fault, their functional limitations (impairments) are the root cause of any disadvantages experienced and that these disadvantages can only be overcome by that individual making adjustments in order to be part of society and the community.

The social model of disability has been key to dismantling this traditional concept of impairment as ‘personal tragedy’ or individual failure and the oppression that this creates. In contrast the focus is shifted from impairment to disability, using this term to refer to disabling social, environmental and attitudinal barriers rather than lack of ability. Thus, while impairment is the functional limitation(s) which affects a person’s body, disability is the loss or limitation of opportunities resulting from direct or indirect discrimination. Social change – the removal of disabling barriers – is the solution to the disadvantages disabled people face.

Using the social model it is clearly our shared responsibility to recognize that sometimes it is our inadequate or inappropriate response that creates barriers. We must therefore be proactive in challenging ‘traditional’ ways of doing things and anticipate the sorts of adjustments or changes we need to make.

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5. STRUCTURES SUPPORTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY (DISABILITY)

The University has over a number of years built up a series of structures, clearly defined roles and different support mechanisms which work together to drive forward the Equality and Diversity Agenda.

This is not to suggest that all the changes necessary within the University have already been achieved, but it is important to recognise the work already undertaken and the benefits of having in place visible and accessible resources, structures and individuals whose common gaol is to ensure that Equality and Diversity lies at the heart of everything that we do.

The Disability Resource Centre

Since its official opening in 2002, the DRC (see Annual Report in Appendix) has continued to go from strength to strength and is still experiencing a growth in the number of students it supports, over 600 during 2005 – 2006. Support has been available across the range of disabilities although there are serious problems regarding the allocation of space resources and as such the DRC are currently unable to develop their services further.

In 2005 the DRC won the prestigious THES award for Exceptional Support given to disabled students (see appendix).

The DRC started operating as an Access Centre in 2003 and has assessed about 300 students each year. In January Exeter Access Centre was visited by QAG auditors and the audit report stated al criteria fully met and is therefore an accredited Access Centre.

The Equality and Diversity Committee

The E and D Committee continues to be chaired personally by the Vice Chancellor, demonstrating the commitment to Equality and Diversity from the Senior Management of the University. The group covers all aspects of E and D including race, gender and disability, sexual orientation, age and religion and belief. Formally established in May 2002 the group meets termly.

The Committee’s main focus has been on the development of the annual E and D Action Plan. Membership has recently been reviewed and broadened to include E and D Coordinators and therefore ensuring representation across the University.

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The Disability Equality Group

The DEG is a sub – group of the E and D Committee established in response to the acknowledgement that although the Disability Resource Centre provided an excellent one – stop shop for staff and students there was no cohesive body to drive through University – wide initiatives relating to disability. DEG is chaired by Deputy Vice Chancellor Janice Kay, PROFESSOR Janice Kay and members are also recruited from nominations and interested volunteers across the University.

The group are charged with monitoring the progress of the University’s DES. There has also been a focus on the development of the University’s Disability Policy Statement (see appendix) and the development of an on – line Disability Awareness package for all staff. The group has also initiated discussions with key individuals regarding accessibility to university buildings and commenced work towards achieving the Positive About Disability status and Mindful Employer status.

The Race Equality Group

The REG is also a sub – group of the E and D Committee. It was established in 2002 and has been responsible for driving the Race Equality Policy and corresponding Action Plan. REG is chaired by Deputy Vice Chancellor Mark Overton and members were recruited from nominations and interested volunteers across the University.

The group meets termly and key areas of progress have been re -establishing links with Devon Racial Equality Council and working more closely with different community groups. For the first time in 2006 the University celebrated Black History Month and in October the VC met BME members of staff.

Mental Health Focus Group

MHFG meets just before DEG and E and D Committee so that any decision can be fed into the appropriate channels. In 2006 the group has been revising the University’s Fitness to Study Policy (see Appendix). This policy has been used effectively in 200- 2006 as an alternative to disciplinary procedures for students who are experiencing difficulties.

New working groups recently established

In 2005 – 2006 several new and more informal working groups have been established.

Religion and Belief Working Party – reporting to REG LGBT Group reporting to E and D Committee Age discrimination (students) reporting to E and D Committee Age discrimination (staff)

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Flexible Working Group ( particularly significant for disabled members of staff) reporting to E and D Committee

Disability Representatives

Since 2003 all Schools and Services have had at least one member of staff who is charged with supporting disables staff /students, and ensures all Schools and Services are aware of their responsibilities around disability. See JD In Appendix

Equality and Diversity Co-ordinators

Work closely with the Disability Reps. The role came about in 2005 following a review of those Structures that support E and D across the University. E and D Co-ordinators (originally ‘champions’) were appointed in all the Professional Services and all of the Academic Schools and are responsible for ensuring their School or Service produces an annual Action Plan. They participated in several training sessions earlier in the year about the DES and were asked to prioritise those policies and procedures within their Schools or Services which would potentially have a significantly detrimental effect on disabled staff / students. This feedback was used in the follow up focus groups with disabled staff and students organised in November 2006.

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6. OVERVIEW OF DISABILITY AT UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

CONTEXT

Nationally According to the British Labour Force Survey, there are 6.8 million

people of working age in Britain who have a disability, which represents 20% of the working population. In England there are 5.7 million disabled people of working age (DRC)

Of the 270,000 people employed in the HE sector in 2003 – 2004, 2.3% have a declared disability.

In 2..3 – 2004, 4.8% of all students declared a disability (which equates to nearly 400,000 students out of a total first year cohort of 845,000)

Of these disabled students, 40% have dyslexia and a further 20% have an unseen disability.

Disabled Student Numbers

Year of entry Total number disabled applicants

1994 18,4211995 15,9971996 17,8641997 19,2321998 19,1201999 15,4872000 16,2602001 20,0752002 20,4942003 21,3872004 22,068

At University of ExeterOver the same period the number of disabled students at the University has also increased. In 2005 - 2006 over 500 disabled students were supported in some way by the Disability Resource Centre (see section Disability Resource Centre Annual Report 2005 - 2006).

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Disability Number disclosed Number supportedDyslexia 534 442Blind/VI 19 5Deaf/HI 49 12Wheelchair/mobility 53 9Personal care - -Mental health 54 15Unseen 122 34Multiple 48 19Other 117 35Not known - -Aspergers 8 5

We have seen an increase in students who present complex profiles. A significant proportion presents with multiple disabilities and access a range of services. We have also seen a small increase in the number of students for whom English is not their first language.

The proportion of students in receipt of Disabled Student allowance in2004 – 2005 was 5.6% of the total student population. This is in the important upper quartile for HEFCE Disabled Student Premium funding. It is expected that for the year 2005 – 2006 the proportion will increase slightly and remain within the same region for HEFCE funding.

The Disability Resource Centre monitor and update student data. DRC data represents those students who have come forward for support responding to information from the DRC. Some students have a disability and are in receipt of DSA but are studying independently without DRC support. The figures also include students who have a disability but are not in receipt of DSA, either because they choose not to at the time of needing support or because they are not eligible for funding, such as International students. Some students with particular disabilities have been unwilling for their particular disability to be recorded and these are not included. With a revised system of disclosure and recording for 2006 – 2007, it is hoped that the data will reflect the actual support delivered. The 2005 – 2006 student profile is as follows:

School Key

School of Biosciences (BIO)School of Business and Economics (SBE)School of Education and Lifelong Learning (SELL)School of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics (SECAM)School of English (EGL)School of Geography, Archaeology and Earth Resources (SOGAR)School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HUSS)School of Law (LAW)School of Modern Languages (SML)Peninsula Medical School (PMS)

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School of Performance Art (SPA)School of Physics (PHY)School of Psychology (PSY)School of Sport and Health Sciences (SHS)

School 1st year 2nd year

3rd year 4th year

PG/PGCETotal % per school

BIO 6 18 16 - - 40 8.5SBE 17 23 26 - - 67 4.7SELL 2 4 6 - -/16 28 1.7SECAM 26 19 35 2 - 82 7.8ELG 10 18 9 - 6 43 5.7SOGAER 30 25 26 - 5 76 10.7HUSS 31 31 50 1 5 118 6.3LAW 9 6 8 I 9 33 4.5SML 8 5 16 6 1 36 3.6PMS 4 9 18 - - - -SPA 7 14 16 - 4 31 7.5PHY 15 17 13 1 - 46 11.3PSY 15 10 12 - 3 40 7.5SHS 8 10 4 - - 22 4.9Combined/Modular

2 5 4 - - - -

Unknown 2 - - - 5 - -Total 192 204 259 11 39 705 5.8

DisabilityCode

1st

year2nd

year3rd

year4th

yearPGCE PG Total %

1 131 126 164 7 11 18 457 63.12 2 3 - - - - 5 0.73 5 4 4 - 2 - 15 2.14 2 7 4 - - - 15 2.55 15 17 20 1 - 5 18 2.56 9 18 17 1 - 6 59 8.27 5 11 11 - - 2 47 6.58 11 5 21 1 - 4 34 4.79 2 4 1 - 2 4 44 6.1T 9 9 17 - - - 7 0.9EP notdiagnosed

9 9 17 1 1 - 371 5.1

Unknown 1 - - - - - 0.1

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7. TIMETABLE FOR DRAWING UP DISABILITY EQUALITY SCHEME

Date ActionJanuary 2006 KD takes up post of E and D Manager with

responsibility for DESFebruary /March KD and DP attend series of training events and

conferences organised by various agencies, eg ECU, DRC which focus on process of producing DES

Initial plans made for delivery of DES with involvement of DRC

Agenda item in DEG meeting Training session for E and D Coordinators

which focuses on disability issues and requirements of DES

April/May Discussions with E and D Coordinators about identifying Policies/procedures/practices which might disproportionately disadvantage disabled staff and students – priorities identified

Draw up plan for consultation process Review process in DEG

June Write questionnaire for all staff and students on disability issues

Send questionnaire out to consultationJuly Send out questionnaire – all staff who have

access to computer receive message which invites them to complete questionnaire and then download it and return paper copy, ie we were unable to send out electronically

Also sent paper copies through internal post to those staff who do not have access to computer

August / September Start to plan/prepare contents of DESOctober Send out questionnaire to students

DEG - identify priorities Attend consultation for HEFCE DES

November Analysis of questionnaires Focus group for disabled staff Focus group for disabled students Students all receive email inviting to join

ongoing support/consultation group for disabled students

Verification exercise – All staff asked to check personal details, including on disability. They are also invited to join staff consultation group

December Complete DES Launch policy with Deaf culture presentation

and disabled student sharing experiences8. DISABILITY EQUALITY SCHEME QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ALL

STAFF/STUDENTS

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a) Copy of letter to all staff

In April 2005 new legislation on disability came into force. Its aim is to ensure that universities and other public sector bodies actively promote equality and eliminate unlawful discrimination. The new duty makes a significant shift in equality law and will require institutions to develop a proactive and positive approach to disability equality in all of their relevant functions and activities.

Under the new duty the University is required to produce a Disability Equality Scheme (DES). The DES will reflect on all Exeter policies, procedures and practices which impact on disabled people; this includes staff, students, visitors and members of the wider community and will set about eliminating any potential barriers. The involvement of staff and students in drawing up this scheme is vital whether or not you have a disability we encourage you to make your views known.

This questionnaire is just one of a range of consultation exercises that will inform the University’s Disability Equality Scheme. It should take just a few minutes to complete. If you have any queries please contact our Equality and Diversity Manager:

Kate DevlinRoom 219Northcote HouseThe Queens DriveExeterUK EX4 4QJ

e-mail: [email protected]: 01392 262037

Please also contact Kate if you require the questionnaire in any other format.

ConfidentialityThe views you provide in this questionnaire will be kept entirely confidential. Responses will only be used in an anonymous way to inform the Disability Equality Scheme. However if you would like to include your personal contact details there is a space for you to do so at the end of the questionnaire.

Thank you for your time and valuable contribution to theDES

b) Copy of disability questionnaire for staff

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mailto:[email protected]

Disability Equality Questionnaire - Staff

A. Disability Status - Disclosure

1. A disabled person is defined in the Disability Discrimination Act as someone with a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term impact on their ability to carry out day-to-day activities.

Having read this do you consider yourself to be covered by the definition?

Yes No (go to Q9)

2. If you answered ‘yes’ to Q1, and would like to, please indicate (using the boxes below) the nature of your disability (tick as many as are applicable)

Dyslexia / Learning disability Mobility difficulties Unseen disability (e.g.

diabetes, epilepsy, asthma)

Blind / Partially sighted Personal care Multiple disabilities

Deaf / Hearing impairment Mental Health Difficulty Autistic Spectrum Disorder (incl. Asperger’s Syndrome)

Other (please state)

3. Did you declare a disability when applying for your current job?

Yes (go to Q7) No (go to Q4) Don’t Know (go to Q8)

4. If you answered ‘No’, what were your reasons for not disclosing?

I did not have a disability at the time

I feel this information is private and not work-related

I do not remember being given the opportunity

I did not consider it to be relevant to my role

I was unaware of the benefits of doing so

I was concerned I might be discriminated against

Another reason, please specify:

5. Have you disclosed your disability to the University since?

Yes No (go to Q9)

6. To whom did you disclose?

My line manager Personnel Manager / OfficerA colleague Occupational HealthHead of School/Service Other, please state:Equality & Diversity Manager

7. How would you rate the level of response you received upon disclosure?

Poor Average Good Excellent

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Please give details:

8. Have you any suggestions to make it easier for staff to disclose a disability?

B. Your Experience

9. How important do you feel the following are to the participation of disabled staff at the University of Exeter? (Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 = not at all important and 5 = very important)

Not at all important Very important

1 2 3 4 5Application process

Training and developmentWorking practices (eg flexible

working)Physical environmentAssistive technology

Policies and proceduresCommunication / information

sharingAnnual review process (PDR)

Information technologyAccess to advice and support

Staff facilitiesWorkstation

Other (please give details below)

10. How far do you feel the following support the needs of disabled staff?

Very unsupportive Unsupportive

Neither supportive or unsupportive

Supportive Very supportive

1 2 3 4 5University policies and procedures

Heads of Schools / ServicesPersonnel Managers / Officers

Equality & Diversity ManagerLine managers

Disability RepresentativesWork colleagues

Other staff

11. How satisfied are you that the following support the needs of disabled staff?

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(Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 = not at all satisfied and 5 = very satisfied)

Not at all satisfied Very satisfied

1 2 3 4 5Application process

Training and developmentWorking practices (eg flexible

working)Physical environmentAssistive technology

Policies and proceduresCommunication / information

sharingAnnual review process (PDR)

Information technologyAccess to advice and support

Staff facilities Workstation

Other (please give details below)

12. If you have indicated that you are dissatisfied with any of the above or feel that they are a barrier to the participation of disabled staff please give details of how and why…

13. If you have indicated that you are very satisfied with any of the above or feel they are of benefit to the participation of disabled staff please give details of how and why…

14. If you have a disability what do you feel has been the biggest barrier to your experience of the University of Exeter, and why?

