Manual of Policies and Procedures Part L: Equality and Diversity

MANUAL OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES PART L: EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

Part L: Equality and Diversity

Section 1: Disability Disclosure Policy

Introduction and Context

1.  When information about disability is disclosed, the person with the disability should be informed at the time the information is collected what will be done with this information and to whom it will be passed. This Policy Statement outlines these details and BPP University’s commitment to ensuring best practice.

2.  BPP University is committed to promoting disclosure and supporting students with learning difficulties and disabilities; including but not restricted to sensory impairments, Autistic Spectrum conditions, Mental Health conditions and medical conditions. The Equality Act 2010, places duties on Higher Education Institutions to actively promote, monitor and respond to disability disclosure to ensure that the academic services and facilities for students with disabilities are accessible and inclusive and that students are not disadvantaged or discriminated against.

3.  Disability is a “protected characteristic” under the Equality Act 2010.

4.  As part of this commitment, BPP University has developed its Disability Disclosure Policy to communicate to staff and students what processes and procedures facilitate promotion, recording and responses to disability disclosure and to ensure that all practice is sensitive to individual characteristics and provides an equitable basis for learning.

5.  Applicants and students are not obliged to disclose; therefore BPP University must provide an environment and ethos which facilitate disclosure.

6.  BPP University has a duty to anticipate reasonable adjustments for potential students during the applications process. This is to ensure the University does not treat disabled people and students less favourably, without justification, than students without a disability. It is not enough to wait for a student to use a service before considering what adjustments need to be made.

7.  A disability is defined by the Equality Act 2010 as ‘any physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term, adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.’ This may include physical impairments (including mobility difficulties) such as cerebral palsy; visual and hearing impairments; learning impairments such as dyslexia and dyspraxia; psychological impairments such as depression and schizophrenia; and medical conditions such as epilepsy or asthma. Severe disfigurement is also classed as a disability. A “long term” disability is one that will last for 12 months or more, and “substantial” means more than minor or trivial.

8.  Best practice in the classroom is often achieved through attentive consideration of individual learning styles and abilities. In facilitating disclosure BPP University aspires to ensure that reasonable adjustments are instigated in a timely and appropriate way which in some cases will also facilitate the needs of the whole group of students.

9.  In summary, BPP University actively promotes and responds to disability disclosure to:

(a)  provide an inclusive environment for all students;

(b)  ensure that reasonable adjustments, where applicable, are implemented;

(c)  discourage and avert discriminatory practice;

(d)  ascertain an individual’s suitability to practice in a professional context;

(e)  ensure legal compliance.

What is Discrimination?

10.  The Equality Act 2010 protects individuals from discrimination arising from disability. A disabled person should not be treated unfavourably because of something connected with their disability, where the institution could reasonably be expected to know that the person has a disability; hence the importance of the disclosure policy and practice.

·  Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic they have or are thought to have. A disabled person should not be treated unfavourably because of something connected with their disability. (e.g. spelling mistakes because of dyslexia).

·  Associative Discrimination entails direct discrimination against someone because they associate with another person with a protected characteristic.

·  Perceptive Discrimination means direct discrimination against an individual because others think they possess a particular protected characteristic. It applies even if the person does not actually possess that characteristic.

·  Indirect Discrimination can occur when the institution has a condition, rule, policy or a practice that applies to everyone but particularly disadvantages people who share a protected characteristic.

·  Harassment is unwanted conduct, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.

Disclosure and Confidentiality

11.  General Principle: Sensitive information and disclosures should be treated as confidential in the sense that they are not to be discussed or shared with anyone without good reason.

12.  BPP University gathers information on students with disabilities from two sources: the information students provide through UCAS and other applications and during registration at the start of the course. This information is available to the Learning Support team through the management information systems, and will only be used to ensure that reasonable adjustments can be implemented. Disability information may also be passed from a student directly to members of BPP staff (e.g. in tutorials). If a disclosure is made to a member of staff, the staff should ensure that the environment in which the disclosure takes place is suitably private to ensure confidentiality. This disclosure should also be recorded using the Disability Codes Form and the Disclosure Agreement Form. In all cases Students will be given the opportunity to restrict the sharing of this information (see below).

13.  The Data Protection Act (1998) protects an individual’s personal information. The Data Protection Act is not a barrier to sharing information but provides a framework to ensure that personal information about living persons is shared appropriately. In this instance information relating to disability, either “physical or mental health, or a condition” (Data Protection Code of Practice, Information Commissioners Office) is classed as sensitive personal data, the processing of which requires the explicit consent of the individual.

14.  The Equality Act 2010 also includes the individual’s right to “a confidentiality request”, namely “that the nature or existence of a disabled person's disability be treated as confidential.”

15.  Students are therefore provided with two options; (1) to allow their disability information to be passed to staff that reasonably need to know (information passed on a “needs to know basis”) to ensure that reasonable adjustment can be implemented, or (2) students can decide to withhold or restrict the information from either the whole organisation or specific members of staff. In both instances, it is recommended that students are asked to complete the Disclosure Agreement Form. If consent to share is provided the form should then be passed on to the Learning Support Office for action. In cases of restricted (limited) consent to share, the information and the form should not be forwarded to the named parties.

16.  The applicant or student may decide to restrict or withhold permission to share the information with specific individuals or the whole organisation. Withholding or restricting permission may impede the process of implementing reasonable adjustments and this should be discussed with the applicant/student, if this course of action is preferred. Alternative reasonable adjustments will be considered and endeavours to meet the student’s needs should continue to be processed.

