Disability Equality Scheme Annual Report 2007

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT DISABILITY EQUALITY SCHEME - ANNUAL REPORT

HM INSPECTORATE OF EDUCATION ( HMIE)

Core Functions of Agency

HMIE inspects, reviews and reports across educational sectors and children's services and monitors standards nationally.

Agency Priorities in 2006 - 2009

Through inspection and reporting, promote public accountability for the delivery of high quality education to all learners in Scotland;
Work with other organisations to build capacity to provide education and services for children of the highest quality for all users;
Support informed policy development by providing high quality, independent, professional advice drawn from inspection and review evidence and knowledge of the system and
Develop and manage HMIE as a best value organisation.

Agency Statement of Objectives to advance disability equality

HM Inspectorate of Education is strongly committed to promoting disability equality in the way we go about performing our role within Scottish education. Scottish society reflects diversity and Scottish education should be accessible to all. No-one should be disadvantaged or excluded because of their disability. We will continue to identify and promote good practice that enables all learners to develop positive attitudes and actions about disability.

Two key areas are identified below. One looks at the internal workings of the organisation and relevant actions are coded I; the other looks at our external role as identified in the core function above. Relevant actions are coded E. Other policy areas may emerge later. A Diversity and Equality Group was established in June 2006 to take forward necessary guidance across the organisation and to promote and monitor action taken. It should therefore be assumed that the actions noted below have been worked out between the Diversity and Equality Group and the named HMIE teams. The group is representative of the organisation and includes stakeholders, is balanced in terms of gender and includes disabled people.

It should be assumed that actions outlined below will be included in our Corporate Plan and related tasks reflected in our Business Plan for 07/08 and beyond.

Impact Assessment

Disability equality impact assessment is a mechanism for the thorough and systematic analysis of a policy or practice to determine the consequences for disability equality.

The Scottish Government has developed an Equality Impact Assessment ( EQIA) toolkit which can be used across 6 equality strands. The toolkit is supported by guidance and by a programme of briefing sessions, training and ongoing support from the Scottish Government's Equality Unit for individual impact assessments.

EQIA will be used in relation to policies and practices contributing to the strategic objective of HMIE.

We will consider all new policies, including reviews of and changes to existing policies, to establish whether disability equality impact assessment is necessary. In line with our toolkit, this will cover any policy which impacts on people.

We will also look at and prioritise of our existing policies and practices for impact assessment. To inform this, we will use the outcome of the 'get involved' events which were held in autumn 2006 and the recommendations of the Disability Working Group report (November 2006). We will also work with Analytical Services colleagues to examine the evidence in relation to existing policies and disability and use the outcome of this to support our impact assessment priorities.

Responsibility for considering priorities and ensuring that impact assessment is undertaken will be at directorate level. The Equality Unit will continually look at how the impact assessment process can be improved and how staff from across directorates can best be supported.

HM INSPECTORATE OF EDUCATION ( HMIE)

Key policy areas for advancing equality of opportunity for disabled people

Policy	Action	By whom	By when	Expected Outcome	Progress and measure
Human Resources ( HR) Policy. Current HR Strategy under review. Evidence gathered from recruitment exercises and Continuing Professional Development ( CPD) indicates a need to update some aspects of recruitment and selection staff knowledge of diversity issues.	Assess effectiveness of current Scottish Executive ( SE) practices for recruitment, selection, induction, management and retention of staff. Ensure that these take full account of disability equality. Identify current diversity profile of organisation. I Ensure Equality and Diversity Group (E&D Group)) issues a regular feature of CPD. I	HR team. Contact: Kevin Mills	December 2006 December 2006 Phase 1 CPD completed by December 2006 Phase 2 CPD complete by August 2007	Areas for improvement identified and procedures put in place to ensure best practice. Gaps identified. Increased staff understanding of equalities issues.	Number of applicants declaring a disability recorded to assess whether there is an increase. Those assessing applications and in turn candidates, reminded about guidance on the assessment of disabled candidates.
Inspection and Reporting (I&R) Policy. I&R policy underpins core functions and purpose of organisation i.e. to inspect and report on standards and performance in the education sector and services for children in Scotland and thereby to secure improvements for learners/young people. Current approaches under review. Current best practice in inspecting and reporting on disability issues will continue and we will look to further improvement in our focus and practice in this area.	Ensure inclusion of Equalities issues including disability equality in emerging changes to I&R policy and practice . E	Inspection and Reporting Steering Group ( IRSG) and task groups.	October 2007	Inspection and reporting procedures and practice identify and report on strengths and weaknesses in relation to disability issues and the outworking of changes to legislation in the education sector. This will lead to the identification and sharing of good practice across the education sector in Scotland.	Disability issues identified in reports as follows: Access to accommodation ( eg. recent data on a survey of 40 special schools identified the need to improve aspects of accommodation for young people); access to specialist staff, suitable resources for learning and an appropriate curriculum. Inspections/reviews monitoring the implementation of planning for meeting young people's needs.