15. If you have a disability what do you feel has been the most positive aspect of working at the University of Exeter, and why?

16. How far do you feel the following impact on the participation of disabled members of the local community who wish to use the facilities at the University of Exeter?

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Serious barrier

Limited barrier No impact Some benefit Significant

benefit1 2 3 4 5

Policies and practices designed to support community involvement

Awareness of the University within the local community

Access to facilities and events at the University

C. Disability Equality Scheme

17. In order to ensure that the University Disability Equality scheme meets the needs of disabled staff, students and other members of the University of Exeter community, what do you feel are the key areas of University activity that the scheme needs to focus on? (tick any that apply)

Academic areas (inc. learning and teaching)

IT Support

Research strategy Services for disabled staffCommunications & Marketing Services for disabled students

Staff development and training Monitoring and impact assessmentPhysical environment Consultation with disabled staff and

studentsEmployment policies and Personnel

adviceRelations with local and regional

communityOther (please give details below)

Which do you feel is the single most important area?

18. Has this questionnaire missed any important issues or topics with regards to the experience and participation of disabled staff, students and other members of the University of Exeter community? If so what are they?

D. About You

Are you… Male Female

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Academic Support staff

Thank you for your time and valuable contribution to the DES.

Information from this questionnaire will be used anonymously. However, we would like to follow up this questionnaire with further consultation activities. If you would be willing to participate in such activities (e.g. further questionnaires or focus group) please provide your contact details below:

Name e-mail address

School/Service Telephone number

Alternatively, please contact Kate Devlin, Equality & Diversity Manager, Room 100A Northcote House, Streatham Campus (e-mail: [email protected] / telephone: 01395 262037)

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c) Copy of disability questionnaire for students

Disability Equality Questionnaire - Students

A. Disability Status - Disclosure

1. A disabled person is defined in the Disability Discrimination Act as someone with a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term impact on their ability to carry out day-to-day activities.

Having read this do you consider yourself to be covered by the definition?

Yes No (go to Q9)

2. If you answered ‘yes’ to Q1, and would like to, please indicate (using the boxes below) the nature of your disability (tick as many as are applicable)

Dyslexia / Learning disability Mobility difficulties Unseen disability (e.g.

diabetes, epilepsy, asthma)

Blind / Partially sighted Personal care Multiple disabilities

Deaf / Hearing impairment Mental Health Difficulty Autistic Spectrum Disorder (incl. Asperger’s Syndrome)

Other (please state)

3. Did you declare a disability when applying to the University of Exeter?

Yes (go to Q7) No (go to Q4) Don’t Know (go to Q8)

4. If you answered ‘No’, what were your reasons for not disclosing?


I feel this information is private and not study-related

I do not remember being given the opportunity

I did not consider it to be relevant to my studies



Another reason, please specify:

5. Have you disclosed your disability to the University since?

Yes No (go to Q9)

6. To whom did you disclose?

Disability Resource Centre Personal / Other TutorDisability Representative within School

Equality & Diversity Manager

Head of School Other, please state:

7. How would you rate the level of response you received upon disclosure?

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Poor Average Good Excellent

Please give details:

8. Have you any suggestions to make it easier for students to disclose a disability?

B. Your Experience

9. How far do you feel the following impact on the participation of disabled students at the University of Exeter?

Serious barrier

Limited barrier No impact Some

benefitSignificant

benefit1 2 3 4 5

Application processRegistration and Welcome

WeekLearning and teaching

CurriculumAssessmentGroup work

Teaching environment (e.g. lecture theatres / practical

experiments)Field trips / Placements

Computing / LibraryAccommodation

Social environment (e.g. Eateries / Bars / Chapel)

Social events / clubsSports facilities

The Students GuildDisability Resource CentreOther (please give details

below)

10. If you have indicated that any of the above are a barrier to the participation of disabled students please give details of how and why…

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11. If you have indicated that any of the above are of benefit to the participation of disabled students please give details of how and why…

12. Do you feel that sufficient information is provided regarding support for students with a disability?

Yes No Don’t Know

13. How do you think students can be made better aware of disability related provision?

14. How far do you feel the following impact on the participation of disabled members of the local community who wish to use the facilities at the University of Exeter?

Serious barrier

Limited barrier No impact Some

benefitSignificant

benefit1 2 3 4 5

Policies and practices designed to support

community involvementAwareness of the University

within the local communityAccess to facilities and events at the University

C. Disability Equality Scheme

15. In order to ensure that the University Disability Equality scheme meets the needs of disabled staff, students and other members of the University of Exeter community, what do you feel are the key areas of University activity that the scheme needs to focus on? (tick any that apply)

Academic areas (inc. learning and teaching)

IT Support

Research strategy Services for disabled staffCommunications & Marketing Services for disabled students

Staff development and training Monitoring and impact assessmentPhysical environment Consultation with disabled staff and

studentsEmployment policies and Personnel

adviceRelations with local and regional

communityOther (please give details below)

Which do you feel is the single most important area?

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16. Has this questionnaire missed any important issues or topics with regards to the experience and participation of disabled staff, students and other members of the University of Exeter community? If so what are they?

D. About You

Are you… Male Female

Undergraduate Postgraduate

Thank you for your time and valuable contribution to the DES.

Information from this questionnaire will be used anonymously. However, we would like to follow up this questionnaire with further consultation activities. If you would be willing to participate in such activities (e.g. further questionnaires or focus group) please provide your contact details below:

Name e-mail address

School Telephone number

Alternatively, please contact Kate Devlin, Equality & Diversity Manager, Room 100A Northcote House, Streatham Campus (e-mail: [email protected] / telephone: 01395 262037)

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d) Analysis of results from student questionnaire

Quantitative Results from student questionnaire on disabilityCirculated to disabled students in October 2006

Student feedback

Question 1 – Do you consider yourself disabled?Although this a very low response rate these questionnaires do give some insight into the experiences of disabled students here at the University of Exeter and highlight the need to encourage more students to be involved in this process

Question 2- What is the nature of your disability?The majority of disabled respondents (76.9%) have dyslexia.

Dyslexia/learning difficulties

10

Blind/Partial sight -Deaf /Hearing impaired

1

Other motor equilibrium dysfunction

1

Personal care -Mental Health Difficulty

-

Unseen disability -Multiple disabilities -Autistic spectrum disorder

-

Mobility difficulties 1

Question 3 – Did you declare a disability?

Question 4 – If not what were your reasons for not disclosing?

Yes 13No -

Yes 8No 5

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3

I did not consider it to be relevant -I feel this information is private and not study related

-


1

I do not remember being given the opportunity to do so

1


-

Question 5 – Have you disclosed your disability to the University since?

Yes 3No 2

Question 6 – To whom did you disclose?Clearly some students will disclose more than once

Disability Resource Centre

3

Disability Rep in School

-

Head of School

1

Personal/other tutor

1

Equality and Diversity Manager

-

Other, please state

-

Question 7- How would you rate the level of response you received?Overall more than half respondents found the level of response ‘excellent’.

Poor -Average 2Good 3Excellent 6

Question 9 - How far do you feel the following impact on the participation of disabled students…

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The ‘Teaching Environment’ is seen as presenting the greatest barrier with 41% identifying it as a barrier to some extent.

The DRC is identified by 69.2% of respondents as being a ‘significant benefit’.

Serious Barrier 1

LimitedBarrier 2

No impact 3

SomeBenefit 4

Significant Benefit 5

Application Process

- 1 9 2 2

RegistrationAnd welcome

- 2 8 3 2

LearningAndTeaching

- 4 4 - 5

Curriculum - 1 6 2 2Assessment - 3 5 3 2Groupwork - 3 6 1 2TeachingEnvironment

2 3 6 1 -

Field trips /placements

2 2 8 - -

Computing /Library

- 1 9 2 1

Accommodation - 3 7 - 1

Social Environment

1 - 7 - 2

Sportsfacilities

- 2 8 1 2

StudentsGuild

- 2 7 1 3

DRC - - 3 1 9

Question 14 – How far do the following impact o the participation of disabled members of the local community who wish to use the facilities at the University of Exeter?

Like disabled members of staff there is a feeling that ‘Access to facilities and events at the University’ (37%) identifying this as a barrier to some degree.

SeriousBarrier 1

LimitedBarrier 2

No Impact 3

SomeBenefit 4

SignificantBenefit 5

Policies andPractices

- - 7 2 2

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Designed toSupport Community involvementAwareness ofthe Universitywithinthe local community

- - 7 4 2

Access to facilities and events at the University

1 4 3 4 2

Question 15 – In order to ensure that the DES meets the needs of disabled staff, students and other members of the University community, what do you feel are the key areas of University activity that the Scheme needs to focus on?

Key areas ranked in order of most important to focus on

Academic Areas 1Physical Environment 2Services for disabled students 3Services for disabled staff 3Consultation with disabled staff and students 5Staff Development and Training 6Monitoring and Impact Assessments 7Communications and Marketing 8IT Support 9Relations with local and regional community 10Employment Policies 11Research Strategy 12Other 13

e) Written responses to student disability questionnaire

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Question 4 – If you answered ‘No’ what were your reasons for not disclosing Another reason please specify…

- I did not know I had dyslexia / dyspraxia

Question 7 – Please give details about the response you received upon disclosure…

- Everyone went out of their way to accommodate dyslexia. It was a great support thank you

- Exeter sent me leaflets and helped when a needs assessment that was needed for the allowance

- Quick measures were taken to give me the help I needed- Leaflet through post at home and then advised by department to register at

DRC- Very efficient in helping me- The University organised a meeting between my personal tutor and

myselfand I was able to get all the help and direction I required early- I applied for the Disabled Student Award and had a needs assessment- Everybody – staff and students - has been very supportive

Question 8 – Have you any suggestions to make it easier for students to disclose a disability

- No suggestion I can think of

Question 10- If you have indicated that any of he above are a barrier to participation of disabled students please give details of how and why …

- Those that I marked as experiencing limited barrier are all due to the lack of elevators (lifts) within many of the corresponding building facilities. Due to my motor equilibrium impairment, I often require a lift

- Sometimes the lecture theatres are not compatible and do not meet the need of some of the disabled students on campus. Accommodation at St Lukes is questionable for people in wheelchairs

- It may be harder for disabled students to visit social clubs, accommodation etc. as some older buildings have not been designed for, but added to, or not (stairs)

- Its harder to do – (words) and takes longer- Teaching environment and social environment difficult to manoeuvre- I sometimes have difficulty note taking and keeping up in lectures- Because written assessment in exams penalises those who have issues with

writing same goes for the others

Question11 - If you have indicated that any of the above are of benefit to the participation of disabled students please give details of how and why…

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- People are far more aware of peoples disability and go out of their way to support us to make our time here at Exeter worthwhile

- Level of help and kindness offered at the DRC is extremely high- A great deal of extra academic help is given to students and their disabilities

are taken into consideration- They offer support in teaching and lectures- Support and advice- The DRC is useful as it lets students know what help is provided- Meeting in the DRC was useful in Welcome Week and the DRC is excellent- They are of benefit because students with disabilities because they may well

get extra help and support to improve their skills in this area

Question 13 - How do you think students can be made better aware of disability related provision?

- Welcome week pack info from DRC- I don’t think I can….you’re doing a pretty amazing job at the moment.- By being told periodically about the help the DRC can offer- Advertising the availability of help- More advertisement of help if needed and where to find help- Information in welcome packs- Perhaps it may be easier if arrangements can be made before the student

arrives- More details on the website perhaps

Question 15 – Which do you feel is the most important area out of all the activities the University is involved in, in terms of meeting the needs of disabled students?

- More lifts and ramps need to be implemented to improve building access - Ooh tricky!!! Academic areas- training for lectures to understand dyslexia and

other learning difficulties and so by understanding the ‘problem’ are better able to develop their teaching strategies to encourage everyone learning

- Help with academic areas & consultation sessions- Monitoring and impact assessments- Learning and Teaching- Academic areas- Academic areas- Academic areas- Assessment- Consultation with disabled staff and students

Question 16 - Has this questionnaire missed any important issues or topics with regard to the experience and participation of disabled staff, students and other members of the University of Exeter community? If so what are they?

No responsef) Analysis of results from staff questionnaire

Quantitative results from staff questionnaire on disability

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Circulated to all staff in September 2006

Given that the survey was conducted out of term time when traditionally there are fewer members of staff about and staff could not complete on – line, response levels were satisfactory at 5.2%. Responses from staff who indicated that they had a disability were particularly high at 17.9% this compares with 2.5% of all staff.

Question 1 – Do you consider yourself to be covered by the Disability Discrimination definition of disability?

Table 1 – initial breakdown of staff respondents

Question 2 – Nature of identified disabilities?

The most common type of disability identified was unseen disability at 34% followed by mobility difficulties at 26%.

Table 2- breakdown of respondents by nature of disability

Number PercentageUnseen disability 9 34%Mobility difficulties 7 26%Other 6 22%Dyslexia/ Learning Difficulties

3 11%

Deaf / Hearing impaired

2 7%

Mental Health difficulties

- -

Blind - -Personal Care - -Multiple disabilities - -Autistic spectrum disorder

- -

Question 3 – Did you declare your disability when applying for your current job?

Yes 12 46.2%No 14 53.8%

Respondents Yes 26 No 119 Total 145

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Question 4 – If you answered no what were your reasons for not disclosing?

Clearly a significant number of respondents identified as disabled after the interview.

NumberI did not have a disability at the time 7I did not consider it to be relevant to my role -I feel this information is private and not work related -I was unaware of the benefits of doing so -I do not remember being given the opportunity 1I was concerned I might be discriminated against - Another reason:“I have recently applied for an extension to my post and did not disclose the disability because I did not want to influence the decision either way”.

