JISC TechDis – Supporting Your Needs
The JISC TechDis Advisory Service has been National Priorities - TechDis also works at
responsible for this Senior Management Briefing
Series, focussing on Colleges of Further
Education across the UK. This is only one
resource of many that the Service produces for
the sectors it supports - currently HE, FE, Adult
and Community Learning and the Specialist
Colleges. There are also smaller specific projects
working within Offender Learning, Schools (14-
19) and the Business and Community
Engagement arena (3rd Stream funding within
HEFCE funded institutions).
TechDis aims to be the leading educational
advisory service, working across the UK, in the
fields of accessibility and inclusion. If you are
not fully aware of TechDis the notes below will
help you to become more familiar with the
Service and what it can offer your organisation.
Advice and Guidance - Support can be
provided in the form of:
 Staff development materials on the website
www.techdis.ac.uk.
 Helpdesk queries via email;
helpdesk@techdis.ac.uk or telephone
01904 717580.
 The TechDis community site;
www.techdis.ac.uk/community.
All these resources have been referenced
throughout the series of briefings.
The Higher Education Academy Building
Innovation Way, York Science Park
York YO10 5BR. Tel: 01904 717580 Fax: 01904 717505
www.techdis.ac.uk
© TechDis 2007
national levels with such bodies as Funding
Councils, specific disability organisations, key
intermediaries working within their sector or
subject – in particular Becta, JISC, the other JISC
Advisory Services, the JISC Regional Support
Centres, the Higher Education Academy and its
Subject Centre network.
Areas of work - TechDis has a very broad
remit around the themes of technology,
inclusion and disability. Areas of work include
assistive technologies, effective use of
mainstream facilities (for example, corporate
systems, e-learning and the production of e-
learning materials), transition issues,
assessment, disabled staff, e-portfolios, mobile
learning and other emerging themes.
If you would like to pass any comments or
request further information, please contact
TechDis via helpdesk@techdis.ac.uk or
01904 717580.
We hope this briefing series and the resources it
provides have been of interest to you and your
colleagues. We would be grateful to receive
feedback on the Senior Management Briefing
series, and if you would like to give us your
comments an online feedback form can be found
at; www.techdis.ac.uk/SMTfeedback.
helpdesk@techdis.ac.uk
Page 16
 JISC
TechDis Senior
Management Briefing 5
www.techdis.ac.uk/getDEDgoodpractice

From Good Intention to Good Practice:

Making the Disability Equality Duty Meaningful
Introduction
The Disability Equality Duty (DED) came into
force on 4 December 2006, a legal duty
requiring all public bodies to actively look at
ways of ensuring disabled people are treated
equally. Bert Massie, chairman of Disability
Rights Commission (DRC) claimed the duty ‘will
have a major impact on the lives of disabled
people and will radically shift the way public
authorities deliver their services’. Whilst some
good guidance on the Disability Equality Duty
has been available, for example on the DRC
website, this has tended to focus more on
collecting baseline data and implementing the
systems needed to acquire it. Many colleges are
currently reviewing their Disability Equality
Scheme (DES), so this is an opportune moment
to review a sample of DESs and to consider how
they might be improved in order to:
 Better represent the good practice the college
already employs.
 Better inform learners of the colleges’ support
mechanisms.
 Better integrate into wider college policies.
In preparing this briefing, TechDis consulted with
a range of organisations, each with expertise in
supporting disabled learners. We asked each
organisation to suggest key priorities for a
college in implementing genuine disability
equality. They were also asked for the kind of
support, services or consultancy they could
offer individual colleges. We then compared this
information with the kind of information
available on college DESs by sampling 10% of
English Further Education Colleges. Given that
the biggest influence on a learner's experience
is what goes on in the learning environment, we
were particularly interested in any references to
inclusive teaching and learning, assistive
technologies or inclusive learning resources.
The research showed there was a significant
under representation of the role of assistive
technologies in the DESs sampled. For many
colleges, assistive technology consists of a
narrow range of expensive software provided on
an ad hoc basis, but in reality a wide range of
free or open source technologies exist. Few of
these technologies match the sophistication of
commercial software, but they do offer a

TechDis, The Higher Education Academy Building, Innovation Way, York Science Park, York YO10 5BR.
Tel: 01904 717580 Fax: 01904 717505. helpdesk@techdis.ac.uk. www.techdis.ac.uk

