Forming a professional body for the disability field
Presentation given at the
Innsbruck Fourth International Conference on Higher Education and Disability
Friday 10th July 2001
Abstract
In the inception of NADO it was at the forefront of our objectives to ensure that its members were recognised for the valuable professional work they do. Hindsight will allow me to give a description of the difficulties encountered along the way and so how to avoid the pitfalls in areas such as:
- How not to go about getting funding!
- Establishing a code of practice.
- Recommending formal qualifications
An outline of the services available to the membership will be given in this talk. These include:
- Keeping members up-to-date with the latest developments in disability support through its newsletter and web site.
- Encouraging networking through the NADO email forum.
- Supporting members in those areas in which they want to enhance their knowledge and performance through conferences; training events and practice manuals.
- Increasing professional status through the membership certificate, which, is issued, and members can use MNADO or ANADO in their signature.
- Inclusion in a membership list with an annually updated directory of experience allows the membership to gain peer support in the areas they require.
- Negotiating an economic source of personal liability insurance.
The main strength of NADO comes from having a membership that is steering and shaping the future of NADO by voting and participating on the Executive Committee and its sub-committees. It should be remembered that every organisation is no more than a reflection of its member's enthusiasm and commitment, it is for this reason that we are confident in the continuing success of NADO.
Presentation
Welcome to this talk on forming a professional body for the disability field. My name is Ian Webb; I am the learning support adviser for students at Manchester Metropolitan University in England. I suppose I have always been an adviser, although as a teacher in special schools in the 1970's I would have not responded well to this description. At present I am also a member of the NADO executive committee.
I was previously here in Innsbruck as the representative of Disability Information Systems in Higher Education, which was based at Dundee University Scotland. This project looked at the accessibility of technology and was funded by the Joint Information Systems Council who in turn fund all the technological process within the UK. Before this I was Vice-Chair and a founder member of the National Federation of Access Centres who carries out the majority of assessments of disabled students entering the post 16 educational arena. In all I have worked in the education field for people with disability over the past 25 years.
For many years many of the 'old hands' in the disability field discussed the issues around the employment of those working in the disability field within the UK. We knew that an organisation - a professional organisation - was required; but how to do it was second to the question who was to do it.
Eventually two 'very old hands' Dave Laycock from the University of Westminster and Steve Metcalfe from the University of Lincolnshire & Humberside (as was) bit the bullet and decided to hold a meeting as a response to the increasing needs and concerns of Disability Officers in the post-16 field. Following this successful inaugural meeting in March 1999, a professional organisation was formed NADO (National Association of Disability Officers), and an Interim Executive Committee elected. This group had initially to make decisions about how to fund the organisation. It was decided to use the opportunity provided by a HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) special initiative, to obtain pump-priming funding to develop this professional association for disability advisers working in the post-16 education sector. The University of Lincolnshire and Humberside agreed to host the project. However, this funding opportunity was not all sweetness and light!
Another hot potato, which had to be dealt with by the interim executive, was the question over who could be a member of this new professional organisation. Names and titles of those working in the post 16-field are almost as numerous as those doing the job; from Disability Officer through to Student Adviser to Learning Support Co-ordinator. However one fundamental point remained all the staff worked with students with disabilities. So the term 'Disability Officer' was chosen as the most appropriate term. It was further decided that membership should extend to all those who worked with students with disabilities. This meant that in the first instance Institutional Membership was not an option as many people work in isolation within an institution and others are part time employees who work across a number of institutions. NADO wanted to be an organisation for the whole of the UK and encompass all of the post 16-field thereby providing for all staff working with students with disabilities. So, it was decided with difficulty that there should be two levels of membership; Full and Associate, full would be for those who had professional qualifications, worked full time and had done so for a number of years. Associate was for all the others. A rate of membership fee was settled on and invitations to join sent out. Members of the interim committee spent many hours canvassing for members attending many conferences, as well as telephoning colleagues and badgering them join.