Question 5 – Have you disclosed to the University since?

Since starting at the University a large proportion of respondents have felt able to disclose: of those who did not disclose their disability at the application stage of their current job, 85.7%have disclosed since starting employment

Yes 12 85.7%No 2 14.3%

Question 6 – To whom did you disclose?

Disclosure was most frequently to line managers with 32% of those who disclosed, doing so to their manager. Heads of School/Service and colleagues followed with 20% each.

Line Manager 8 32%A colleague 5 20%Head of School or Service 5 20%Equality and Diversity Manager - -Personnel Manager 1 4%Occupational Health 4 16%Other, please state: to obtain parking ticket 1 4%Disability Resource Centre 1 4%

Question 7 – How would you rate the level of response?

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Of those who have disclosed, 77.3% said that the level of response they received was either good or excellent with 18.2% claiming it was average and only 4.5% (ie 1 person) rating the level of response as poor.

Poor 1 4.5%Average 4 18.2%Good 11 50.1%Excellent 6 27.2%

Question 9 – How important do you feel the following are to the participation of disabled staff at the University of Exeter?

Responses from both disabled and non-disabled staff identify Physical Environment, Staff Facilities and Work Station as being of greater importance to the participation of disabled staff at the University. However, it is also clear that Policies and Procedures and Advise and Support are very important as well as a suitable physical environment.

Non - Disabled staff responses

Not at all important Very importantAREAS 1 2 3 4 5 Percentages

of 4 + 5Application Process

2 10 13 17 34 67%

Training and Development

1 2 6 25 42 88.2%

Working Practices

2 1 4 27 44 91%

Physical Environment

- - 5 11 61 93.5%

Assistive Technology

- - 9 16 52 87.2%

Policies and Procedures

1 1 9 22 42 84.2%

Communication/ Information sharing

1 2 12 29 32 80.3%

Annual Review Process

2 6 22 25 23 61.5%

Information Technology

- 4 18 30 32 73.8%

Access Advice and Support

- 1 13 25 47 83.7%

Staff Facilities - - 3 29 43 96%Work Station 1 - 3 15 50 95.6%Disabled staff responses

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Not at all important Very importantAREAS 1 2 3 4 5 Percentages

of 4 + 5Application Process

1 3 7 5 8 54.2%


- 3 6 4 10 60.9%

Working Practices

1 1 5 2 12 66.7%


- 1 6 7 11 72%


- 1 5 8 9 73.9%

WorkStation - 1 2 8 7 69%


1 - 7 8 8 72.7%

Communication/Info Sharing

- 1 6 8 7 68.2%


1 1 10 6 7 52%

InformationTechnology

- 1 11 6 6 50%

Access Advise and Support

- 1 5 8 8 72.7%

Staff Facilities - 1 2 6 7 81.3%

Question 10 – How far do you feel the following support the needs of disabled staff?

Disability Reps scored very highly with both disabled (72%) and non-disabled (94%) staff. Again for both disabled (57.1%) and non – disabled staff (58.2%) Heads of Service score the lowest in terms of supporting the needs of disabled staff although it is important to note that this is mainly due to a significant number of staff scoring Heads of School/Service as ‘neither supportive or unsupportive’ rather than being unsupportive. Work colleagues scored highly for being supportive, particularly amongst disabled staff.

Non-Disabled staff responses

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Very unsupportive neither Very supportiveAreas 1 2 3 4 5 Percentag

e of 4 + 5Policies & Procedures

1 3 13 47 11 77.3%

Heads of School / Service

- 3 25 31 8 58.2%

E and D Manager

- 1 5 40 27 91.8%

Line Manager

- 3 12 48 6 78.3%

Disability Reps

- 1 2 42 23 94.2%

Work Colleagues

- 1 16 39 10 74.2%

Other staff - - 24 30 6 60%

Disabled Staff Responses

Very unsupportive neither Very supportiveAreas 1 2 3 4 5 Percentag

e of 4+ 5Policies & Procedures

- 1 10 8 5 54.2%

Heads of School / Service

- - 9 9 3 57.1%

E and D Manager

- - 7 9 5 65%

Line Manager

- - 7 12 68.2%

Disability Reps

- - 5 8 5 72.2%

Work Colleagues

- - 5 14 1 75%

Other Staff - - 6 6 6 60%

Question 11 – How satisfied are you that the following support the needs of disabled staff?

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Non-Disabled staff responses

Not at all satisfied Very satisfied 1 2 3 4 5 Percentag

e of 4 + 5Application Process

1 12 33 35 10 49.5%


- 6 40 39 8 50.5%

Working Practices

4 12 36 34 7 44.1%


13 20 35 21 8 29.9%


2 10 43 30 5 38.9%


- 9 42 32 11 45.7%

Communication/Info Sharing

- 13 39 31 10 44.1%


1 11 41 30 11 43.6%

Work Station 1 9 33 34 6 48.2%


- 8 27 31 8 44.2%

Access to Advice and Support

- 10 30 41 16 58.8%

Staff Facilities 5 15 43 24 5 32.3%

Disabled staff responses

Not at all satisfied Very satisfiedAREAS 1 2 3 4 5 Percentag

e of 4 + 5Application Process

1 3 9 6 3 40.1%


- 4 8 6 2 40%

Working Practices

- 3 12 2 3 22.7%


1 2 13 3 2 23.8%


- 3 9 4 1 29.4%

Policies and - 2 9 5 3 42.1%

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ProceduresCommunication /Info sharing

2 1 11 4 1 26.3%


- 2 11 3 2 27.8%


- 2 8 8 3 52.4%

Access advise and support

- 4 8 5 3 40%

Staff Facilities - 5 12 3 2 22%

Work Station - 5 8 4 3 35%

Question 16 – How far do you feel the following impact on the participation of disabled members of the local community who wish to use the facilities at the University of Exeter?

There seems to be a significant difference in the responses from disabled and non-disabled staff. The percentage of responses from disabled staff who consider each of the below to be either a limited or serious barrier is 3 times greater than the percentage for non–disabled staff response, whilst the majority of non–disabled staff actually consider each of the below to be at least of some benefit to the participation of disabled members of the local community who wish to use facilities at the University. However disabled and non–disabled staff do seem to agree (although non–disabled staff to a lesser degree) that access to facilities and events is the greatest barrier.

Non - Disabled staff response

SeriousBarrier

1

LimitedBarrier

2

No Impact

3

Some Benefit

4

SignificantBenefit

5Policies and Procedures designed to support community involvement

3 5 29 42 11

Awareness of the University in the local community

4 4 25 47 10

Access to facilities

6 12 13 23 17

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and events at the University

Disabled staff response

Serious Barrier

1

LimitedBarrier

2

No Impact 3

SomeBenefit

4

Significant Benefit

5Policies and Procedures designed to support community involvement

1 5 5 5 5

Awareness of the University in the community

4 3 5 5 1

Access to facilities and events

5 7 2 4 2

Question 17 – In order to ensure that the DES meets the needs of disabled staff, students and other members of the University of Exeter community , what do you feel are the key areas of University activity that the scheme needs to focus on?

For disabled staff support services are the most important area of University activity and non – disabled staff focus on Physical Environment. Consultation is a priority for both disabled and non – disabled staff.

Non – Disabled staff response, ranked in order of importance

Services to Staff 1Services to students 1Physical Environment 3Employment Policies 4Consultation 4Academic Areas 6Monitoring and Impact Assessments 7IT Support 8Staff Development 10Communication and Marketing 11Research Strategy 12

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Disabled staff response, ranked in order of importance

Physical Environment 1Consultation 2Services for disabled staff 3Services for disabled students 3Staff Development 5Employment Policies 6Relations with local community 7Academic Areas 8Communications and Marketing 9Monitoring and Impact Assessments 10IT Support 11Research Strategy 12

g) Written responses to staff disability questionnaire

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Question 7 - How would you rate the level of response you received upon disclosure? Please give details…

- Once known of my problems, I was sent to Occupational Health and over a period of time I have been given a position which is beneficial to my problems

- A car parking permit was readily provided free of charge

- No acknowledgement – I declared that I suffer from mild depression which doesn’t have an impact on my work – I take medication. If it were ever to start having an effect, I would then seek help from my line manager or GP

- I have not requested any response nor received any, I just get on with what I am paid to do

- Occupational Health were extremely unhelpful and I didn’t then feel confident to tell anyone else, however the DRC were fantastic, colleagues also supportive

- I discussed my disability with both my line manager and occupational health in more detail once I started the job and both were supportive, enquiring about support I might need, but didn’t make a big deal of it

- Benefited from Access to Work

- Everyone staff and students have been very supportive

- People just accept it and I do my best

- Disability is invisible to many people

- Occupational Health have visited me about my work station. Colleagues and manager are sympathetic to my needs

- My peers and senior staff understand. Disability Office was in contact

- I received brilliant support overall – specifically the help with organisation and timetabling

- Was a godsend – my Disability Councillor, Peter, has been particularly kind/understanding. The only thing I can think of to build upon might be specific note taking/essay writing skills sessions specific to disability

- As a PhD student here prior to applying for the post, my condition was already known. I received no adverse response from this and was contacted by Occupational Health when I began the job about office equipment

Question 8 - Have you any suggestions to make it easier for staff to disclose a disability?

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- The opportunity to obtain a form such as this

- Indicate that assistance etc, would be available to facilitate employment at the University, and give lots of details

- I believe the line manager should be informed if they are of a sympathetic nature and are able to listen

- A clear policy on how to do so and what the ramifications of doing so are

- Make it clear as to who holds what information already – my line manager has changed and I am not now aware of how much he knows about me and my condition and how much he needs to know in order to support me, and therefore whether it is incumbent upon me to disclose again.

- An openly positive attitude towards disability combined with clearly available support

- Just be upfront about it

- It should be made plain at selection that it is no disadvantage

Question 12 - If you have indicated that you are dissatisfied with any of the above or feel that they are a barrier to the participation of disabled staff please give details of how and why…

- Disabled candidates / potential applicants need to be assured that their needs would be accommodated, and their application will be considered equally with others

- Application process: Applicant may not put down disability in case they might not get interview

- Access to advice and support is not easily accessible. Especially via the website, you can’t tell that staff can get screening etc unless you really read through all the policies

- I have indicated a dissatisfaction with training and development above, because, as a part time member of staff, I feel the University’s development routes are set up most clearly for full-time staff and there are far fewer opportunities to progress on a part-time basis, and there is not proper consideration of the options for flexible and part-time hours, the majority of jobs being offered on a part-time basis seem to be as a result of legal obligations following people’s return to work from maternity leave.

- Staff Facilities – I have put dissatisfied with this, because if staff facilities include the provision of ‘common room’ space this is lacking for all staff in the Academic Office

- Lack of Accessible transport around the University

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- Stairs are a big barrier with a disability. No lifts cause many problems

- As mentioned, big problems are most diffuse – culture of long hours, needing to travel and network as an academic

- When moving offices there was no discussion of access and facilities relating to disability and no channel for raising questions about it.

- Information on policies etc are still not readily available or promoted. It is also not clear what might be asked for in terms of flexible working. There are also accessibility issues in N/H and Queens Building

Question 13 - If you have indicated that you are very satisfied with any of the above or feel they are of benefit to the participation of disabled staff please give details of how and why…

- I received support from line manager and director at Band E but not from Personnel or OHP

- DRC are brilliant very helpful and supportive was only stymied by Occ Health

- I indicated satisfied for the application process, because I felt that the application process and the staff involved with it at the time that I applied offered a positive environment where I felt able to state clearly at the interview that I had ME but that I felt that I would still be able to do the job that I was applying for well, and this was taken on board such that I felt positive about giving out information which I normally feel uncomfortable about

- I find that the Annual Review Process provides a good opportunity to talk about your job and your progress and any problems you might be having and this is a very positive feature for all staff

- Support received via Occupational Health and the benefit of Access to Work

- The disability centre has always been helpful

- Welcome week pack info from DRC

Question14 - If you have a disability what do you feel has been the biggest barrier to your experience of the University of Exeter and why?

- Time taken for management to accept the fact I had a problem, once they did accept the fact I cannot praise them higher

- There are several buildings where access from outside is difficult, usually steps with no convenient alternative

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- Once you are back at work the disability is forgotten and work load continues

- Occupational Health’s attitude, esp Di Jacob very dismissive, complete lack of understanding made me feel reluctant to tell the school and therefore get any further assistance

- To me the biggest barrier has been the lack of flexibility and opportunities on a part-time basis. I think the University is starting to become more flexible, but I have felt that given the opportunity I would have struggled less and done some better work if there had been a more flexible working culture I am also very conscious of a desire to progress in my career without it being detrimental to my health and well-being but a long hours culture of full–time workers seems to make it difficult

- Lack of flexibility in policies eg HERA form not in accessible form

- The lack of handrails was a problem to begin with but has been rectified now (Amory Building steps)

- Negative approach to those with depression (mild or otherwise)

- My disability does not effect my job. But could be made a lot easier with a little thought

- Physical environment – Staircases - but N/H now has a lift. Reed Hall does not and the ladies toilets are on the first floor – however the disabled toilet is on the ground floor

- I have not had any serious problems

- Nothing to do with the University

- I feel somewhat tense in supplying my current report (though its ten years old) because I am afraid it would work against me and all the hard work I have put in. Don’t want to be discriminated against – afraid to loose current grade and have reduction in pay (I was told it was a possibility by Occupational Health)

- Accessibility. Many of the buildings are not easy to get into, or manoeuvre within. There have been times when disabled parking places have been blocked by lorries making deliveries

Question 15 - If you have a disability what do you feel has been the most positive aspect of working at the University of Exeter?

- The way management have tried to find me a position that is suitable - Beautiful grounds, excellent sports facilities, events, uni shop, flexibility in when hours are worked

- The amount of paid sick leave as it is one less worry to have

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- The support staff in the school I work and the DRC – both very supportive

- The people – ME sometimes causes me to be less well than others and I have found that the majority of people with whom I work or have contact have been supportive of the fact that I have been ill (even without knowing the cause), even if it causes me to delay work

- Being allowed to act as role model

- People just ignore my disability and I do the best I can

- Flexible working and caring staff. I’ve had a lot of time off for the Dr’s and hospital appts and operations and the Uni has always been very accommodating even if I feel a flare coming on I‘ve been allowed to go home or sit still and quiet for a while

- All colleagues have come up trumps

- The staff are understanding (but would not make too much of that as I’m a scientist with dyslexia)

- Freedom of movement

- The support of colleagues within my department

Question 17 - In order to ensure that the University Disability Equality Scheme meets all the needs of disabled staff, students and other members of the University of Exeter community, what do you feel are the key areas of University activity that the scheme needs to focus on. Which do you feel is the single most important area?