© TechDis 2007 TechDis is an advisory service of JISC, the Joint Information Systems Committee Page 1
 repertoire of inexpensive solutions which can
provide benefits for both disabled and non-
disabled learners. The final section of this
briefing explores some of the possibilities and
provides links to downloads, evaluations and
selected video clips.
Advice from the Specialists
TechDis contacted seven national organisations
with expertise in supporting disabled learners,
to ask for their top priorities in effectively
implementing the DED. The organisations
contacted included AbilityNet, Becta, The BRITE
Initiative, Learning and Skills Network (LSN),
Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB), Royal
National Institute of the Deaf (RNID) and SKILL:
The National Bureau for Students with
Disabilities. The following themes were identified
in order of significance.
Staff Training and Awareness
All of the organisations pointed to the
significance of staff training. This included both
generic disability awareness training and more
specific training geared towards those who
work directly with disabled learners. A point
brought out by most of the specialists was the
importance of a whole organisational approach
- recognising that the learner’s experience is as
much to do with the library and learning
resources staff, receptionists and administrators
as it is to do with the teaching and learning staff
or additional support staff. Both BRITE and RNID
recognised that having an accessible curriculum
requires quite specific training for teaching and
learning staff if disabled learners are going to
participate at the same level as other learners.
Actively Involving Disabled Learners
The second most common theme to emerge
was the involvement of disabled learners at
every stage. For example, AbilityNet pointed out
the importance of the learner playing an active
part in the assessment of need, so that they had
opportunities to trial different technologies or
adaptations. The more the learner is involved in
suggesting alternative approaches or
adjustments, the more likely they are to be
© TechDis 2007
successful. It was also pointed out that the
learners should be involved in ongoing active
evaluation of solutions. An appropriate
adjustment at the beginning of the course may
be less appropriate as time goes on and the
learner’s confidence and independence grow.
Effective Transition Planning
Along with actively involving disabled learners,
was the importance of timely and effective
transition planning. This involves effective liaison
with feeder schools and communication with
relevant agencies. There are also implications
within the college for early assessment of need,
involving curriculum specialists, additional
support staff and technical staff. For more
detailed information and guidance on effective
transition planning see the TechDis Senior
Management Briefing ‘Transition Arrangements -
Partners, Processes and Funding Issues’ which
can be found at www.techdis.ac.uk/getbriefings.
Effective Use of Technology
The importance of effective technology support
was highlighted by AbilityNet, RNID and RNIB.
The client groups supported by each of these
organisations can benefit enormously from an
appropriate technology infrastructure. The RNID
highlighted generic technologies for reception
(counter loops, textphones or TalkByText)
teaching spaces (induction loops for meeting
rooms, seminar rooms and lecture theatres) and
commercial paging systems to protect deaf and
hard of hearing learners in the event of a fire.
AbilityNet raised the importance of effective
technology training for the learner. No matter
how good the technology is, if the learner has
limited training or confidence, the level of
support they experience will be equally limited.
They also highlight the importance of
communicating the accessibility options
available in everyday software from Microsoft®
Office products through to Virtual Learning
Environments, intranets and websites.
Alternative Formats
Nearly half the organisations contacted
highlighted the availability of alternative formats
in their top five priorities. An important part of
Page 2
 making the curriculum accessible is to make the
learning materials accessible to the learner. An
effective DES would clarify to all learners how
they can get alternative resources.
In many cases existing or freely downloadable
software allows the learner to independently
adapt the material to suit their own needs (for
For many learners, simply having the resources available in digital format would
allow sufficient personalisation to give independent access to the content.
The TechDis Research and Implications
As part of the research for this briefing, TechDis
set out to compare the priorities suggested by
the specialist organisations contacted with the
actual content of ‘typical’ DESs. Using a
systematic sample to maintain objectivity and
ensure a breadth of coverage the websites of 42
colleges were searched. These same colleges
had their DESs searched for keywords that had
been selected on the outcomes of an earlier
pilot project. The findings are as follows:
Online Disability Equality Schemes -
Availability, Format and Size.
Less than 60% of the colleges surveyed had a
DES available online. Amongst those lacking an
online statement, one third of them gave
information as to where to obtain a copy -
varying from picking a copy up from reception,
to contacting a named member of staff or
getting a copy from your tutor.
The research also examined format and size of
the statements sampled. Two thirds of the
statements were in PDF format with most of the
remainder in Microsoft® Word. One was available
as a web based document. Interestingly, there
were very few mentions of the DESs being
available in alternative formats. In practice, PDF
documents can have a high level of accessibility
provided they have been created with
© TechDis 2007
example in terms of colours, fonts styles, font
sizes and even audio versions). Unfortunately
very few learners - even disabled learners - have
received training on how to do this. For more
information see the TechDis Accessibility
Essentials Series, particularly the first publication
on reading online documents available from
www.techdis.ac.uk/accessibilityessentials.
It seems contrary to the spirit of the
DED if disabled people have to make
special requests in order to find out
the way the college plans to improve
their equality!
accessibility in mind and the user is aware of the
accessibility features built-in. Unfortunately none
of the samples we saw provided information to