17.  If the applicant or student decides to restrict or withhold information sharing about their disability, staff should state to the student that they may need to consult with their line manager to seek further advice. Although in such instances the information sharing should be minimal, not mention the student’s name unless necessary and should be sensitive to the individual’s request.

18.  When a disability disclosure is made to a member of staff at BPP University other staff may only be made aware of this to enable Learning Support staff and/or other relevant staff to make the requisite, reasonable adjustments. This is important during the applications process. For example an applicant may disclose a hearing impairment and so require a BSL communicator to attend an interview to assist them. Information would then need to be shared on a “needs to know” basis, with the Learning Support Office to make necessary arrangements.

19.  Staff will only break confidentiality agreements in the following circumstances:

(a) if a student is in danger of harming themselves or anyone else;

(b) if there is a legal requirement to do so;(c) where professional fitness to practice may be compromised (this will apply to a limited number of jobs where the disclosure of personal data is necessary to assess fitness to practice).

Responding to Disability Disclosure

20.  On receipt of the initial disability information and providing that the student has not already decided to limit consent to share the information, the student will be sent information from the Learning Support Office inviting the student to sign a Disclosure Agreement, providing information about the Learning Support team and providing information about making applications for the Disabled Students Allowances.

21.  The student will be invited to discuss any support requirements in more detail, either with a programme specific Learning Support Tutor or with a member of the Learning Support team. During the discussion, evidence may be requested to ensure that BPP University complies with regulations and audit requirements. This information will be treated in the strictest confidence and stored in a secure location.

22.  Information will be drawn together in the form of a Learning Support Agreement. This will form the basis of the reasonable adjustments provided for the student to ensure that they can access their chosen programme of study and enjoy their time at BPP University.

In rare instances the recommended reasonable adjustments may be in conflict with the academic or professional standards required to achieve the learning outcomes of a chosen course of study or for progression into a professional body. In these cases this will be discussed with the student and recommendations and alternatives will be offered. This would be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Section 2: Learning Support Policy

Introduction

1.  BPP University’s Learning Support Service aims to ensure that applicants and students with learning difficulties and disabilities are fully engaged in all aspects of provision and able to achieve to the best of their ability.

2.  The inception of the Equality Act 2010 and increased public awareness of learning difficulty and disability rights have placed more demands on Higher Education Institutions.

3.  Funds are available for UK students through Student Finance England - namely, the Disabled Students’ Allowances, which can assist with the costs of specialist equipment and personal support. Other funding is available for students who may not be eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowances, details of which are available on the BPP University website under Student Support.

4.  This policy sets out how BPP University aims to continue to maintain high standards of support for students with learning support needs.

Purpose

5.  In presenting this Policy, BPP University seeks to:

(a)  express its full commitment to students with learning support requirements (learning difficulty and disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010);

(b)  clarify the scope of the Learning Support Office;

(c)  outline the roles and responsibilities of staff and students with regard to students with learning support requirements;

(d)  involve students in the planning of the support which they require and assist with applications for funding;

(e)  develop and maintain systems which encourage students to disclose learning difficulty and/or disability at application and registration to ensure that support is provided early in their programme of study;

(f) improve outcomes for students with learning support entitlements in terms of retention, achievement and progression to employment or further study;

(g)  promote the independence of students with learning support entitlements, through the development of personal strategies for overcoming barrier to learning.

Terminology

6.  A disability is defined by the Equality Act 2010 as a person who:

(a)  has physical or mental impairment;

(b)  the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to perform normal day-to-day activities.

7.  For the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, these words have the following meanings:

(a)  'substantial' means more than minor or trivial;

(b)  'long-term' means that the effect of the impairment has lasted or is likely to last for at least twelve months (there are special rules covering recurring or fluctuating conditions);

(c)  'normal day-to-day activities' include everyday things like eating, washing, walking and going shopping.

8.  People who have had a disability in the past that meets this definition are also protected by the Equality Act 2010.

9.  Progressive conditions considered to be a disability:

Ø  there are additional provisions relating to people with progressive conditions. People with HIV, cancer or multiple sclerosis are protected by the Equality Act 2010 from the point of diagnosis. People with some visual impairments are automatically deemed to be disabled.

10.  Conditions that are specifically excluded:

Ø  some conditions are specifically excluded from being covered by the disability definition, such as a tendency to set fires or addictions to non–prescribed substances.

11.  Learning Support is the term used to describe a range of support on offer to students with learning difficulty and/or disability:

(a)  the adjustments to be made by teaching staff (e.g. providing copies of lecture notes before a lesson, giving advance notice to students of timetable changes or the date of an exam);

(b)  the assistive technology which is provided to enable students to access their learning resources;

(c)  the provision of one-to-one support such as a Support Worker, Note-Taker, BSL Interpreter, Learning Mentor, Specialist Dyslexia Tutor;

(d)  the adaptation of materials into Braille, enlarged text or Plain English;

(e)  the adjustments made by staff in service areas such as Library, IT Services, Facilities;

(f)  examination concessions and arrangements for examinations, (e.g. the provision of extra time, scribe, reader etc);

(g)  additional tutorial or academic support, if the requirement is the result of a learning difficulty and/or disability.

Objectives

12.  The implementation of the Learning Support Policy aims to ensure that the Learning Support Office:

(a)  complies with the Equality Act 2010, the Equality Duty, the Data Protection Act 1998, the Child and Adult Protection legislation, the Mental Health legislation and the QAA’s UK Quality Code for Higher Education;