- Staff development. I know that the DRC wishes to to create an environment where knowledge about disability is spread across the University, and I think ongoing training needs to support this to ensure that people feel competent and confident to integrate awareness of the legislation and the needs of people with disabilities within their jobs.

- Awareness and accessibility. A GENUINE commitment to this as an issue from the Senior management

- Flexible patterns of working with access to appropriate technology

- That people are aware that you have difficulties at times-and this may affect your work- Selection / Recruitment

- Physical environment: at the moment I can park in a disabled slot (at the rear of Harrison) and walk along level ground to my office

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- Excellent IT support for staff and students

- Total communication for ALL and updates as necessary

Question 18 - Has this questionnaire missed any important issues or topics with regard to the experience and participation of disabled staff, students and other members of the University of Exeter community?

- Would have been easier to fill this in on-line rather than printing off and filling in the sheets as filling in forms is easier for me as it means I can correct mistakes more easily

- I would just note that I find it hard to answer some of these questions other than a personal perspective (eg q 9-11), and simply did not have the information to complete all the boxes on these questions

- It would be helpful to have some kind of forum when staff could air views and offer mutual support, particularly relating to disability awareness

- There needs to be a lot more awareness of peoples physical problems and how they can be overcome, a little thought goes a long way

- Accessibility on Cornwall Campus for disabled staff and students is atrocious. Huge difficulty with doors and lack of covered areas between buildings

- I don’t think so – I’ve never called on the service except for Occupational Health, so I’ve never really looked into it – perhaps I should

- I work in Students Guild in Community Action and the student volunteers work with children/adults from local community. We are based in Cornwall House and arelimited by the facilities for disabled people (access, toilets in particular) as well as by our policies, procedures and ability to accept a child / older person on our projects. I would welcome a meeting with you to discuss further

- Possible support for carers. Currently my wife drives me in and out. Since the journey is 40 minutes each way, it is not feasible to go home in between, so she stays at the University. Currently this is no problem as she is also a Visiting Professor and has office space. However it may become a problem in the future

- Twice in my life I have been off work with physical injuries. In one case, some of my academic work was rearranged, but in each case I had to make my own arrangements to cope with the timetable, access to buildings and correspondence. In both cases I returned to work before my sick leave was over in order to ensure that 1. my students did not suffer 2.so that I could be up to date with academic matters. Neither absence was taken into account in PDR

- I recommended a disabled person who lives locally should apply for an admin job in the University, but he was put off by a lack of knowledge in Personnel, and the overall impression of isolation that the University has in relation to the community

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- Part of the problem is the idea that Exeter is a ‘hilly’ campus. Although true on one level, this should not be given as an excuse to not do more to encourage students with a disability. There is still a lecture hall in Queens which is inaccessible to wheelchairs – this sends out all the wrong signals

h) Non-disabled staff responses

Question 12 – If you have indicated that you are dissatisfied with any of the above or feel that they are a barrier to the participation of disabled staff please give details of how and why…

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- The PDR is not really a supportive process for anyone

- Staff facilities are improving for all staff but the University still has a long way to go

- Just try driving your wheelchair around the corridors of Northcote House! Also lots of steep hills make Streatham campus a naturally unfriendly environment for some (not all) disabled people

- Harrison Building needs more lifts

- Policy re interviewing disabled applicants if they meet minimum criteria for post is not practical for academic appointments – so its completely ignored in practice. An unworkable policy is not a good one

- Access to buildings is often not easy

- There are still areas of the campus not accessible to disabled (physically) members of staff

- Physical environment is not ideal for those with a mobility problem. Taking ownership for servicing of assistive technology and adaptations by the University can be poor eg the loop system

- Application process – as manager I did not get help with interview process for a candidate with aspergers

- Some lack of infrastructure (ie pavements, lifts etc) to enable the full participation by wheelchair bound individuals

- In the ASU there are a number of doors which someone in a wheelchair would not be able to open. Also refectory – how easy is it for a wheelchair user to use self service

- A student or colleague with mobility problems could not have access to my office in the Queens Building (east wing)

- Policies tend to be over–general. Physical environment not well adapted to disability

- St Lukes campus is very poor for access – apart from lovely but very expensive ramp. My office is one floor up on a very steep staircase and no lift- A physically disabled person would have great difficulty working / accessing 3rd floor in N/H as there is no lift. This is unfortunate as this is where Personnel ie supportive staff are based

- Major barriers: lack of flexible working practices (eg being able to work from home): lack of staff facilities (eg sleep pods or a dark quiet room where

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staff can go and sleep/rest/relax at lunchtimes) The negative attitude of many members of staff (both disabled and non-disabled)

- The physical environment is largely hostile and buildings are slow and costly to update

- Our lift is too small for wheelchairs. Doors have to be propped open – (fire doors) and you have to find someone to do that for you – without being able to get through the doors to find them! Feel this is tip of iceberg. Lack of awareness

- Flexible working, although on the horizon, is not widespread enough ... this would be a real benefit to disabled staff

- I must admit that I am hardly aware of the University’s policies on disability or what resources are available so my answers in the previous section reflect that

- There is not enough resources give to places like Personnel and OT to provide the support, advice and guidance that some disabled staff / applicants require

- The newly installed stair lift for disabled people in Queens Building should not be limited to functioning only with a specific key, as most disabled people obviously don’t have the key

- Application process – I do not recall any particular emphasis on support for applicants with disabilities at the application stage. The physical environment is old, therefore difficult for those with mobility difficulties. Communication seems very limited

- The physical environment is not easy for people with physical difficulties, despite some recent work. The hilly character of the campus and associated buildings or shops (eg Laver, Amory, Queens) all contribute

- As mentioned, big problems are most diffuse – culture of long hours, needing to travel and network as an academic incompatibility of mental health problems and professionalism etc. my ex-partner was Achonoroplsic and am aware of physical details like height of hand towel rail in staff loos and word ‘handicapped’ on fire alarm notices in Queens. Yet think policies and physical access being improved and DRC fabulous focal point. Problem more economic and structural

- The application form is only offered in hard copy and electronic form.- Staff facilities don’t exist where I work. Can’t imagine how disabled cope

- Policies allow for flexible working for family reasons only. Some buildings/areas of campus are inaccessible. AT not embedded into provision – could be networked. Staff not aware of accessible features of IT if required

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- Although any new building work incorporates access for people with mobility disabilities, many areas are still inaccessible. This includes not only work places, but also retail, dining, sport facilities

- Application form not very helpful re disabilities. Our location is not wheelchair accessible throughout and there are no accessible parking spaces in Reed Hall

Question 13 - If you have indicated that you are satisfied with any of the above or feel they are of benefit to the participation of disabled staff please give details of how and why…

- I think the advice and support offered is very good

- Policies seem to be filtering through and becoming part of the everyday operation now the Uni is moving in the right direction

- A good supportive culture seems to prevail in most places

- I have observed that an effort has been made to enable disabled staff to adequately perform their work roles

- Occupational Health managed to ensure correct DSE for staff with disability

- Availability and info from DRC

- Kate is a great champion, School champion Nick Givens also excellent

- If recruitment / selection procedures are followed properly, I think they provide good support to disabled people

- I feel IT is one area of strength, as it allows flexible working where possible

- The University has gone a long way to install physical access means to all buildings

- The policies on the web seem thorough and easily accessible

- The support for disabled staff and students at Exeter University is extremely strong often to the point of seeming somewhat exaggerated- I feel the University works hard at inclusiveness in policies and communications

- I find it difficult to comment. Disability in my School – English - (where I am Rep) slides into assumption we are talking about students. Staff may have disabilities but these are more to do with mental health as far as I know. One

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is on indefinite sick leave for me (not mental health) …How to balance everyone’s needs

- I say the Uni employs people that wouldn’t be employed anywhere else! The ‘simple’ members get a good deal

Question 14 - Which do you think is the single most important area the University needs to focus on for the DES?

- Consultation with disabled staff and students


- Physical Environment

- Thoughtful planning of the environment

- Probably questionnaires asking able bodied people what disabled people need

- Consultation with disabled students and staff about their needs

- Employment policies understood and practiced by managers

- Communications and marketing

- Not one but overall view when creating something new

- Physical environment

- Staff development and training


- Personnel advice


- Physical environment

- Consultation and involvement with change in University

- Consultation with current and prospective staff and students


- Develop more awareness of disabilities and specific learning difficulties among staff and students. Be creative and involve (consultation is not enough) disabled people in the events

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- Probably physical environment. Don’t know about mental impairment


- Absolutely the physical environment, although this is not the full extent of disability issues to be addressed – its not all about ‘wheelchairs’

- Services for disabled students


- Supporting disabled staff and students whether it is through IT, trainingor physical environment

- Physical environment-but as I am not disabled so who am I to say

- Communicating and understanding

- Consultation between anyone disabled

- Treatment of disabled staff as equals not making them feel exposed because of their disability

- Giving advice to other members of staff about how to behave towards a colleague with mental health issues so as not to upset them

- Probably time … flexibility and allowing people to remain competitive, useful, sufficiently paid, yet enough hours to live with disability

- I believe things will improve tremendously when we all incorporate ‘equal opps’ thinking into our everyday consideration of working practice. Also, we need more info on exactly how mobility/sensory disabilities impact on people

- Recent contact with our Personnel Manager (Geoff Williams) has been v helpful when discussing accommodations

- I do like to be pen minded to all around! But I do feel the ‘able bodied’ staff get less care / thought /well being

- Staff work under pressure, often with tight deadlines by which work must be completed. This culture is not conducive to enable staff with special needs perform their duties to the best of their abilities as they may need extra time and support to complete projects/set tasks

Question 18 – Has this questionnaire missed any important issues or topics with regard to the experience and participation of disabled staff,

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students and other members of the University of Exeter community? If so what are they?

- Who came up with the term ‘accessible’- parking toilets etc. This language is too broad. We all want to use an accessible toilet, and who would want to try to park in a parking place that is not accessible. These sorts of facilities should be reserved for disabled users, and the language should clearly imply this. It is my opinion that the ‘inclusive language’ posters are a complete waste of time and money and that the language suggested is confusing. There is no shame in using a disabled toilet

- Disabled kitchen Rowe House – Fire Equipment, - you try reaching it from wheelchair.

- I can’t answer many questions as my contact is minimal, however Access around Cornwall House is awful, try parking in XFI flooded parking area and getting to Cornwall House in a wheelchair, or from Lafrowda Flats to XFI on crutches

- Develop more awareness of disabilities and specific learning difficulties among staff and students. Attempt this in as many different ways as possible: be creative and involve disabled people in the events. At the same time, try to arrange events which will attract the attention of people with negative attitudes (ie the people who need their awareness raised)

Encourage the use of inclusive language and behaviour Encourage Heads of Schools and Services and line managers to be

more flexible Make basic awareness training compulsory (for both staff and

students)

- ‘Please tick a box if you are disabled yes or no ‘on the personnel forms, rather than this questionnaire, which is much better. Some people don’t wish to reveal this – or they feel that they aren’t ‘disabled’ as such but medically would be classed as disabled. Its embarrassing to invite people with physical disabilities into the building and realise just what our physical environment precludes

- I work in the main library where all the students visit on a regular basis. There is an electronic swipe card to enter the main door. The computer rooms have very heavy doors which have to be opened with assistance also very heavy doors to then access the library which they also need help with 9if anyone is available)- I couldn’t answer most of the questions I am not disabled and therefore don’t know what is available in Schools etc for disabled employees. So I can’t comment

- Number 16 is not clear. If you are asking – Has there been a positive effect on the University as they have become available to people with disabilities then there is a benefit. However I do not feel the campus is as available to all as it should be

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- Yes there is a serious problem regarding the ‘learning difficulties’: where is the line between a learning disability and being a bad researcher or student? Everyone finds it difficult to learn, to some degree – are we all more or less disabled

- The questionnaire seems to assume that there is one general category of ‘disability’ and that all the matters listed in each question relate to ‘disabled staff and students’. Surely there needs to be appropriate sensitivity to the individual and differing needs of people with varying disabilities.

- Awareness of policies and procedures was not covered – if a disabled person asked me about access or support at the University I wouldn’t know

- Not quite a response to (18) but being temporarily less mobile due to broken foot I am much more aware of all the steps, slopes, rough ground, heavy doors opening towards me etc. Also lack of internal campus transport and shelters for bad weather. All this has also made me aware how little I know of the University’s facilities for people with mental health facilities

- As you can see I found it hard to respond in the format presented. I have no way of really assessing the efficacy of the University’s evident efforts to comply with SENDA. I would have found a questionnaire with that listed telling a few telling facts (eg how much proportional financial investment in the DRC; how many staff with registered disability, policies on hiring and sick leave, 10 years ago and now ….. and then asked for comments, much more helpful. This is a very abstract approach

9. LETTER FROM DISABLED MEMBER OF STAFF

I am cerebral palsied. Scope pays the University to employ me part time.

I have 41 years of experience as a disabled person in Britain. Scope says I am the most highly qualified person on their books.

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In 1965 I enrolled at X school for disabled boys. Care was fine, but scholastically, then, the boys were not pushed, and few obtained even the lowest pass marks at O and A Levels. Results may have improved after I left a year later. I worked hard at a college of further education in London, and was accepted by the Polytechnic of North London, where I took a good upper second in 1978. (There were 12 out of 55 in my year who received 2.1 or better). I was permitted to type my exams, because of my disability, and I feel I received exactly what I deserved. This was in stark contrast to my experience outside academia, which exceeded the normal hard knocks of inner-city life. I was habitually mistaken by ordinary people foe a drunk; was refused service in shops and fast food restaurants. When I applied for rented accommodation, I was refused, even (on occasion) kicked down the stairs. I was routinely mugged; once I was beaten by a prejudiced group of kids. I moved to Devon (where my former physiotherapist lives) because of the attack. I attribute this to the generally staggering ignorance of disabled people. It is not too excessive to liken their infrequent visibility to Victorian times. Staff and pupils at X school said that my willingness to go about normally would enhance the acceptance of disabled people. Yet I was the only seriously disabled student at my university, and it is vitally important to be able to feel that cerebral palsied and other seriously disabled people are being educated.