support either of these considerations.
The size of the Disability Equality Scheme was
immensely variable and this can be seen
overleaf in figure 1, ranging in our samples from
three pages to 96. The average size was
approximately 19 pages. In general, it would be
expected that the longer the document the less
likely it is to be read, although in fairness to our
sample the 96 page document was actually one
of the most pragmatic, informative and genuinely
helpful of all the statements sampled.
Suggested Good Practice
 Make the Disability Equality Schemes available
online.
 Offer alternative formats or provide information
on personalising the format you have provided.
 Keep the size of the document short enough to
encourage reading but long enough to give
clear, verifiable information.
Page 3
 Size of Disability Equality Statement (in pages)
100
90
80
70
60
Pages
50
40
30
20
10
0
Samples in ascending order
Figure 1 - Size (in pages) of Disability Equality
Statements sampled
Staff Training and Awareness
This was top of the list from the disability
support organisations contacted yet 8% of the
statements searched had no mention of training
or staff development and a further 33% were
very vague in their training commitments or
topics. However, nearly 60% of the colleges
surveyed had quite specific training targets. The
majority of these were related to the DED or
disability awareness. A much smaller number
oriented towards inclusive teaching and
learning, yet for the majority of teachers, tutors
and lecturers the issue is not just about being
aware of disability but knowing what to do about
it - how to teach in a way that is more inclusive
to disabled learners.
Suggested Good Practice
 Set clear and specific targets for staff
development in disability awareness and
ensure that these are focused on a range of
staff roles, using scenarios relevant to those
roles.
 Ensure training is geared towards positive
practice rather than political correctness. Most
staff respond well to examples of good
practice that are relevant and easily achievable
© TechDis 2007
but there is a good deal of cynicism about the
‘equalities industry’ and the associated issues it
can produce.
Actively Involving Disabled Learners
Many of the colleges detailed the way they will
involve disabled learners; focus groups and
formal feedback being two of the common
mechanisms. The best specified the information
they were going to obtain, from whom they
were going to get it and how, and gave
proposals of what would be done with the data.
About a quarter of the DESs read had no
information about feedback or consultation
mechanisms.
A few of the statements published feedback
already collected - an approach that had much
merit since they were able to highlight their
strengths and offer responses to their
weaknesses. This kind of confidence projects a
robust, transparent and responsive culture. One
of the difficulties in actively involving disabled
learners is that the process becomes harder
work as your systems become more successful.
People are keen to be involved when they want
to see changes but satisfaction can result in
complacency!
None of the data on learner feedback and
involvement included details about the
technology used in the college with disabled
Page 4
 learners. This could be a useful amendment to
gauge how to best use the technology provided
in the college and to see if changes were
required.
Suggested Good Practice
 Be prepared to trial different ways of involving
disabled learners and gauging opinion - they
will not have uniform views and some will
certainly not want to be involved in the
process or identified with the issues.
Make feedback public - publishing
strengths, weaknesses and responses
is an effective way of evidencing the
integrity of your approach and the
quality of what you already do.
 Given the range of perspectives of disabled
people it is important to gain the input of a
focus group with the wider and more
anonymous feedback obtained from
questionnaires and satisfaction surveys.
 Independent advice is also available from a
range of organisations including those
referenced at the end of this briefing.
 Many disabled learners already benefit, or
could benefit, from assistive technologies.
Ensure feedback from disabled learners covers
this aspect of their experience.
Effective Transition Planning
Among the disability support organisations
contacted, effective transition planning was high
on the list, reflecting the experiences and
difficulties of disabled learners. Our research did
not focus on this area because the pilot study
indicated there was little reference to transition
in DESs. This may be partly explained by the
often well developed systems by which learner
support departments work with disabled
applicants. It may also be that DESs concentrate
on supporting learners once they have arrived
rather than focusing on arrival and departure.
We would strongly suggest however that a
college should:
© TechDis 2007
 Collect and analyse the progression of disabled
learners compared to their non-disabled peers.
 Obtain feedback from learners on their
transition experiences.
Effective Use of Technology -
Infrastructure, Resources and Tools
Half the specialist organisations we worked with
highlighted the importance of assistive
technology in one form or another. Yet less than
half of the DESs sampled had a mention of
technology at all and only a quarter had
information of practical use to disabled learners.
Those that did, however, had a wide range of
detail. One had an entire section on assistive
technology, detailing the hardware and software
available, what can be borrowed and
assessments of the available products.
Less than a third of the colleges mentioned
accessibility in this pedagogical sense and only
one college gave a measurable target - to have
50% of teaching materials on the Virtual
Learning Environment. Others provided a range
of details from highlighting the availability of
alternative formats through to in-depth details of
website accessibility and software availability.
An important area to consider, and one
often overlooked, is the accessibility of
teaching and learning resources.
Suggested Good Practice
 Be explicit about the accessibility potential of
your mainstream resources. See TechDis
Senior Management Briefing 1 - e-learning as
an Accessibility Investment, for a range of
suggestions, available from:
www.techdis.ac.uk/getbriefings.
 Be explicit about any policies relating to
accessibility of learning resources (for example
software procurement policies).
