Hot Topic - Disability Discrimination Act

The Children’s Society is a leading national children’s charity, driven by the belief that every child deserves a good childhood. We provide vital help and understanding for those children who face danger, discrimination or disadvantage in their daily lives; children who are unable to find the support they need anywhere else. A priority area for us is the work we do with disabled children, particularly disabled children in care, ensuring that they are protected and are given the choices that other children enjoy.

The determination and imagination of disabled children who want to be understood should be matched by those who they need to understand them.

In autumn 2005 we conducted an organisation-wide Disability Discrimination Act audit as part of our commitment to diversity, to 

• ensure that we not only comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination legislation but also 
• lead the way in creating an environment which is inclusive and welcoming to children, young people, parents and staff with different ranges of abilities 
• set standards within the sector, reflecting our priority area of working with disabled children and young people

The Audit was seen as a positive opportunity to celebrate what The Children’s Society was doing well (The Children's Society is proud to be a Positive about Disabiltiy Double Tick employer) and a learning opportunity about where and what it could improve. Following the audit we committed ourselves to raise the profile of The Children’s Society as an employer of choice for disabled people and

• to make available funding for the translation of any information that has been requested in alternative formats. This includes translation into symbols, Braille, large print and onto audio tape. Our recruitment website already conforms to level Double-A of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0.
• to make available Widgit software to all disability pioneer projects and participation managers
• to make clear on all of our materials and printed documents that they are available in alternative formats
• to establish minimum accessibility criteria, to be used by all teams when booking external venues for meetings, events and conferences
• to continue implementing a programme of works to make the buildings we use more accessible for all
• to review job descriptions and work targets to ensure they do not act as a barrier to the inclusion of disabled children, young people and adults
• to amend the induction toolkit to ensure new staff are made aware of all relevant disability related policies and procedures
• remind all managers of their responsibility to ensure all staff are made aware of and familiar with all disability related policies and procedures
• to make Specific Disability Equality Training mandatory for all staff and delivered on a rolling programme across the organisation
• to offer the I’ll Go First training on communicating with disabled children and young people, currently delivered externally by the PACT project as a one-day corporate training course for all staff, with an expectation that at least one member of staff from every team attends
• to issue an annual reminder/ briefing to all appointing managers about specific points relating to the employment of disabled staff and to reinforce those points in all future recruitment and selection training
• to develop and update a Disability Employment Resource Pack on the intranet
• to re-establish the Disability Action Group – a forum for disabled staff and to supporting its ongoing development

We are also keen to embrace the new Disability Discrimination Act 2005 duty which requires organisations in the public sector and those funded by them, to be proactive in ensuring disabled people are treated fairly. For us this means weaving equality for all into the culture of the organisation in practical and demonstrated ways.

We seek to achieve a diverse staff group that reflects the many backgrounds of the children and young people we work with. Therefore we welcome applications from all sections of the community and appoint on merit according to the requirements of the job.

For details of The Children’s Society’s commitment to diversity and equal opportunities Staff Policy - The Children's Society

For details of The Children’s Society’s reward package - financial www.playyourpart.co.uk/financialbenefits

And lifestyle www.playyourpart.co.uk/lifestylebenefits

For details of current vacancies within The Children’s Society www.playyourpart.co.uk/JobSearch.aspx