I now work part time at Exeter University having completed my doctorate here. My pay works out at £52 per week. For someone with a doctorate, that must be inordinately low. But it is not for me to say if my work rate is only worth that much. I can say that most of my work has been done against the clock to a standard judged acceptable by students and staff. Candidly, I have been told that my disability gives students an open invitation for students to complain. But that cannot be used as a pretext not to employ disabled people. Once I gave a student a 2:2 for a piece of work, and she complained about it to my head of department. But he later said that he would have given her a third.

Generally speaking, I believe in positive discrimination. Without it disabled people of every degree and category would remain outside the workforce, perpetuating all manner of prejudice and abusive behaviour. Disabled people are the last group to be subject to progressive social engineering.

10. SUMMARY OF THE DES STAFF FOCUS GROUP MEETING

Thursday 16 November 2006, Peter Chalk Building

1. As part of the consultation process for the University’s Disability Equality Scheme, a staff questionnaire on disability was conducted during summer 2006. As part of the questionnaire, staff were given the opportunity to

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indicate whether they would be willing to participate in future consultation exercises including a Staff Focus Group on Disability.

2. A number of staff took this opportunity to express their interest in becoming involved in such a Group, although several were unable to attend this initial meeting. There were, however, staff from different areas across the University and with differing disabilities who were able to attend together with Kate Devlin (Equality & Diversity Manager) and Dorcas Phelps (Personnel Policies Officer – EO).

3. It was reported that approximately 160 questionnaires had been returned and, of those, 25 respondents had declared a disability.

4. When asked for feedback on the content and layout of the questionnaire, the Group commented that whilst it was thought-provoking, the fact that it wasn’t made available to complete on-line may have discouraged some people form completing it. It was suggested that staff could have been asked to save their own electronic version and return it bye email rather than printing and sending a hard copy.

5. There was a discussion about line managers needing to be aware of how different disabilities can impact on individuals work and how they should know what help / adjustments / financial help (eg Access To Work) may be available for their staff. It was also felt that staff generally may be more encouraged to get help if they are made more aware of the assistance that is available to them. One suggestion was that circulars / newsletters from Occupational Health to promote their services and make staff aware of what they do would be helpful.

6. The issue of disclosure was discussed and within the Group the point at which individuals had disclosed varied and included not being able to remember; at interview stage; and when changing to a different job. The general feeling amongst the Group was that when they had disclosed, the response had been very supportive and that, arrangements such as part-time working or adjustments such as specific equipment had been readily agreed / offered and that they had actually benefited from disclosing. It was mentioned, however, that clarity is required on (a) what is considered to be a disability and also (b) who should be contacted in the event of any disability-related queries or adjustments being needed. It was noted that currently this is not always made clear on forms e.g. application form, verification form etc.

7. The question of where staff with disabilities get most support was raised and there was a mixed response including line manager / supervisor, colleagues, and Occupational Health.

8. Accessibility was raised as an issue and it was felt that there is currently a very reactive approach to this and that the University needs to take a more anticipatory approach. A suggestion was made that documents such as

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policies, procedures, forms etc should be readily available in different formats.

9. One significant issue raised was the lack of real opportunities for promotion for staff of a certain level working part-time because of a disability. The possibility of flexible working options was discussed and the general feeling was that flexible working would mean that work could be done more effectively if done at times that suit individual staff and that flexible working would, therefore, be an attractive option for staff with disabilities.

10. When asked how aware / informed colleagues are about disabilities, it was thought that although colleagues are quite aware in a broad sense, generally people are unsure about what they should say / do in certain situations and worry about saying / doing the wrong thing.

11. At the conclusion of the meeting, when asked if they would be willing to participate in future meetings of this focus group, all members agreed that they would.

11. SUMMARY OF THE DES STUDENT FOCUS GROUP MEETING

Wednesday 23 November 2006

1. As part of the consultation process for the University’s Disability Equality Scheme, a student questionnaire on disability was conducted

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In October 2006. As part of the questionnaire students were given the opportunity to indicate whether they would be willing to participate in future consultation exercises including a Student Focus Group on disability.

2. A number of students took this opportunity to express their interest in becoming involved in such a group. 9 students came to this initial meeting. They came from different Schools across the University and had various impairments.(2 Deaf/Hard of hearing students, 1 student with mental health issues, 3 students with dyslexia and 2 with mobility problems). Kate Devlin (E and D Manager) facilitated the meeting.

3. The DES was briefly discussed.

4. The students discussed those areas of University life they found particularly problematic. They identified a lack of understanding amongst teaching staff about:

- how to communicate with someone who is hard of hearing / deaf - the needs of students with dyslexia, responses ranging from questioning the appropriateness of someone with dyslexia attending university to questioning the distinction between dyslexia and intelligence - lack of insight into the needs of someone with mental health problems - the need for disabled students to have more time, difficulties

around concentrating and reading substantial texts over a two week period- need for more practical support, several students emphasized the value of weekly small group sessions to check on learning. This is

offered by some staff in some Schools but overall is not available - failure of the loop system - variation in way schools respond to needs of disabled students, some allowing no extension of deadlines - sometimes evidence of no planning / communication across

Schools and Services (disabled student sent to Laver to sit exam on Saturday) - “sans serif” is font most people with dyslexia prefer - should be section on bart sheet to identify disabled students - 3 hour seminars too long – should have break midway

- useful to have room to lie down (chronic back problems)

There were also some positives:

- individual staff throughout University - DRC - School of Drama - opportunities (like this) to meet other disabled students and

compare experiences.

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12. GENERAL COMMENTS FROM DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE

I sometimes have difficulty keeping up (disabled student) Training for lecturers to understand dyslexia and other learning

difficulties, and so by understanding the ‘problem’ are better able to develop their teaching strategies to encourage everyone to learn (disabled student)

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Make it clear as to who holds what information already – my line manager has changed and I am not now aware how much he knows about me and my condition and how much he needs to know in order to support me, and therefore whether it is incumbent upon me to disclose again (disabled member of staff)

I find that the Annual Review Process provides a good opportunity to talk about your job and your progress and any problem you might be having and this is a very positive feature for all staff (disabled member of staff)

Negative approach to those with depression, mild or otherwise (disabled member of staff)

Would have been easier to fill this in on line rather than printing off and filling in the sheets (disabled member of staff)

As a PhD student here prior to applying for the post, my condition was already known. I received no adverse response from this and was contacted by Occ Health when I began the job about office equipment (disabled member of staff)

Disabled candidates/potential applicants need to be assured that their needs would be accommodated, and their application will be considered equally with others (disabled member of staff)

People just ignore the disability and I do the best I can (disabled member of staff)

I recommended a disabled person who lives locally should apply for an admin job in the University, but he was put off by the overall impression of isolation that the University has in relation to the community (disabled member of staff)

Part of the problem is the idea that Exeter is a ‘hilly’ campus. Although true on one level, this should not be given as an excuse to not do more to encourage students with a disability. There is still a lecture hall in Queens which is inaccessible to wheelchairs – this sends out the wrong signal (non-disabled member of staff)

Develop more awareness of disabilities and specific learning difficulties among staff and students. Attempt this in as many different ways as possible: be creative and involve disabled people in the events. At the same time, try to arrange events which will attract the attention of people with negative attitudes (ie people who need their awareness raised) (non-disabled member of staff)

Cornwall campus has very heavy doors – which are a problem for disabled staff (non-disabled member of staff)

APPENDIX A: Disability Resource Centre Annual Report 2005/06

CONTENTS

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Introduction & context

Student profile & support delivered

Supporting Schools and the University

Cornwall Campus

Policy Development & committee work

Exeter Access Centre

DRC developments

Evaluation and QA

External Liaison

Staff and CPD

Budget Overview

Useful links

Introduction & Context

The year 2005/2006 was one of transition and triumph for the Disability Resources Centre: the Manager, Emma Shelton, left to start her own business and was succeeded by a new manager in January 3 rd 2006. In the meantime the Centre was managed temporarily by the Dyslexia Coordinator, Mary Reece with the support of the DRC team and Sue Odell the Senior

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Assistant Registrar with responsibility for student support services. During this period the DRC was short-listed for and won the THES award for the Outstanding Support of Students with Disabilities which was testament to the excellent work of the team.

I joined the team in January, just after the THES award ceremony and just before an audit of the work of the Access Centre (see relevant section). A team Awayday in my first week enabled us to spend some valuable time exploring the strengths of the team and setting work priorities for the remainder of the 2005/06 academic year and for the future. A report was produced as a result of this day (Appendix A).

Work to support students and the University continued throughout the year as we continued with existing practices in terms of face to face support and on a more strategic level began to negotiate more embedded systems and dialogue around accessibility and pedagogy.

Progress has been made towards achieving our agreed targets and the context has been set by the revision of the Aims & Objectives of the DRC within the new Professional Services structure (Appendix B).

We welcome new members of the DRC team as specialist tutors move from the temporary staff bank onto permanent fractional contracts, providing a more stable working practices and coherent service delivery. We will say goodbye to Lotte Hammer who will return to Learning & Teaching Support Service after the completion of the Access to Learning Project in November 2006. We will also say goodbye to Jacky Bryon, one of our Disability Advisors in January 2007 when she will retire.

We also welcome our new Director of Student Services, Keith Zimmerman, and look forward to taking the work of the DRC forward into 2010 to improve the student experience at University of Exeter.

Looking ahead, we hope to improve the DRC accommodation and to utilise common expertise and forge links with other student services to improve the support we can offer to current and incoming students.

Our thanks to PMS for allowing us use of a room one day a week to deliver support on St Luke's campus and ELC for use of rooms in which to deliver 1:1 support in the Old Library.

Student profile & support delivered

The DRC provided the following support: in 2005/06:

Confidential advice & guidance for students with a range of disabilities Advice to staff on accessibility issues One-to-one specialist tuition for specific learning difficulties (SpLD)

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Mentoring for students with mental health difficulties Individual learning plans and negotiation of support in academic

schools Screening & diagnostic assessments for SpLD Technical Needs Assessments for Disabled Students’ Allowance Exam arrangements Library arrangements Training for staff on a range of accessibility issues Advice on physical accessibility of campus buildings and signage Policy development & committee work Support for the University’s Equality & Diversity and Widening

Participation agendas Representation of the University in regional and national for a

We have seen an increase in students who present complex profiles. A significant proportion presents with multiple disabilities and access a range of. We have also seen a small increase in students for whom English is not their first language.

The proportion of students in receipt of Disabled Students Allowance in 2004/05 was 5.6 % of the total student population. This is in the important upper quartile for HEFCE Disabled Student Premium funding. It is expected that for the year 2005/06 the proportion will increase slightly and remain within the same region for HEFCE funding.

We monitor and update student data. DRC data represents those students who have come forward for support, responding to information from us. Some students have a disability and are in receipt of DSA but are studying independently without DRC support. Our figures also include students who have a disability but are not in receipt of DSA, either because they chose not to at the time of needing support or because they are not eligible for funding, such as international students. Some students with particular disabilities have been unwilling for their disability to be officially recorded and these are not included. With a revised system of disclosure and recording for 2006/07, it is hoped that the data will reflect the actual support delivered. The 2005/06 student profile is as follows:-

School Key (Taken from UoE website)

School of Biosciences (BIO)School of Business and Economics (SBE)School of Education and Lifelong Learning (SELL)School of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics (SECAM)School of English (EGL)School of Geography, Archaeology and Earth Resources (SOGAER)School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HUSS)School of Law (LAW)School of Modern Languages (SML)Peninsula Medical School (PMS)

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School of Performance Arts (SPA)School of Physics (PHY)School of Psychology (PSY)School of Sport and Health Sciences (SHS)

School 1st Year

2nd Year

3rd Year

4th Year

PG/PGCE Total % per School

BIO 6 18 16 0 0 40 8.5

SBE 17 23 26 0 1 67 4.7

SELL 2 4 6 0 0/16 28 1.7

SECAM 26 19 35 2 0 82 7.8

EGL 10 18 9 0 6 43 5.7

SOGAER 30 15 26 0 5 76 10.7

HUSS 31 31 50 1 5 118 6.3

LAW 9 6 8 1 9 33 4.5

SML 8 5 16 6 1 36 3.6

PMS 4 9 18 0 0 - -

SPA 7 14 16 0 4 31 7.5

PHY 15 17 13 1 0 46 11.3

PSY 15 10 12 0 3 40 7.5

SHS 8 10 4 0 0 22 4.9Combined/Modular

2 5 4 0 0 - -

Unknown 2 0 0 0 5 - -

TOTAL 192 204 259 11 39 705 5.8

Disability Code

1st Year

2nd Year

3rd Year

4th Year

PGCE PG total %

1 131 126 164 7 11 18 457 63.12 2 3 0 0 0 0 5 0.73 5 4 4 0 2 0 15 2.1

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4 2 7 4 0 0 5 18 2.56 15 17 20 1 0 6 59 8.27 9 18 17 1 0 2 47 6.58 5 11 11 0 0 4 34 4.79 11 5 21 1 2 4 44 6.1T 2 4 1 0 0 0 7 0.9EP not diagnosed

9 9 17 1 1 0 37 5.1

Unknown 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.1

Other data:

Support in 05/06 Number supported % total of student populationExam arrangements

237 2.0

Put forward for SpLD Assessment

133 1.1

Assessed with SpLD

102 (77% of those put forward)

0.8

No SpLD 31 (23% of those put forward)

-

1: 1 tuition 1.4Mentoring 0.3Note-taking 0.1All 705 5.8

Results 2005/06:

Final Year students with disabilities 05/06

First 2.1 Enhanced 2.2 3 Other Grand Total First &

2:1s

First, 2:1s &

Enhanced

Disability 9.0% 59.4% 5.2% 22.6% 2.4% 1.4% 100.0% 68.4% 73.6%No Disability 15.9% 55.7% 2.5% 21.8% 2.3% 1.7% 100.0% 71.6% 74.1%Total 15.3% 56.0% 2.8% 21.9% 2.3% 1.7% 100.0% 71.3% 74.1%

Supporting Schools and the University

The DRC has developed supportive relationships with academic schools and with other areas within Professional Services. All Schools now have a Disability Representative with a clear agreed role to support students with disabilities within schools. The DRC works closely with these members of staff to ensure that clear information is communicated about the specific support adjustments required by students in each academic area. With this model of central and local support, students can be assured of being able to benefit from central generic provision and specific local academic support. A Disability

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Representative training day was held in November 2005, informing staff of the SITS AAM screen and other developments within the DRC. Feedback from the day was generally positive, although due to a lack of time, DISREPS felt that individual sessions covering specific topics would be more helpful, this will be addressed in 2006/07.