 Clarify the assistive technologies that are
available for both mainstream use (for example
networking of mind mapping or text to speech
software) and specialist use (for example
joysticks or speech recognition).
Page 5
 Assistive Technologies - The Untapped Potentials
Whether the learner is adequately supported by
their assistive technologies depends on a
number of factors:
1. Is the technology available to the learner on a
regular basis?
2. Is the technology available to the learner on
all the computers they are likely to use,
including any at home?
3. Has the learner been trained in using the
technology?
4. Has the learner had an opportunity to trial
the technology before being provided with a
final solution?
Unfortunately for commercial software, the
answer to most of those questions is ‘no’. The
reasons may vary, but include the following -
much commercial software is expensive so it is
spread thinly across the site. It may be too
expensive for personal purchase or for
speculative trials and it may be so powerful that
it takes time to provide training in all its features.
By contrast, free and open source software can
be available across the network on any machine,
can be downloaded at home, is cheap to trial
and is normally relatively limited in its
functionality (therefore quick to master).
There is some excellent free and open source
assistive technology available but it faces two
major hurdles in implementation; firstly, lacking
advertising budgets it is difficult to get good
marketing exposure and secondly, lacking
technical support teams it is less popular with
college network managers. Nonetheless, given
the benefits of widely implemented assistive
technologies, free versions deserve far better
exposure than they have currently received.
© TechDis 2007
The TechDis Approach to Assistive
Technology
TechDis has developed a model of assistive
technologies which has many advantages. The
model is based on seven tools reflecting the
learning process. These include reading tools,
recording tools, planning tools, writing tools,
visualisation tools, alternative interfaces and
communication tools (for those with no speech).
These divide into sub themes as shown in figure 2.
By looking at a ‘tools for learning’ approach a
number of advantages become apparent:
 Learners are treated as individuals rather than
‘disabilities’. For example, dyslexia does not
correlate with a particular software solution
but the impact of dyslexia on the student’s
learning becomes the significant factor. Some
may need a reading tool, others a writing tool
and yet others a planning tool - or a
combination of all three.
 Within each genre, sub themes provide a wider
diversity of potential approaches. A learner
needing support in reading might benefit from
altering the screen display but another learner
may benefit from course handouts being
converted from text to speech, or the tutor
making audio recordings of key teaching
sessions.
 Although a tool combining a wide range of
solutions may be expensive, individual
elements of a solution are often available in
existing software or freely downloadable
programs. This allows the user increased
choice and independence - for example a
learner with poor spelling could use
Microsoft® Word’s spellchecker or AutoText
function, freeware like LetMeType or
commercial products such as Penfriend,
TextHelp or Claro Software, depending on
specific requirements, the budgets available,
the time they are prepared to invest in training
and the number of different computers they
usually work with.
Page 6
  The genres approach highlights the interplay of  Finally, the tools approach takes the emphasis
roles in supporting learners - for example away from disability. Many learners - disabled
some solutions (like video clips and or not - benefit from video clips, audio
animations, structured documents and audio downloads, well structured documents and
narration) require deliberate input from predictive text.
teaching staff whilst others (alternative The TechDis themes approach is a way of
interfaces and organiser tools) are more the generating alternative strategies for supporting
domain of additional learner support staff. learners. It also helps additional learning support
staff to see some of the tools in a new way as
some software can appear under more than one
Figure 2: category. The section overleaf summarises a
The TechDis Assistive Technology Themes selection of free or open source assistive
technology organised along the lines of the
TechDis themes (outlined in figure 2).
Assistive technology
These tools and downloads have been either
examined by TechDis team members or
alternative interfaces
recommended by respected practitioners. There
keyboard alternative
are caveats, however. The range of free and
handwriting recognition
voice recognition assistive software is wide and growing. Absence
mouse alternatives from this list does not imply inferiority in any
key guards
Screen readers
way - for example there are other excellent
assistive technology lists which we have been
visualisation tools careful not to simply replicate. These include the
video OATS project, the software library is available at
animation
http://www.oatsoft.org/Software/ and
AbilityNet’s ‘Useful low cost programs’ list at
reading tools
http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/athome_shareware.
audio narration
colour/font options In compiling the examples, TechDis has selected
comprehension tools
outlining
technologies that could potentially benefit
text-to-speech disabled learners and in many cases also be of
use to learners without disabilities. Shifting the
recording tools
emphasis from a deficit model - ‘software to sort
video
portable keyboards
your problems’, to a tools model - ‘software that
digital camera enhances productivity’ may be a subtle
voice recording
distinction but it is an important one in creating
genuine disability equality and mainstreaming
writing tools
assistive technologies.
handwriting alternatives
handwriting recognition Please note that in compiling the examples we
word prediction
word banks
aim to encourage institutions to evaluate the
benefits and risks of using free and open source
planning tools software. We are not formally endorsing or
organiser tools recommending these products. As with all free
summarising tools
resources, the user is responsible for satisfying
mind mapping
themselves as to the fitness of purpose of the
communication tools products - but we would encourage
synthetic speech experimentation, whether with these or with
symbols system
others available from the links above.

