SNCPA The UK Government’s Support for Equality in Education

Definition Equality means treating people the same regardless of their race, colour, sexuality, and disability In the social care profession, great emphaisis is placed on giving service users the right to choose

Education According to UNESCO, education enables people to live with dignity, develop, participate, and improve their quality of life It is also said to have a role to play in promoting “the ideals of peace”

Putting Parents in the Picture on Choice Parents should be given the opportunity to make - or at least be part - of the decision on their children’s school The UK’s current practice has local authorities assigning schools for each child

Learning and Achieving In a government white paper, it was stated that staff in schools would be trained to confidently identify and overcome a range of barriers to learning Some schools in the UK now have resource bases for those hard of hearing, led by specially qualified teachers

Equality in the Workplace It’s estimated that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is twice that for those without in the most developed economies In Britain it is argued that this is true because the message to employers and recruitment specialists has been focused on the potential weaknesses of disabled staff

Equality Policy & Access to Content for those Hard of Hearing There are challenges relating to hard of hearing students accessing academic material in schools The qualified teachers in UK schools’ resource bases support the development of hard of hearing students, with the aim of integrating them into mainstream schooling Various hearing aids are used

Government Funds for Disabled Students The UK’s DoE is working with other departments to support disability training for those teaching in colleges, which include proposed scholarships Plans are in place to turn outstanding institutions into special teaching schools, where external staff can learn alongside those in the institution

Access to Work Policy Policy has been introduced in Britain to cover any ‘beyond reasonable’ costs the disabled or their employers may face in the process of their employment The coalition government has been keen to reform access to work for the disabled

Person-Centred Planning The government has been keen for the disabled to be supported in ‘person-centred planning’, where their future goals and next steps can be outlined for execution The goal of this planning is to give the disabled a better chance of finding employment and reduce the opportunity gap between them and the non-disabled

Conclusion The purpose of equality policies is to provide a level playing field and equal opportunities for all in society The policies’ chief aims are to give the disabled in society the chances and support to live independently, and contribute positively to their local communities