All Schools and Services also now have an Equality & Diversity Coordinator to represent staff and students on E&D issues. These staff have been settling into their new roles this year and working with, Kate Devlin, the University’s Equality & Diversity Manager in the agenda for 2005/06.

This year we are moving to using SITS to electronically transfer support information. This will be a more efficient and cost effective means of making sure that those members of staff who need to know information about students in order to support them have correct and timely data. This will make the access to information easier for staff in schools to arrange academic support ad for staff in Registry to put examination arrangements in place.

The DRC and staff in Information Services are collaborating on a project to improve the University’s provision of accessible technology. The current Special Facilities Zone in the Streatham Campus Library is no longer adequate for the purposes of student need and expectation and the project will seek to provide networked accessible software to facilitate the discreet use of specialist packages by students with disabilities.

DRC staff contributed to the recent University internal conference: Working Together – Institutional Sustainability. This was a valuable opportunity to hear inspiring speakers - Tim Smit, the Chief Executive of the Eden Project, and David Allen, University of Exeter’s Registrar – and to explore and share ideas about what a sustainable University of Exeter would look like. Many action points came out of the day which it is hoped will turn into practice as we move forward with this agenda.

The DRC are working with the Learning and Development Unit to broaden the range of training and development opportunities for staff in the coming year and beyond. The DRC will be offering sessions on access and disability related policy and practice under the Equality & Diversity Section of the Learning and Development Unit’s portfolio of courses.

The physical accessibility of University campuses was given a funding boost by the HEFCE Capital funding rounds 2 & 3; this has now all been allocated on specific building project to improve accessibility in time for the introduction of the DDA Part 4 with regard to physical features in September 2005. The observance of access building regulations is now standard and part of every building project and the DRC supports Buildings and Estates in achieving the best and most accessible result for campus users. We have also been part of the project to improve the look and accessibility of campus signage and navigation.

Cornwall Campus

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The beginning of 2006 saw the successful appointment of a Disability Manager for the Cornwall Campus. Bev Aitcheson joined the University in January 2006 and completed the team supporting students in Cornwall. The DRC has developed a very positive working relationship with the Disabilities Services Offices and have shared ideas and joint problem solved. Bev Aitcheson is a member of the Exeter Mental Health Focus Group (MHFG) and has attended all meetings since joining. This has supported UEC in exploring the adoption of particular policies, namely Fitness to Study, and the move towards parity of practices and procedures for Exeter students at UoE and UEC. The DRC has recently developed a procedures document which makes transparent our ways of working and sets standards for the quality of out service and levels of communication with students and staff. This document will be shared with the Disabilities Services Office to help support parity of provision.

Staff from UEC have visited Exeter and staff from Exeter plan to visit Cornwall Campus in the next academic session.

Policy Development and Committee Work

The DRC is represented on many key University Committees and working groups. As I took up my post I was keen to ensure that this voice was used to work towards embedding accessibility into the work of School and services so that ‘usual practice’ did not present barriers to staff/students with disabilities and move towards a position whereby less time and resources needed to be used to make specific adjustments for users of services.

Members of the DRC attend the following meetings:

DRC Joint Management Committee Mental Health Focus Group (MHFG) Welfare Agencies Liaison Group Disability Equality Group (DEG) Divisional Planning Group Academic Office Meetings DRC Team Meetings Equality & Diversity Committee Meetings Education Committee Widening Participation Steering Group Equality Opportunity Working Group Assessment & Feedback Working Group Investors in People Working Group Study Abroad Support Working Group Fitness to Study case conferences National Network of Access Centres PMS Student Support Committee SW Disability Support Group St. Luke’s Campus Users Group

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This year will see the revision of the Fitness to Study Policy. This policy has been used effectively in 2005/06 as an alternative to disciplinary procedures for students who are experiencing difficulties. The current version of the policy was little known to staff and its application and use was unfamiliar. A revised version, written in consultation with members of the MHFG, will be presented to the first meeting of that group in the new academic session. It will then progress through the committee structure to gain ultimate ratification by the Equality & Diversity Committee. Faculty will have view of the policy and training opportunities will be provided by the DRC through the Learning & Development Unit to raise awareness of the rationale for and use of the policy for academic and support staff.

Sue Odell had chaired the MHFG in 2005/06 but is now sadly retiring; she has passed the chair onto Sara Doherty and Elaine Cordy who will share responsibility for managing the meetings of and communication for the MHFG.

The MHFG will meet just before the Disability Equality Group (DEG) and the Equality & Diversity Committee so reports can be received, information shared and issues taken forward.

The University, along with all other public bodies and institutions is responsible for complying with the Disability Equality Duty by researching institutional policies and practices and reporting on changes and intended improvements to services for people with disabilities. We are required to publish a Disability Equality Scheme by December 2006. The University’s Equality & Diversity Manager, Kate Devlin, has been working with appointed Equality & Diversity Coordinators to raise awareness about the scheme and to begin work on reviewing the work that we all to with the view to remove barriers for people with disabilities and to ensure that services are accessible. The DRC has been working closely with Kate to support this important response to national legislation.

The University will be reassessed for Investors in People (IiP) status in October/November 2006. The IiP Response Working Group has been meeting to prepare for the visits and review the recently conducted staff survey as a major tool in gathering staff opinions on a variety of important work related issues. This provided a useful focus for exploring priorities for further investigation and change in practices. Other events have been a range of development opportunities offered to staff and an internal conference with was very successful according to recently released evaluation and feedback. DRC staff have been involved and benefited from all of these activities and has provided an effective and informed contribution.

The QAA guidance on Assessment and Feedback has recently been revised and sent to the sector for consultation. The Assessment & Feedback Working Party was convened to be able to formulate a collective institutional response. The DRC was represented on that group and was particularly effective in terms of providing input on accessibility of current assessment practices and the experience of students with additional support needs.

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It was considered particularly important to achieve representation on the University then Learning & Teaching, now Education Committee so as to embed adjustments for disability into the thinking and design of programmes, assessment, learning & teaching activities and transfer of knowledge and information in academic areas. The chair, Senior DVC Education, Janice Kay, agreed the membership of Sara Doherty, who will continue to attend meetings and work with the Education Policy and related issues through the work of the committee.

DRC staff attend the St Like’s Campus users group as support is delivered on the St Luke’s Campus. It is, however, challenging to maintain a supportive presence for St Luke’s students as the accommodation situation is and continues to be restricted. With the support of the new Director of Student Services, Keith Zimmerman, we hope to find solutions to this difficulty in 2005/06.

DRC staff continue to attend Plymouth based meetings of PMS student Support. It is valuable to stay informed of PMS practices and the experiences of students studying on PMS programmes.

The Joint Management Committee of the DRC existed to receive the annual report of the DRC and to jointly oversee the work of this support unit within the academic office. With the restructuring of the Academic Office, the JMC will dissolve as a group. The group was chaired by Sue Odell and attended by academic staff. Sue’s diligent and supportive work in the management of the work of the DRC has been much appreciated over the year 2005/06 and her presence will be missed.

Exeter Access Centre

The Access Centre exists to provide technical needs assessments for internal and external students with disabilities who are claiming Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). We are one of 50 centres in the country, students may visit any centre near to their home of their place of study and receive a similar standard of service. We have been operating as a registered centre since 2003 and since then have assessed in the region of 300 students per year. The DfES set up a Quality Assurance Group (DSA-QAG) to establish criteria to set standards for the assessment of students and the reports resulting from assessments. All centres registered are required to adhere to the DSA-QAG guidance and prepare to be part of an audit cycle whereby centres would be visited and measured against criteria to achieve a ‘kite mark’ as evidence of the quality of the service delivered to students and Local Education Authorities (LEAs).

The assessment of students and production of technical needs assessment reports is a service that is charged for as pert of a student’s DSA and so this is an area of income generation for the Centre, the DRC and the University. We ensure that the service is improved, equipment kept up to date and staff receive continued professional development.

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Visiting demonstrations were arranged for Technical Needs Assessors, covering assistive software, CCTV units and various pieces of ergonomic equipment. All demonstrations counted towards their 4 days of training necessary to meet the DSA-QAG criteria. 3 new assessors were trained to do Technical Needs Assessments, increasing our capacity to assess and offer more appointments.

In January 2006, Exeter Access Centre was visited by QAG auditors and we received an audit report shortly after stating that we had fully met all the criteria and therefore exist as an accredited Access Centre. There were a number of instances of best practice of which the auditors made mention; it was a very positive experience (Appendix C)

We have formed new links with the RNIB for assessing and supporting students with considerable visual impairments. This will provide us with the expertise to assess a wider range of visual impairments, and ensure that the recommendations for our own students are relevant to Exeter.

We have started undertaking some Access to Work assessments, as well as IT training for people with assistive technology.

Plans are afoot for a training day for LEA officers covering Asperger’s and mental health, with an emphasis on reading the evidence given in reports and implications on study.

A WebCT course is in development for assessors. This will become a vital induction and training resource, as well as a tool for current assessors to support each other through the discussion forum.

DRC Developments

Many of the planned activities outlines in the DRC planning document (Appendix A) have been completed or are underway. We have completed a comprehensive set of procedures that describe our working practices and contain standard proformas and letters as appendices. DRC ways of working are thus transparent for current staff, new staff joining us and for students accessing services. This document will be available on our website and be shared with staff in the Disability Service on the Cornwall Campus to help support parity of provision for University of Exeter students.

The DRC website is currently being updated to reflect the University’s improved access to buildings, accessible accommodation, the current DRC team and news of sector developments and legislation. It is hoped that this will be an up to date useful resources for current and prospective student and staff.

The website will contain a link to the Access to Learning web resource which is a successful outcome of the Access to Learning Project. Lotte Hammer, the project coordinator ran training sessions for academic and support staff on accessibility issues within learning & teaching, piloted diagnostic specific learning difficulty assessment tools and compiled a web resource which

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provides practical advice and guidance on a range of disability related issues and includes useful links to other resources and websites. This resource was launched in June 2006 with a lunch and presentation and a chance to have some hands on experience with the website. More than 50 staff attended the launch the reception was very positive.

Although we encourage most of the students registered with the DRC to claim DSA to support the cost of their support, some students do not or are not eligible to. This year we have a contingency in the budget to support such students, particularly international students. The University’s drive to increase International student numbers may bring students with diverse needs and may require additional support. We support this institutional aim but are aware of the possible financial impact. We are working with Schools and International Student Exchange Services to ensure that accurate information is available to student who may need support and that they are given an opportunity to disclose a disability so that we are able to discuss support needs in advance.

DRC Clerical staff have been reviewing administrative procedures, as a result we are adopting more cost effective practices. The change in postal charges has prompted a look at how and what we post. Technical Needs Assessments reports comprise average 11 pages and 4 copies are printed per assessment, these will now be printed on both sides reducing our paper costs, also folded to fit into C5 size envelopes and keeping within the weight and maximum thickness allowed we should be able to make cost savings sending as a 'Letter' rather than 'Large Letter'. The package we send to prospective students has included a copy of DfES guidance booklet on DSA, ‘Bridging the Gap’. This year we will include send a letter to all students including a web link to the document and directions to the DRC website for information on Disabled Students' Allowance and support information along with our publicity leaflet. These changes should make a significant saving in stationery and postage costs.

Evaluation and Quality Assurance

The DRC ran an evaluation exercise in students who had accessed support in 2006/06. We devised an evaluation questionnaire containing open and closed questions. We wanted to be able to capture the student voice on specific aspects of the support they had received and to collect any positive or negative feedback for consideration in service improvements.

Results

Type of Support Satisfied (rated 5-7 out of 1-7)

Important (rated1-7 out of 1-7))

Initial Contact 85.17% 92.57%Initial Consultation 88.46% 92.31%Dyslexia Sreening 93.32% 100.00%Mental health Advice 100% 100%Educational Psychologist 100% 100%1:1 tutorial support 92.86% 92.85%

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Mentoring 85.69% 85.71%Note taking 100% 100%Library/Lab asst & other NMH support

100% 100%

Exam-extra time 96.29% 100%Exam-Separate room 85.72% 100%

Comments

I'm very glad that I got in touch with DRC; I've found them very helpful and friendly. I would find it difficult to criticise any of their treatment towards me.

I just want to say a huge thank you to the whole team, for all the hard work you've put into arranging things for me, even at the last minute, and helping me in everyway I've needed it. You've taken a lot of stress and anxiety away from me, and it's been fantastic to deal with such lovely people.

Staff are friendly and helpful, I have only had very limited contact (to get my extra time and to do my ILP) but things seem to be dealt with very quickly and efficiently.

One thing about the ILP’s that I forgot to ask my tutor and perhaps you should consider, my department uses anonymous marking when doing this can they still take what’s in the ILP into consideration?

The mentor and study support I have received have been excellent, and most importantly they have helped considerably with my studies. I strongly recommend this service to others.

The evaluation was sent as an email attachment and we negotiated with the Students’ Guild to offer and incentive for posting a reply. They kindly donated two Summer Ball tickets and the winner was picked from all the students who had replied.

We hope to change the format of the evaluation and make it available on-line next year and we are hoping that this will improve the response rate. Timing may also be a factor in response rates and we will be advertising the link to the evaluation and expecting completed entries to be returned before Easter in 2007.

The Student Lifecycle & Experience review by the Special Projects Office asked students and staff to evaluate a range of non-academic aspects of the student experience. The DRC was rated highly as a service which was ‘useful’, ‘organised’ and delivered high levels of ‘satisfaction’ but those who took part.

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We will continue to explore the experiences of users of our services as a quality assurance measure and to use such information to improve services.

The Service Level Statement (SLS) of the DRC has been written in line with institutional plans, such as the Corporate Plan and the Aims and Objectives of the Professional Services. The SLS of the DRC and other services within the Academic Office in 2005/06 were circulated to Schools to ensure that there was coherence with School plans and School needs were met. We must continue to ensure that we work with Schools to not only support students studying on programmes but to have a dialogue on pedagogic issues around diversity so that learning & teaching practices change with sector developments, legislation and a changing student body.