© TechDis 2007 Page 7

 Existing Free/Open Source Tools for
Learners.
For brevity, this summary simply identifies a
range of respected tools that can form part of a
repertoire of support - both for learners with a
disability and, indeed, learners who could simply
make use of some handy tools. For full details of
these tools see http://www.techdis.ac.uk/
getfreesoftware where we have an enhanced
version of the list with commentary and selected
video clips and screen shots.
Alternative Interfaces
Keyboard Alternatives
 Existing software opportunities - Handwriting
recognition and voice recognition in Microsoft®
XP onwards; Microsoft® Windows Onscreen
Keyboard.
 Other free or open source solutions - Dasher.
Mouse Alternatives
 Existing software opportunities - Microsoft®
Windows MouseKeys.
 Other free or open source solutions - Click-n-
type; Visual mouse.
Screen Readers
 Existing software opportunities - None known.
 Other free or open source solutions - Thunder
Screen Reader; NVDA (non-visual desktop
access).
Visualisation Tools
 Existing software opportunities - Windows
Moviemaker; Microsoft® Powerpoint Animation.
 Other free or open source solutions,
Camstudio; Wink, Photostory.
© TechDis 2007
Reading Tools
Audio Narration
 Existing software opportunities - Audio
narration in Microsoft® Word or PowerPoint.
 Other free or open source solutions - Audacity;
Portable Audacity.
Colour/Font Options
 Existing software opportunities:
 Display properties in Microsoft® Windows.
 Inbuilt Microsoft® Accessibility options - e.g.
Windows Magnifier.
 Zoom and text reflow options within
Microsoft® Word and Adobe Acrobat® Reader.
 Background and text colour options in
Microsoft® Word and Adobe Acrobat® Reader.
 Other free or open source solutions -
Screentinter LITE; iZoom magnifier.
Comprehension Tools
 Existing software opportunities - Synonyms
and thesaurus in Microsoft® Word.
 Other free or open source solutions - None
known.
Summarising Tools
 Existing software opportunities - Document
Map view, AutoSummarise and outline views in
Microsoft® Word.
 Other free or open source solutions - None
known.
Text to Speech
 Existing software opportunities - Read Out
Loud option in Adobe Acrobat® Reader.
 Other free or open source solutions - Dspeech
(portable text to speech and text to MP3
convertor); WordTalk; Natural Reader.
Recording Tools
 Existing software opportunities - Microsoft®
Windows voice recorder.
 Other free or open source solutions - The
learner’s own technology (e.g. Mobile phone,
MP3 player etc) may also have inbuilt
recording devices (e.g. digital cameras and
voice recording within a mobile phone)
Page 8
 Writing Tools Planning Tools