Policy

Action

By whom

By when

Expected Outcome

Progress and measure

Human Resources ( HR) Policy. Current HR Strategy under review. Evidence gathered from recruitment exercises and Continuing Professional Development ( CPD) indicates a need to update some aspects of recruitment and selection staff knowledge of diversity issues.

Assess effectiveness of current Scottish Executive ( SE) practices for recruitment, selection, induction, management and retention of staff. Ensure that these take full account of disability equality.

Identify current diversity profile of organisation. I

Ensure Equality and Diversity Group (E&D Group)) issues a regular feature of CPD. I

HR team. Contact: Kevin Mills

December 2006

Phase 1 CPD completed by December 2006

Phase 2 CPD complete by August 2007

Areas for improvement identified and procedures put in place to ensure best practice.

Gaps identified.

Increased staff understanding of equalities issues.

Number of applicants declaring a disability recorded to assess whether there is an increase. Those assessing applications and in turn candidates, reminded about guidance on the assessment of disabled candidates.

Inspection and Reporting (I&R) Policy.
I&R policy underpins core functions and purpose of organisation i.e. to inspect and report on standards and performance in the education sector and services for children in Scotland and thereby to secure improvements for learners/young people. Current approaches under review. Current best practice in inspecting and reporting on disability issues will continue and we will look to further improvement in our focus and practice in this area.

Ensure inclusion of Equalities issues including disability equality in emerging changes to I&R policy and practice . E

Inspection and Reporting Steering Group ( IRSG) and task groups.

October 2007

Inspection and reporting procedures and practice identify and report on strengths and weaknesses in relation to disability issues and the outworking of changes to legislation in the education sector. This will lead to the identification and sharing of good practice across the education sector in Scotland.

Disability issues identified in reports as follows:

Access to accommodation ( eg. recent data on a survey of 40 special schools identified the need to improve aspects of accommodation for young people); access to specialist staff, suitable resources for learning and an appropriate curriculum.

Inspections/reviews monitoring the implementation of planning for meeting young people's needs.