Team meetings are held every two weeks in the DRC but the team communicate very effectively in a day to day basis. The notes of team meetings will be available on our updated website for 2006/07. The specialist tutors also meet termly with the Dyslexia Coordinator and assessors meet with the Access Centre Manager with the same frequency.

External Liaison

The DRC has developed many useful links with external organisations to foster community and sector communication and supportive working arrangements. The Access Centre is a member of the National Network of Access Centres (NNAC) and attends regional meeting and an annual conference. Team members also belong to the National Association of Disability Practitioners (NADP) and the Association of Student Support Managers in Higher Education (AMOSSHE) and attend regular relevant events and annual conferences.

We recently liaised with RSC-SW, a Regional Support Centre, South West. It is a Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) funded agency who was interested in helping to organise an Exeter hosted regional accessible technology conference. The provisional spring 2006 date fell through due to staff illness at RSC-SW but we are hoping to negotiate a revised autumn date and run the event during the 2006/07 academic year.

We have strong links with Workways, a local advice and support organisation aiming to help people with mental health difficulties through work and learning.

We have developed links with other Universities and have been visited by staff from Birmingham University and have a planned visit from the University of East London. Links with Southampton continue to be strong and supportive and a recent visit to their new Student Services building was encouraging and thought provoking.

Staff and Training & Development

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The DRC team has changed shape in the academic year 2005/06 with the change in manager and new staff joining. Changes will continue to the staffing as members leave and retire this coming year but the ethos remains committed to supporting students in becoming successful independent learners.

The current DRC team is as follows:

Sara Doherty – ManagerHazel Went - Disability Adviser and Access Centre ManagerMary Reece – Dyslexia Coordinator (0.8)Helen Fee – Mental Health Adviser (0.8)Jacky Bryon – Disability Adviser (0.5)Lotte Hammer - Project CoordinatorMaggie Shepherd – Clerical AssistantCatherine Foote – Receptionist/ Clerical Assistant

All staff took part in the HERA role evaluation exercise and made a valuable contribution to the accurate placing of roles on a single pay spine within the new framework agreement.

Staff also took part in mid-year Personal Development Reviews (PRDs) and annual PDRs, taking advantage of an important opportunity to reflect on activity and development over the past year and anticipate and plan for activity and development in the next. The documents arising out of these reviews will shape the process for 2006/07 and inform the pattern of training and development for staff over the coming year.

DRC Staff Development Activity 2005/06

Further Study/Professional Qualifications Hazel Went – BSc Psychology (UoE) Sara Doherty – Module in Strategic Leadership and Management of

Change (M Level credit bearing CPD module) Internal -cancelled Helen Fee – Solution Focused Brief Therapy Hazel Went – Team Leading Certificate - UoE

Conference Activity Inspire Conference – Creative Dynamics :Leadership in Action Jacky Bryon, Lotte Hammer - SKILL National Conference,

‘Admitting Equality’ Lotte Hammer – Research & Teaching: Strengthening the Link

(UoE) Jacky Bryon - NADP Annual Conference Hazel Went – NNAC Annual Conference Sara Doherty – AMOSSHE Conference 2006:Enhancing the

Student Experience Sara Doherty - Crisis management for HEI's – UUK

External Courses Hazel Went - Supporting Students with Asperger’s Syndrome in

HE/FE Helen Fee - Dealing Sensitively with Difficult Student Behaviour

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Helen Fee- Clinical Risk Assessment Sara Doherty – Leadership Foundation Heads of Department

Programme, Modules 1&2 Jacky Bryon – Deaf Awareness, Exeter School for the Deaf Jacky Bryon, Mary Reece – Deaf Awareness/BSL – Living Options

In service training Lotte Hammer – Dealing with Stress Sara Doherty - Health & Safety Lotte Hammer, Hazel Went, Maggie Shepperd, Mary Reece – Fire

Safety Lotte Hammer – Leading a Team Hazel Went, Lotte Hammer, Sara Doherty – The Service Challenge:

a programme for managers TSB staff – Note taker sessions Jacky Bryon – File management training

Learning & Development Activity Lotte Hammer, Sara Doherty, Mary Reece, Jacky Bryon –

Academic Office Development Programme: Equality & Diversity

Budget Overview

The DRC and Access Centre activities both generate income through the invoicing of LEAs/student DSAs for support services delivered. These are: note taking and other non-medical help, mentoring, specialist 1:1 tutorials, technical needs assessments. The number of students claiming DSA determines the level of HEFCE Disability Premium Funding which supports DRC staffing and infrastructure.

This year we predicted an end of year break even position but achieved a surplus. Our current level of activity is planned to remain similar in 2006/07 in response to student demand, therefore our financial health will enable us to can fund the development of the DRC, Access Centre and accessibility within the University.

Links

We have effective relationships with and consult a range of sector organisations, including:

SKILL: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities (www.skill.org.uk ) WorkWays – Promoting Mental Health through learning & Work (http://www.workways.org.uk) Disability Rights Commission (www. drc -gb.org ) National Network of Assessment Centres (www. nnac .org ) National Association of Disability Practitioners (www.nadp-uk.org) Association of Student Services Managers in HE (http://www.amosshe.org.uk/) UMHAN: University Mental Health Advisors Network (http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/UMHAN.html)

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http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/UMHAN.html

http://www.amosshe.org.uk/

http://www.nadp-uk.org/

http://www.nnac.org/

http://www.drc-gb.org/

http://www.workways.org.uk/

http://www.skill.org.uk/

Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties (http://www.patoss-dyslexia.org/)

Appendices

A. DRC Planning Report 2005/06B. DRC Aims & ObjectivesC. Exeter Access Centre Audit Report

DRC Planning Document 2006

1. Key areas of work (Extracted and assimilated from QAA Code of Practice-Supporting Students with disabilities, DDA Part 4, DRC The Duty to Promote Disability Equality: Statutory Code of Practice, QAF Access Centres, Learning & Teaching Strategy, Academic Office Aims & Objectives, Academic Office Equality & Diversity plan and DRC Service Level Statement)

1.1 Providing advice and support for students with disabilities1.2 Supporting the development of accessible learning & teaching opportunities1.3 Operating as an Access Centre within the DfES Quality Assurance Framework.1.4 Contributing to regional networks to support the work of regional Access Centres1.5 Sharing best practice in the University and wider sector community1.6 Supporting the development of accessible learning resources1.7 Supporting the University in reaching compliance with and developing best practice in response to disability and equality related legislation1.8 Providing training & development opportunities for staff/students1.9 Providing information and advice on accessibility of learning & teaching and physical environments.1.10 Monitoring & evaluating the levels and progress of the University’s support for students with disabilities.1.11 Developing University policy in relation to disability and equality & diversity

2. Current work and future projects2.1 Operating as a regional Access Centre Exeter Access Centre – EAC) within DfES QAF2.2 Supporting all students in the University with disabilities (advice, advocacy, guidance, 1 to 1 support, non-medical help)2.3 EAC & DRC website review & changes2.4 Development of a DRC procedures document2.5 Staff web CT exchange ‘lounge’2.6 Access to Learning Project Manual – publish & launch web version2.7 Development of an accessibility checklist for the purposes of programme accreditation and review.

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http://www.patoss-dyslexia.org/

2.8 Audit of the TQA Manual2.9 Development of on-line / WebCT resources staff/students2.10 DRC/EAC Annual Report2.11 Contribute to the development of DES2.12 Contribute to the development of PEEP policy2.13 Contribute to the development of central Diversity training programme2.14 Contribute to the review of Fitness to Study procedure2.15 Review of support evaluation format and process2.16 Review Accommodation in DRC2.17 Review of transfer of electronic student information for support purposes (SITS/E-Learning,Web Portal)2.18 Support awareness of and extend the provision of accessible technology2.19 Provision of accessible technology training for students/staff2.20 Support the disability related needs of international/non-DSA students

3. SWOT analysis of DRC team and action plan3.1 SWOT analysis3.2 Action plan

4. Organisation of the DRC team4.1 Team structure4.2 Team Activity4.3 Committees and meetings

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APPENDIX B: University of Exeter Disability Policy Statement

Principles and Aims

1. The University of Exeter is committed to maximising the potential of all its students and staff.

2. The University aims to create a culture and environment that ensure that disabled students and staff achieve full participation in its activities. This will include the promotion of equality of opportunity for disabled people, the elimination of harassment and unlawful discrimination against disabled people.

3. The University will maximise accessibility to its services and schools for disabled staff, students, alumni, visitors and prospective staff and students, and ensure that no-one is treated less favourably on the grounds of disability.

4. The University will develop a culture in which people feel free to disclose a disability, should they wish to do so, and to discuss reasonable adjustments to achieve full participation.

5. The University will formulate procedures to achieve the above aims, and will administer, monitor and review them.

6. These procedures will meet, and aim to exceed, the minimum provisions of current and future legislation including the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Data Protection Act 1998.

Responsibilities and Guidelines

1. It is the responsibility of all members of the University to be sensitive and flexible in the pursuit of the principles and aims detailed above.

2. The University will create, maintain and disseminate appropriate information and training about its policies, practices and services.

3. Selection of staff and students will be based on appropriate non-discriminatory criteria.

4. It will be the responsibility of the Equal Opportunities Group, through the Disability Equality Group, to formulate and monitor procedures for the implementation of these objectives. The University will clearly define roles and responsibilities for carrying out these procedures.

5. The University will provide reasonable and relevant support ad services to disabled students and staff to enable them to pursue their academic or career potential.

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6. The University recognises that disabled people are an essential source of expertise for the successful formulation and implementation of its policies, practices and procedures. It will systematically promote dialogue with disabled people to better meet these objectives.

Agreed by the Senate and Council of the University, March 2005

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APPENDIX C: Equality & Diversity Annual Report 2005/06

(Received by Council, December 2006)

Contents 1. Introduction 2. Equality and Diversity Committee 3. Race Equality Group 4. Disability Equality Group 5. Policy developments 6. Review of Action Plan 7. Protection of Dignity and Study8 MonitoringStudentsStaff 9. The Disability Resource Centre10. Plans for 2006-07

1. Introduction

The Equality & Diversity Annual Report summarises the areas of work co-ordinated by the Equality & Diversity Committee, the Race Equality Group and the Disability Equality Group.

Following a review of the structures which support equality and diversity by the Personnel Policies Officer (Equality & Diversity) and the Lead Officer for Equal Opportunities within the Academic Office in 2004-05, there have been considerable developments across the University to raise the profile of equality and diversity during 2005-06.

One of those changes was the creation of the role of Equality and Diversity Manager to which Kate Devlin was appointed as of January 2006. Reporting directly to the DVC–Resources, this post is responsible for equality and diversity university–wide and one of the first tasks undertaken was a full assessment of the risk across the University in relation to equality and diversity legislative requirements.

In March 2006 the Performance and Risk Steering Group considered, for the first time, the University’s performance around equality and diversity issues and the extent to which this posed a risk. The risk descriptor was ‘failure to embed equality and diversity issues in all aspects of the University’s life and to demonstrate a robust commitment to challenging discrimination and positively promoting equality’. Equality and diversity was ranked seventh overall out of twenty six potential areas of risk, as it was recognised that although possibly less likely than some other areas, the potential damage to the University’s reputation of for example, a serious complaint of race discrimination was very severe and therefore constituted a very serious risk. It was expected that the reduction figure would improve

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significantly by the time of the next review when existing (and possibly additional) controls would have had more time to have an impact. The inclusion of equality and diversity on the University’s Risk Register is very significant as it is further evidence of the increasing importance that the University attaches to equality and diversity.

The most important part of the E and D Manager’s role initially was to build positive and supportive relationships both within the University and externally. Within the University, the E and D Manager’s relationship with the Personnel Policy Officer (Equality and Diversity) as well as with all the newly appointed E and D Champions (re-named Co-ordinators) based in every School and Service have been absolutely key in terms of effectively developing an understanding of the sorts of issues and concerns staff and students have across the University. The Guild Officers as well as staff at the Disability Resource Centre have also provided valuable support and an understanding about what they would identify as being priorities for the E and D Manager. Clearly there are a number of individuals throughout the University who in different ways play a pivotal role in terms of driving through E and D initiatives and may have quite different perspectives to offer. The Manager’s close links to Senior Management and the opportunity to be managed by the DVC responsible for Resources is also significant.

The E and D Manager has also delivered a series of presentations/briefings (a total of 14 between January and July 2006) to the Senior Management Group and also various Schools and Services including the School of Psychology, School of English, Personnel & Staff Development, and the Library. This has helped to further establish good working relations and also raise the profile of E and D issues.

Outside the University it has been very important to build links with different local community organisations and groups as well as establishing productive relations with other HEIs, particularly those within the south-west. The ECU (Equality Challenge Unit) and HERAG (network of staff from different universities in the South of England who have a responsibility for E and D in their own institutions) have also been very useful contacts.

Another key area for the E and D Manager has been the process of developing an understanding of how the University works, about where it is evidently performing well (e.g. DRC) and those areas where there is a need to focus resources and energy. The task of setting clear targets and priorities has been the outcome of this process.

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2. Equality and Diversity Committee

With effect from October 2005, the Equal Opportunities Group became known as the Equality and Diversity Committee. The membership has been reviewed and broadened, therefore ensuring membership includes representation from all Schools and Services.

The Equality and Diversity Committee continues to be chaired personally by the Vice Chancellor, demonstrating the commitment to equality and diversity from the Senior Management of the University. The Committee covers all aspects of equality and diversity, including race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age and religion and belief. The Committee was formally established in May 2002 and continues to meet on a termly basis.

3. Race Equality Group

The Race Equality Group (REG) is a sub-group of the Equality and Diversity Committee. It was established during the academic year 2002/03 and has been responsible for driving forward the comprehensive Race Equality Policy and corresponding action plan. REG was chaired by Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Paul Webley, up until July 2006 when, following his resignation, Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Mark Overton became Chair. Members (both staff and students) have been recruited from nominations and interested volunteers from across the University.

The Group meets termly and key areas of progress during 2005-06 include:

The University now has strong links with Devon Racial Equality Council (DREC) with Kate Devlin an elected member of their board. Kate is also the elected chair of Plymouth Racial Equality Council’s Personnel Subgroup.

The University became a sponsor of the Exeter Respect festival in July 2006, a week long celebration of multicultural art, music, theatre etc. Kate was a member of their planning group alongside Tess Nixon from the University’s Community Action Team.