Handwriting Alternatives Organiser Tools

 Existing software opportunities - Voice
recognition in Microsoft® Windows XP
onwards.
 Other free or open source solutions - Dasher.
Handwriting Recognition
 Existing software opportunities - handwriting
recognition in Microsoft® XP onwards.
 Other free or open source solutions - none
known.
Word Prediction
 Existing software opportunities - AutoText in
Microsoft® Word.
 Other free or open source solutions -
LetMeType.
Word Banks
 Existing software opportunities - AutoCorrect
in Microsoft® Word.
 Other free or open source solutions - ClipGuru.
 Existing software opportunities - Microsoft
Outlook alerts, appointments and tasks.
 Other free or open source solutions - Google
Calendar, KalendarUK.
Outlining Tools
 Existing software opportunities - Outline view
in Microsoft® Word.
 Other free or open source solutions - None
known.
Mindmapping Tools
 Existing software opportunities - Drawing tools
in Microsoft® Word.
 Other free or open source solutions -
FreeMind; Stickies.
Communication Tools
 Existing software opportunities - None known.
 Other free or open source solutions - See the
Symbol Library and Alternative and
Augmentative Communication sections of the
OATSoft website.

© TechDis 2007 Page 9

 Further Support and Guidance
AbilityNet

About AbilityNet
AbilityNet are a national charity and the UK’s leading provider of advice on computing and disability.
Every year they help thousands of people with a wide range of disabling or limiting conditions to
access and release the enabling power of computer technology. They provide a freephone advice
and information line, individual assessments, awareness training, courses for professionals, support
for organisations, loan equipment and equipment to buy.
Resources Available
 Available online and in hard copy, for further information please see;
http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/education.
 To view the factsheets that are available to download please go to;
http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/edu_factsheets.
 For information about support available from AbilityNet please see;
http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/edu_sla_he.
Contact AbilityNet about these resources and other support they can provide via the freephone and
minicom number; 0800 269 545, or by fax; 01926 407 425 or email a member of the team at;
enquiries@abilitynet.org.uk.
Training and Consultancy
Standard courses for staff can be found at http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/webopencourses
and the details of the bespoke courses can be found at http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/
webbespoketraining. To contact AbilityNet regarding these course please email
accessibility@abilitynet.org.uk or telephone on 0800 269 545.

Becta

About Becta
Becta leads the national drive to improve learning through technology. They achieve this by working
with industry to ensure they have the right technology for education in place. Becta also support the
education sector to make the best use of technology so that every learner in the UK is able to
benefit from its advantages and achieves the best they can.
Resources Available: Generic advice and guidance
 Making accessible software: a guide for developers and providers http://publications.becta.
org.uk/display.cfm?resID=33482. This guide is designed to help industry to understand how
legislation applies to learners with special education needs and what 'reasonable adjustment' may
mean in the context of ICT.
 Making software accessible: a guide for schools http://publications.becta.org.uk/display.
cfm?resID=32113. This guide is designed to help schools to understand how legislation applies
to their learners with special education needs and what 'reasonable adjustment' may mean in the
context of ICT.
 Software accessibility: legal requirements for schools
http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=tl&catcode=ss_tl_inc_ac_03&rid=13343
© TechDis 2007 Page 10
 Organisations will want ICT resources to be accessible to all their learners – and have a legal duty to
make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to ensure that learners who are disabled are not put at a substantial
disadvantage. This publication examines what this means in practice.
Resources Available: Teaching, learning, libraries and examinations
 Improving access with assistive technology:
Many learners have sensory, physical or cognitive difficulties that make it hard for them to use a
standard keyboard, monitor or mouse without some adjustment being made. This can be achieved
through the computer’s system accessibility options, or by using alternative or assistive technology.
http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=tl&catcode=ss_tl_inc_ac_03&rid=13414
 Inspire me: Using podcasting to support language and communication
Aimed at 15-16-year olds with severe learning difficulties and uses podcasting to support language
and communication.
http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=tl&catcode=ss_tl_inc_ac_03&rid=12848
 How assistive technology is used by learners:
Learners who have special needs or disabilities often need adjustments to be made to hardware or
software, or additional devices, to enable them to access learning through ICT.
http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=tl&catcode=ss_tl_inc_ac_03&rid=13414
Many others are available via www.becta.org.uk/schools/inclusion. For more information
regarding Becta’s resources contact them via; telephone; 024 7641 699, fax; 024 7641 1418 or
email; becta@becta.org.uk.

