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The Disability Discrimination Act

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by treating them less favourably' than other people ... autism and Asperger's syndrome. mental health conditions. Slide 6. Terms continued ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: The Disability Discrimination Act


1
The Disability Discrimination Act
  • An introduction for exams officers2007

2
How can discrimination occur?
  • Discrimination against disabled applicants or
    candidates can take place in either of two ways
  • by treating them less favourably than other
    people
  • by failing to make a reasonable adjustment when
    they are placed at a substantial disadvantage
    compared to other people for a reason relating to
    their impairment.

3
Definition of disability
  • In order to have rights under the Disability
    Discrimination Act (DDA), an individual must meet
    the definition of disability given in part 1 of
    the Act
  • A person has a disability that is covered by
    the Act if s/he has a physical or mental
    impairment that has a substantial and long-term
    adverse effect on her/his ability to carry out
    normal day-to-day activities.
  • Each part of the definition must be met before
    someone can be classed as disabled under the
    DDA. Also, some people who do not regard
    themselves as disabled may have rights under
    the DDA.

4
Legal framework
  • Part 4 of the DDA places a duty on educational
    bodies to ensure that
  • disabled candidates do not receive less
    favourable treatment
  • reasonable adjustments are made to remove any
    substantial disadvantage experienced by a
    disabled candidate.
  • This responsibility applies to the full range of
    our activities, including the setting and marking
    of examinations and assessments.

5
Terms
  • The term physical or mental impairment can
    include
  • sensory impairments, for example people with
    visual or hearing impairments
  • learning difficulties, including specific
    learning difficulties such as dyslexia
  • autism and Aspergers syndrome
  • mental health conditions

6
Terms continued
  • genetic conditions
  • progressive conditions
  • multiple sclerosis, cancer and HIV (which are
    covered from the point of diagnosis)
  • conditions such as pain or fatigue, including
    memory loss
  • a past history of disability.

7
Provision for candidates
  • Exams officers will be very familiar with making
    adjustments to existing exam arrangements. These
    are not concessions for the individual
    candidates but adjustments designed to
    reduce/remove unfair disadvantage. They include
  • modified test papers, for example enlarged print
    or braille
  • up to 25 per cent extra time
  • a reader or scribe
  • supervised rest breaks
  • different coloured scripts
  • use of a bilingual dictionary
  • a prompter
  • use of a computer or other technology
  • use of an individual room.

8
Recruitment of invigilators
  • Do policies make clear how applications from
    disabled individuals will be handled? Are these
    arrangements made to support their particular
    needs?
  • Are there appropriate disclosure policies for
    invigilators?
  • Is induction and training for invigilators
    sensitive to learning support needs?
  • Have all invigilators received DDA disability
    equality training, and do they know how to
    communicate with disabled candidates?
  • Do all exams officers know what provision the
    institution already makes for disabled
    candidates, and the process for ensuring that
    additional reasonable adjustments are made?

9
Issues encountered
  • Are the rooms used for examinations accessible?
    Are chairs available when queuing?
  • Is there an accessible toilet near the
    examination room?
  • Have emergency evacuation procedures been adapted
    to take account of the needs of any disabled
    candidates?
  • Are invigilators aware of health and safety risks
    and, if necessary, has a risk assessment been
    undertaken for an environment?
  • Are staff aware of policies on medication,
    especially during stressful occasions like
    examinations?
  • Is any complaints procedure immediately
    accessible to a disabled candidate?
  • Are backups in place if support equipment fails
    to work properly?
  • Are invigilators aware of and sensitive to issues
    of language and communication?

10
Examination issues
  • Eventually it will be necessary for all barriers
    to assessment for disabled candidates, which
    cannot be justified, to be removed. However, this
    cannot happen quickly as it requires a review of
    the regulators assessment criteria for all
    subjects and the consequent revision of all the
    awarding bodies specifications.
  • Dr Ellie Johnson Searle, Director JCQ, September
    2006

11
Further details and information
  • For more information on the DDA, please visit the
    NAA website atwww.naa.org.uk.
  • The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)
    booklet Access arrangements and special
    consideration regulations and guidance relating
    to candidates who are eligible for adjustments in
    examinations is published annually in September.
    It can be downloaded from the JCQ website at
    www.jcq.org.uk and is also available on CD-ROM.
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