We have established much stronger links with the Mosque in Exeter and Kate Devlin and Linda Shand from the International Office supported an event in April 2006 held in the Mosque to promote understanding and tolerance in the south- west.

In May 2006 the first meeting of the Religion and Belief Working Party was held. The group’s membership includes chaplains from both Streatham and Tremough campuses and work on a draft policy has commenced.

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The VC agreed to meet BME members of staff to hear about their experiences at the University. The meeting is due to be held in October 2006.

In July 2006 preparations were underway for the University to celebrate Black History Month (which takes place every October). It is hoped that the University will continue to host events for BHM in future years.

A report comparing the experiences of BME students with those of white students at Exeter University has been produced and is currently being summarised. It suggests that 24% of BME students have experienced racism, either on campus or in the city of Exeter.

4. Disability Equality Group

The Disability Equality Group (DEG) is also a sub-group of the Equality and Diversity Committee established in response to the acknowledgement that although the Disability Resource Centre provided an excellent one-stop shop for staff and students there was no cohesive body to drive through University-wide initiatives relating to disability. DEG is chaired by Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Janice Kay, and members were also recruited from nominations and interested volunteers across the University.

Areas of particular progress during 2005-06 include: The implementation of an on-line Disability Awareness package

which is now available for all staff and used as part of the induction for new staff.

We are continuing to work towards achieving the Positive about Disability status and Mindful Employer Charter.

In order to meet out legal duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 we initiated a number of actions. We have consulted the E and D Co-ordinators in order to identify which particular policy/procedure/practice from their school or service they felt were most likely in some way to disadvantage disabled staff and students. Their responses will provide a focus in the consultation exercise we will be undertaking later in the year with disabled staff and students. In July 2006 we sent out a questionnaire on disability to all staff and the responses will also inform our discussions and will provide invaluable information in terms of identifying priorities for our Action Plan. The E and D Manager, the Personnel Policies Officer (Equality and Diversity) and the Manager of the DRC have worked closely together on all these initiatives. We have also formed a working relationships with Exeter City Council and the Met Office where we can share good practice and consider various solutions to any difficulties we may be experiencing. The E and D Manager also participated in a consultation day organised by the Police and Living Options, an Exeter based organisation

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which is run by disabled people and provides an advocacy service.

5. Policy Developments

The Protection of Dignity at Work and Study

During 2006 the Protection of Dignity at Work and Study (Harassment) Policy has been reviewed and revised. This has been in response to changes in the legislation, but has also been driven by the results of the Staff Survey (December 2005) in which 19% of staff said they had experienced harassment in the previous year, but 57% of them felt unable or unwilling to report their experiences either formally or informally. The policy has therefore been simplified in order to make it much more accessible and user-friendly and has also been revised to broaden the definition of harassment (the previous version of the policy referred only to three different types of harassment: sexual, racial and personal). An additional eight Harassment Advisers (bringing the total in the Network to eleven) have also been recruited and trained. Finally, supporting publicity materials for the policy (leaflets and posters) have been designed with plans in place to re-launch the Protection of Dignity at Work and Study Policy in October 2006 (please also see section 7 for further details).

6 Review of Equality and Diversity Action Plan

6.1 The Equality and Diversity Action Plan for 2005-06 incorporates six main headings:

Strengthen Structures to Support Equality and Diversity Promote and Celebrate Equality and Diversity Improve Recruitment, Selection, Grading and Promotion

Procedures Inaugurate a Process of Auditing, Monitoring and Review Review Existing Policies and Develop New Ones Maintain an Effective Staff Development Programme Open to All

Staff A copy of the new Action Plan for 2006-2007 is provided in Appendix (1)

6.2 Areas of significant progress in 2005-06 which are not detailed elsewhere within this report include:

(Action 1.2) Committee system has been targeted as the mechanism where new policies are discussed and agreed upon. All Committees have been requested to include considerations of E and D in all future discussions and decisions.

(Action 1.3) From December 2005 all Schools and Services have appointed an E and D Champion (now Co-ordinator)

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(Action 1.4) New focus groups have been set up to support the work of E and D: - Age Discrimination - 2 groups to focus on issues for staff and students

- Pan-university working party to be set up to develop an effective training strategy drawing on expertise from different groups and reporting to E and D Committee

(Action 2.1) Key religious dates now feature on the University online calendar and there are online links from the Equality Matters web page to the BBC Religious Calendar and Multi-faith NET

(Action 2.3) Diversity Week successfully held by the Guild w/c 30 January 2006

(Action 3.6) Implementation of university wide job evaluation scheme and harmonisation of terms and conditions to ensure that work of equal value receives equal pay completed for non-academic staff by August 2006

(Action 5.1) Preparation made for new Age legislation requirements (effective from 1 October 2006) including new retirement procedures.

7 Protection of Dignity at Work and Study

7.1 The policy on the protection of dignity at work and study has been in place since 1999. There is a Network of Harassment Advisors from whom students and staff may seek advice and guidance if they feel they have been subjected to harassment.

7.2 The policy was reviewed and revised and 8 new Harassment Advisors recruited and trained during 2005-06 with a view to re-launch the policy, thereby raising awareness of it and the Network of Advisors, at the beginning of 2006-07. As detailed in section 5 of this report, a publicity campaign of posters, leaflets and staff and student briefing sessions has been planned for 2006-07.

7.2 The Advisors are required to attend training workshops and they also meet regularly at least once per term to ensure consistency of advice and guidance and to provide support to each other. Within the bounds of confidentiality they report any perceived trends or areas of concern to the Network Co-ordinator and the Equality & Diversity Manager.

7.3 In the academic year 2005-06 there have been 13 (1)1 ‘cases’ of alleged harassment handled by the advisors. This amounts to approximately 12 (16) hours of advisors’ time in either one to one discussion, telephone or e-mail communication, preparation for or attendance at meetings. Of those cases, 5 (5) have been students and 8 (6) have been staff. Of the 5 student cases, 2 were undergraduate and 3 postgraduate. Of the 8 staff cases, 1 was an Academic member of staff and 7 were Support

1 figures for last year, 2004-05, are shown in brackets

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staff. 4 (0) reports of harassment have been from individuals of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds, with 9 (11) from individuals of white ethnic origin. The table below illustrates the full breakdown of cases during the last 3 years.

Number of cases05/06 04/05 03/04

ClassificationSexual 2 2 7Racial / Ethnic 1 0 2Disability 0 0 0Other 7 5 8Not recorded 3 4 0ContextSocial 3 0 1Studying / Learning 1 2 2Accommodation 3 4 3Workplace 9 3 11Other 0 1 0Various of above 0 1 0

Students / StaffStudents 5 5 8Staff 8 6 9% of cases from individuals of BME backgrounds

4 0 5Total no of cases

13 11 17

Advisors time (hours)12 16 41.5

7.4 As awareness of the Policy for the Protection of Dignity at Work and Study and the Network of Harassment Advisors increases through the re-launch and accompanying publicity campaign during 2006-07, it is hoped that the number of cases of harassment reported to the Network will also increase and provide a more accurate reflection of the issues and therefore more meaningful data for analysis in the future.

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8 Monitoring

8.1 Students

2003/04 2004/05 2005/06% of Students from BME background

9.94% 11.48% 10.7%

% of Students who have declared a disability

4.89% 5.37% 5.7%

8.2 StaffA variety of employment-related data including an analysis of gender, ethnicity and disability of all staff on the main payroll, of staff on fixed term contracts, and of successful applications for study leave is monitored on behalf of Council by the HR Committee.

9. The Disability Resource Centre

9.1 The year 2005-06 was one of transition and triumph for the Disability Resource Centre: the Manager, Emma Shelton, left to start her own business and was succeeded by a new manager, Sara Doherty, on January 3rd 2006. In the meantime the Centre was managed temporarily by the Dyslexia Coordinator, Mary Reece, with the support of the DRC team and Sue Odell, Senior Assistant Registrar with responsibility for Student Support Services. During this period the DRC was short-listed for and won the THES award for the Outstanding Support of Students with Disabilities which was testament to the excellent work of the team.

9.2 The Centre was audited by the National Network of Access Centres audit team in January 2006 and received full accreditation for its work in assessing and producing reports for disabled students as part of their application for Disabled Students’ Allowance.

9.3 Work to support students and the University continued throughout the year as we continued with existing practices in terms of face to face support and on a more strategic level began to negotiate more embedded systems and dialogue around accessibility and pedagogy.

9.4 The DRC welcomed new members of the team as specialist tutors moved from the temporary staff bank onto permanent fractional contracts, providing a more stable working practices and coherent service delivery. Lotte Hammer, the Access to Learning Project Coordinator, successfully completed of the Access to Learning Project

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in November 2006 (http://www.access2learning.org.uk/). Jacky Bryon, one of our Disability Advisors will retire in January 2007; we have appointed Andy Cunningham to replace her. We have also appointed a new administrator to start in January.

9.5 Keith Zimmerman, the Director of Student Services, took up his post in August 2006 and will be looking forward toward 2010 to improve the student experience at University of Exeter.

9.6 The proportion of students in receipt of Disabled Students Allowance in 2004/05 was 5.6% of the total student population. This is in the important upper quartile for HEFCE Disabled Student Premium funding. It is expected that for the year 2005/06 the proportion will increase slightly and remain within the same region for HEFCE funding.

9.7 The DRC has developed supportive relationships with academic schools and with other areas within Professional Services. All Schools now have a Disability Representative with a clear agreed role to support students with disabilities within schools. The DRC works closely with these members of staff to ensure that clear information is communicated about the specific support adjustments required by students in each academic area. With this model of central and local support, students can be assured of being able to benefit from central generic provision and specific local academic support. A Disability Representative training day was held in November 2005, informing staff of the SITS AAM screen and other developments within the DRC. Feedback from the day was generally positive, although due to a lack of time, DISREPS felt that individual sessions covering specific topics would be more helpful, this will be addressed in 2006/07 with training on a range of disability related topics available through the University’s Learning and Development Unit.

9.8 The DRC send and evaluation questionnaire to all student who had registered for support, the results were published din the Centre’s Annual Report. We will change the format of the evaluation and make it available on-line next year and we are hoping that this will improve the response rate. Timing may also be a factor in response rates and we will be advertising the link to the evaluation and expecting completed entries to be returned before Easter in 2007. We will continue to explore the experiences of users of our services as a quality assurance measure and to use such information to improve services.

9.9 The Student Lifecycle & Experience review by the Special Projects Office asked students and staff to evaluate a range of non-academic aspects of the student experience. The DRC was rated highly as a service which was ‘useful’, ‘organised’ and delivered high levels of ‘satisfaction’ but those who took part.

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http://www.access2learning.org.uk/

9.10 The DRC and staff in Information Services are collaborating on a project to improve the University’s provision of accessible technology. The current Special Facilities Zone in the Streatham Campus Library is no longer adequate for the purposes of student need and expectation and the project will seek to provide networked accessible software to facilitate the discreet use of specialist packages by students with disabilities.

9.11 The physical accessibility of University campuses was given a funding boost by the HEFCE Capital funding rounds 2 & 3; this has now all been allocated on specific building project to improve accessibility in time for the introduction of the DDA Part 4 with regard to physical features in September 2005. The observance of access building regulations is now standard and part of every building project and the DRC support Buildings and Estates in achieving the best and most accessible result for campus users. We have also been part of the project to improve the look and accessibility of campus signage and navigation.

9.12 Staff from UEC have visited Exeter and staff from Exeter plan to visit Cornwall Campus. We have good working relationships with support services and are working to ensure that students receive a similar experience. DRC staff continue to attend Plymouth based meetings of PMS Student Support. It is valuable to stay informed of PMS practices and the experiences of students studying on PMS programmes.

10. Equality & Diversity Committee – Plans for 2006-2007

10.1 The E&DC/DEG/REG and other working groups to continue to drive forward the institutional E and D Action Plan and their own work programmes;

10.2 the Equality & Diversity Manager and Personnel Policies Officer (Equality & Diversity) to continue to work with Schools and Services (and specifically with E&D Co-ordinators) to ensure they all develop an individual E and D Action Plan which defines targets and records progress towards these during 2006-07.

10.3 to take account of the forthcoming Disability equality Duty which will, from December 2006, place a duty on public bodies to promote disability equality; disability equality implications (in addition to equal opportunities and race equality) are integrated into the strategic thinking and planning of the institution;

10.4 undertake University-wide consultation and involvement of disabled staff and students in the process of producing the University’s Disability Equality Scheme by December 2006;

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10.5 implementation of a publicity campaign to promote and raise awareness of the newly trained Network of Harassment Advisors and the policy on the Protection of Dignity at Work and Study to include sending out of publicity materials to all staff and students and delivering briefing sessions to staff and students;

10.6 consideration to be given to the composition of the key decision making

groups to improve representation by gender, ethnicity and disability;

10.7 further consideration to be given to the allocation of space resources for the Disability Resource Centre to allow the Centre to further develop their services;

10.8 identify budget for E and D Manager;

10.9 ensure E and D is firmly embedded in University’s decision–making processes and that all University committees include E and D within their terms of reference and in all their discussions, in line with the legislative need to demonstrate robust systems which positively promote equality;

10.10 forthcoming Gender Equality Duty 2007 which will, from April 2007, place a duty on public bodies to promote gender equality; gender equality implications are integrated into the strategic thinking and planning of the institution;

10.11 E and D Manager to deliver E and D training to all new staff as part of the University’s induction programme and to continue delivering briefings across all Schools and Services highlighting different aspects of E and D. Overall strategy around E and D training to be developed;

10.12 continue to build on links with local community groups and continue involvement with the Exeter Respect festival, Devon Racial Equality Council, and Black History Month (involving other local community groups and organisations);

10.13 establish consultation/involvement strategy across all equality strands;

10.14 campaign for affordable childcare to be made available to more staff on site and at times which fit in with their working day;

10.15 ensure that we comply with new Age legislation in terms of our student body;

10.16 continue to consider implications of Religion and Belief legislation with a view to producing a Religion and Belief policy;

10.17 investigate opportunities for extending Flexible Working options for all staff;

10.18 allocate resources to update and redesign (where necessary) the “Equality Matters” web pages;

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10.19 work to ensure that all identified controls from risk assessment of E and D bring about a significantly improved reduction figure by the date of the next review in October 2007.

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