The BRITE Initiative

About the BRITE Initiative

BRITE stands for Beattie Resources for Inclusiveness in Technology and Education. The Initiative was
established in 2001, with funding from the Scottish Executive and Scottish Further Education
Funding Council, on the recommendation of the Beattie Committee. The BRITE Initiative was set up
to inform, train and assist the staff in Scotland's colleges who work to include and support students,
often through the effective use of enabling technologies.
Resources Available
BRITE has a range of Assistive Technology User Guides that are available in both electronic and hard
copy formats. In addition BRITE have developed multi-media resources such as an online guide to
supporting deaf students, an Inclusive Building Design checklist and an interactive guide for
students with dyslexia. Although these have been developed with funding from Scottish Funding
Council, none of the content is geography-specific and all of the content is available to support
colleagues working with post-school learners in FE/HE. For further information please visit
http://www.brite.ac.uk/resources.htm. Please note that BRITE materials are available in a
variety of alternate formats.
Training and Consultancy
Training resources, such as standard courses or bespoke courses for staff: The training designed and
developed by BRITE Initiative has recently been validated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority
(SQA) as a Professional Development Award (PDA) entitled: Inclusiveness: Facilitating Strategies to
Support Learners with Additional Needs. For further information, contact SQA: www.sqa.org.uk
or BRITE: enquiries@brite.ac.uk
BRITE also offers an annual programme of seminars on a wide range of inclusion and assistive

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 technology topics. The seminar programme can be viewed by visiting the BRITE website. The
Autumn/Winter 07/08 programme will be available from mid-August 2007.
BRITE offers bespoke training in response to requests from other post-school educators and learning
providers. Recent contracts include work with the Scottish Disability Team, Equality Forward, the
University of Oslo and the Department for Education and Learning in Northern Ireland (DELNI).
Requests for further information can be lodged via emailing; enquiries@brite.ac.uk or on the
BRITE website, www.brite.ac.uk where you will also find FAQs and general information.

LSN: Learning and Skills Network

About LSN
The Learning and Skills Network (LSN) is an independent not-for-profit organisation committed to
making a difference to learning and skills. LSN aims to do this by delivering quality improvement and
staff development programmes that support specific government initiatives, through research,
training and consultancy; and by supplying services directly to schools, colleges and training
organisations.
Resources available: Generic advice and guidance
 A list of all LSN’s publications can be found at
http://www.lsneducation.org.uk/pubs/pages/index.aspx.
 ‘The journey towards disability equality toolkit’ briefing is available from
http://www.lsneducation.org.uk/pubs/pages/062483.aspx.
 Briefing for providers: The new Duty to Promote Disability Equality; Duty to promote disability
equality: final report can be found at
http://www.lsneducation.org.uk/dda/disabilityequality/seminar0206.aspx.
Resources Available: Assessment of Need
‘Do you have a disability - yes or no? or is there a better way of asking?' Hard copies and
downloads are available from: http://www.lsneducation.org.uk/pubs/pages/052243.aspx.
Training and Consultancy
LSN Consultancy Page: http://www.lsneducation.org.uk/consultancy/.
For more information on LSN, or any of our programmes of resources, please telephone the
Information and Customer Centre on 0845 071 0800 or e-mail: enquiries@lsneducation.org.uk.
Please contact either Sally Faraday (Research Manager & DDA lead) on 020 7297 9098
sfaraday@lsneducation.org.uk or Chris Barlow (Development Advisor) on 020 7297 9059
cbarlow@lsneducation.org.uk.

RNID: Royal National Institute of the Deaf

About RNID
RNID is the largest charity working to change the world for the UK’s 9 million deaf and hard of
hearing people. The RNID provides hearing support equipment to the education sector. They offer
advice, surveys, supply, installation and maintenance of induction loop and infrared systems, FM
radio microphone systems (radio aids) and Soundfield sound reinforcement systems.

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 Resources available
A range of factsheets on various subjects including equipment and communications, and issues
relating to FE/HE can be found at http://www.rnid.org.uk/information_resources/
factsheets/education/factsheets_leaflets/. These factsheets have information on issues
such as: DDA for learners in FE/HE institutions, DDA for service providers, teaching strategies and
'How inclusive are you?,' Disabled Students Allowance and the DED for public authorities
Training and Consultancy
RNID have courses on British Sign language available along with a ‘Start to sign’ BSL introduction,
deaf awareness training and deaf and disability awareness training. Email the information line on
informationline@rnid.org.uk to get more details about these courses.
The RNID can tailor their courses for bespoke packages. ICT and usability consultancy can help you
follow current industry best practice. Bespoke consultancy is available to enable colleges to support
learners with deafness and hearing loss, and help colleges work towards the RNID’s ‘Louder than
Words’ chartermark.
To contact the RNID regarding the resources, training and consultancy available please telephone
0808 808 0123 (freephone) or textphone 0808 808 9000 (freephone) fax 020 7296 8199 or
email informationline@rnid.org.uk.