Arrangements for delivering the general duty to promote disability equality

	Action	By whom	By when	Expected Outcome	Progress and measure
1. What arrangements will you put in place to ensure that the policies you develop and/or the services you provide pay due regard to the need to eliminate any unlawful discrimination against disabled people?	Ensure all staff are informed about unlawful discrimination and disability equality through effective CPD and appropriate HR policies . I	HR Team.	CPD programme in place. Phase 1 - awareness raising - by December 2006. Phase 2 - implementing changes by August 2007		CPD programme on track. All inspectors, corporate services staff and lay members have undergone initial training. Early feedback from training and from inspection/review practice indicates increased awareness in staff of disability discrimination.
	Inform key policy groups about changes and monitor impact of new policies . I Ensure that publications, including internal and external websites, are accessible . I , E Continue to ensure through inspection guidance and quality assurance systems that equality and diversity issues including disability equality issues are addressed within inspection reports as appropriate.	Communications Team.	June 2007	Key groups clear about expectations. E&D group clear about progress. Employees and stakeholders report effective access to information.	Equality and Diversity Group providing strategic direction and leading on CPD delivery. Communications Team has been re-organised (now Business Management and Communications Team). This target moves to the 2007/08 plan. Equality issues are a focus in every inspection and review and reported on in every establishment report. HMIE have been part of the wider Audit and Inspection Equalities Group and contributed to the development of shared national guidance for scrutiny bodies.
2. What arrangements will you put in place to ensure that the policies you develop and/or the services you provide are able to pay due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between disabled and non-disabled persons?	Ensure all staff are informed about the need to promote disability equality through effective CPD and appropriate HR policies. Ensure training interventions are included in learning and development programmes. I Continue to report on issues relating to equality of opportunity for disabled people in published reports.	HR Team.	CPD programme in place. Phase 1 - awareness raising - by December 2006. Phase 2 - implementing changes by August 2007	Equality issues visibly promoted within organisation. Inspection staff able to advise stakeholders on effective promotion.	CPD programme on track. All inspectors, corporate services staff and lay members have undergone initial training. Early feedback from training and from inspection/review practice indicates an increased awareness of the need to promote equality of opportunity. More specific training for inspection teams who work with additional support needs. Clearer links being developed between relevant equality groups. Equality issues are a focus in every inspection and review and reported on in every establishment report.
	Include disability equality in corporate and business plans (process ongoing ). I Consider specific tasks relating to improving equality for all learners E	Senior Management Group ( SMG) working with D&E Group.	February 2007	3 year plans in place with measurable outcomes for disability equality. . Tasks identified.	Corporate Plan delayed due to new administration. Disability Equality included in current draft. Target date: January 2008 The following tasks (some still ongoing) and published reports address disability issues: Additional Support Needs in early Education Nutrition in Early Education Children at risk of missing out Evaluation of the quality of education for pupils with dyslexia. Series of 'Count Us In' conferences. Most recent November 2007 where provision made for full participation of deaf pupils. Education for pupils with Autistic Spectrum disorders. Pub. October 2006 Overcoming Barriers, Enabling Learners. Pub. October 2006 Achieving Success for Deaf Pupils. Pub. November 2007 Report on the Implementation of the education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.
3. What arrangements will you put in place to ensure that the policies you develop and/or the services you provide are able to pay due regard to the need to eliminate any harassment of disabled people, related to their disability?	Ensure all staff are informed about the need to pay due regard to eliminate any harassment of disabled people through effective CPD and appropriate HR policies . I During inspections and review, pay close attention to feedback from stakeholders and address any harassment issues highlighted. E	HR Team. Directorates: Assistant Chief Inspectors ( ACIs) and Managing Inspectors ( MIs)	CPD programme in place. Phase 1 - awareness raising - by December 2006. Phase 2 - implementing changes by August 2007.	Staff clear about action to take if evidence of harassment both internally and on inspections.	CPD programme on track. All inspectors, corporate services staff and lay members have undergone initial training. Early feedback from training and from inspection/review practice indicates an increased awareness of the need to address issues relating to harassment of disabled people.
4. What arrangements will you put in place to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people?	Ensure all staff are informed about the need to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people through effective CPD and appropriate HR policies. I	HR Team. .	CPD programme in place. Phase 1 - awareness raising - by December 2006. Phase 2 - implementing changes by August 2007.	Positive staff attitudes toward disability via CPD and in staff surveys.	CPD programme on track. All inspectors, corporate services staff and lay members have undergone initial training. Early feedback from training and from inspection/review practice indicates an increased awareness of the need to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people.
	Review current use of range of diversity images in publications and public banners and take steps to increase use of positive disability images as appropriate.	Communications team.	Ongoing	Use of positive disability images in publications.	Positive images of disability being used in publications. (See recent publication: Achieving Success for Deaf Pupils)
5. What action will you take to encourage the participation of disabled people in public life?	Continue to appoint and engage disabled staff in mainline activities. Continue to work with (disabled) partners/ stakeholders in inspections and reviews and in working groups as appropriate.	HR Team. Directorates.	Ongoing Ongoing	Increased involvement of disabled employees and stakeholder/partners in core activities.	Ongoing. Recent example: participation of deaf pupils in good practice conference.
	Place disability duty on agendas of regular meetings between key personnel from HMIE and other public bodies (Education Authorities/ Colleges) Continue to include and develop discussions about disability and equalities in inspected services and published reports	Further Education ( FE) network. Directorate 4. District Inspector ( DI) network. Directorate 5.	Ongoing	A greater shared understanding and action about disability issues among and participation between main education bodies.	Disability duty on the agendas of regular meetings between key personnel from HMIE and other public bodies (Education Authorities/Colleges). Guidance is being developed for use of a Quality Indicator: 1.2 Fulfilment of statutory duties.
6. How will you ensure that disabled people are involved in the development of your department's policies and activities?	Disabled people representing both the organisation and its stakeholders - parents and students - are on our Diversity and Equality Group. They, in turn will act as main links for focus groups. Membership will be kept under review to ensure that the Group continues to reflect the wide range of interests of HMIE. This will ensure that the diversity of disabilities is reflected in the focus groups.	Diversity and Equality Group.	Established June 2006	Feedback from Diversity & Equality group shaping policies and actions.	Diversity and equality group, which includes disabled colleagues, involved in strategic and operational development of equalities strategy.
7. What arrangements will you put in place to ensure that we are able to report on progress on an annual basis?	Work with Scottish Executive's HR colleagues to gather relevant data. Use existing structures to gather information emerging from inspections and reviews.	HR Team. Stats Team.	December 2007	Annual report published.	Internal reporting will be part of HMIE's annual reporting system. Reporting on the system we inspect/review will be report in the three year Improving Scottish Education report.

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Disability Equality Scheme Annual Report 2007