SKILL: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities

About SKILL: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities

Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities is an independent charity that promotes
opportunities for people with any kind of disability in learning and employment. Since 1974 SKILL have
been helping young people and adults with any kind of disability. SKILL believes that for many disabled
people education is the key to leading a fulfilling and independent life.
Resources available
SKILL provides many resources about regarding education available from:
http://www.skill.org.uk/info/infosheets.asp#fe. Resources covering topics specific Further
education include:
 Applying to Further Education.
 Guidance for Disabled People.
 Funding for Disabled Students in Further Education.

Training and Consultancy

SKILL Provides standard training, bespoke training and consultancy for staff.
To find out more information about what SKILL can provide for you please contact SKILL via:
 SKILL WALES - Telephone: 02920 786506. Email: paul@skillwales.org.uk
 SKILL ENGLAND - Telephone/ Minicom: 020 7450 0620. Fax: 020 7450 0650
Email: skill@skill.org.uk.
 SKILL NORTHERN IRELAND - Telephone/ Minicom: 028 9028 7000 Fax: 028 9028 7002
Email: admin@skillni.org.uk
 SKILL SCOTLAND - Telephone/ Minicom: 0131 475 2348. Fax: 0131 475 2397.
Email: admin@skillscotland.org.uk

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 RNIB: Royal National Institute of the Blind

About RNIB
The RNIB works with partners throughout all areas of post-compulsory education and training to
address three key priorities as below:
 To empower and support blind and partially sighted people in accessing learning by providing
information, advice and advocacy.
 To contribute to the development of the infrastructure necessary to facilitate high quality inclusive
learning; by providing training, consultancy and partnership in direct service delivery.
 To contribute to the expansion and rationalisation of specialist provision for blind and partially
sighted adults with severe or profound and complex learning difficulties; through training,
consultancy and the expansion of holistic models of provision in partnership with others.
Resources Available
 Guide to RNIB Services - www.rnib.org.uk, hard copy and online version available.
 Student Factsheet: Learning and Technology Needs Assessments, available in hard copy and
information can also be found on the student website www.rnib.org.uk/student.
 Student Factsheet: Examinations and Assessment, Libraries and information services, and
information online at these websites; www.rnib.org.uk/student and
www.rnib.org.uk/pcet.
Training and Consultancy
All topics above are covered by courses and conferences run by RNIB PCET and Employment staff
in Regional Centres. For further information please contact karenedwards@rnib.org.uk -
National PCET Team Administrator who will forward your query onto the appropriate person to reply.
Also available is a wide range of short one day courses covering a range of topics including Visual
Awareness, Enabling Technology, Adapting Learning Materials, Education and Career Planning,
Access to Examinations and Qualifications, Access Technology and Accessible Materials, Supporting
Mobility Issues for learners in FE and HE and many more. Contact the RNIB for further details.
The RNIB also have a one year Post Graduate Course in
partnership with University of Birmingham - Visual
Impairment in Further Education Level Three Course -
Post 16 Partners in Learning (for Learning Support
Workers).
Consultation available on a wide range of issues
relating to blind and partially sighted learners and
providers / organisations. Please contact your
Regional RNIB office or Karen Edwards as above
for further details. The contact details for the
RNIB head office are: Tel: 020 7388 1266;
Fax: 020 7388 2034 and Email:
helpline@rnib.org.uk.

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 JISC TechDis

About JISC TechDis

TechDis is the JISC service supporting accessibility and inclusion in the post 16 sector through the
effective use of technology. TechDis provides advice on policy and practice, both directly to
practitioners and indirectly through partner organisations.
Resources Available
The TechDis website is a rich source of information including many staff development resources (for
example, the TechDis Staff Packs, the TechDis Accessibility Essentials series), briefings for senior
managers, case studies, articles and some excellent hosted resources such as the SimDis simulation
software found at; www.techdis.ac.uk/simdis and the WatchWords Deaf Awareness resources
by Sussex Downs College found at; www.techdis.ac.uk/watchwords.
 TechDis Staff Packs - www.techdis.ac.uk/staffpacks.
 TechDis Accessibility Essentials Series - www.techdis.ac.uk/accessibilityessentials.
 TechDis Senior Management Briefing Series - www.techdis.ac.uk/getbriefings.

Training and Consultancy

TechDis does not provide staff training or consultancy for individual institutions but the helpdesk
helpdesk@techdis.ac.uk provides an email based service for queries from institutions and can
signpost sources of more detailed help and guidance where required. TechDis is also a regular
contributor to national and regional conferences and training events. See your local JISC Regional
Support Centre for further information www.jisc.ac.uk/rsc.

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