All was going swimmingly when HEFCE threatened to withdraw it's funding from the NADO project. HEFCE were not satisfied that NADO was fulfilling the obligations of its funding requirements under their 'it must be England and HE' only policy, by accepting members from the FE sector as well as members from across the whole UK - NADO was not playing by the rules. It was therefore decided by the NADO Project Steering Group that it would be counter-productive to be exclusive to HE in England and it was decided to part company with HEFCE. NADO wishes to thank HEFCE for its support and help in setting up this unique organisation. Although myself and many others feel that HEFCE made an error in judgement in the way that they announced this parting of company, and that history will show just how important the formation of NADO is in the professional development of the post-16 sector for those with disabilities. Besides by this time we had spent most of the money and achieved what we required in terms of a kick start, publicity documentation had been produced and the administrator employed.
So we now have in the UK a professional organisation that offers a service to all disability advisers working in the post-16 education sector; Membership includes assessors, trainers and support workers. It has recently been decided to open up the membership criteria and so there are to be a whole range of membership levels these will include institutional members, student members and retired but still interested members. These are as well as the current full and associate members.
NADO has a complementary role to SKILL (the National Bureau for students with disabilities), which focuses as its name implies on the needs of students, as NADO focuses on the needs of staff. The role of NADO is to offer advice and information on a wide range of issues. NADO offers a peer support function and the NADO Peer Support Register is the result of a request by the NADO membership for a mentoring scheme in recognition of the fact that many disability advisers feel isolated, and rarely have colleagues they can consult within their institution. Contributions are welcome from any member who wishes to support other members of NADO.
Continuing Professional Development is also playing an important role and a working party has been set up to oversee the formation of CPD for advisers; including appropriate professional development, and the raising of the professional status of disability advisers within their Institutions.
Within the membership of NADO is the opportunity to take out personal liability insurance; this insurance is of particular importance to those who are not directly employed by an institution and therefore not covered in the event of a claim being made against them.
So what has NADO been up to in its first year?
The Constitution has been written many times; it never ceases to amaze me how much discussion can take place over the simple form of words. Our thanks must go out to one member of the interim executive who has a legal background for their valuable work in ensuring we did not step into any legal holes.
A web site has been registered under the domain name nado.ac.uk via the University of Lincoln. A series of newsletters have been prepared and the third newsletter is currently underway and articles and letters are always welcome from all those in the field. To enable a professional approach to these articles NADO has formed an editorial group for publications.
The first NADO conference "Raising the standard" held in March this year was very well attended and an exciting event for all concerned. The conference brought together colleagues from across the post 16-sector and did much to highlight the difficulties being faced. The conference also gave an insight to the very different working practices between Higher and Further Education. Voting took place to form an Executive Committee and despite the usual "not me pal" enough interest was shown to develop some stiff competition.
NADO is providing a professional response to the changing national climate of legislation including the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) and the QAA (Quality Assurance Agency) - in the UK Higher Education does not talk about inspection. Regarding the DDA, NADO members have indicated some serious concerns; i.e. senior staff, in particular, in many (not all) institutions, has a long chain of delegation that often ends with the in-house disability adviser. Many senior staff and academics have not fully grasped the breadth and implications of the DDA legislation for their own institutions and staff within those Institutions. This equally true of both Further and Higher Education Institutions.
NADO also has concerns around the financial and other costs of implementing the necessary changes, particularly against the background of increasing financial constraints on the post-16 education sector.
A lot of Higher Education Institutions have taken the opportunity of the HEFCE special initiative funding, and it will be the role of NADO to ensure that increased disability provision becomes embedded within the support networks of each institution. There are also many other initiatives which involve the both Further and private education sectors and it is the role of NADO to ensure that where staff are employed they are given the support required to carry out a professional job and see that the need for the provision becomes embedded in their institution.
Members of the Executive Committee have also been asked to join various other groups in an advisory capacity - these groups include: Universities UK (the organisation for Vice-Chancellors and Principals), SKILL and the Disability Rights Council's Reference Group for the drafting of the post-16 Code of Practice for the SEN and Disability in Education Bill. These roles have been shared out based upon a mixture of personal interest and geographical location. It is the wish of the Executive that other members are involved in the dissemination of information and that as this is a member's organisation the member should be prepared to take on some of these roles.
Steve Metcalfe, Director of NADO, University of Lincoln, is to continue in post although not as an elected officer. Rachel Orme, Facilitator for NADO, will also continue to be employed in this capacity.
Margaret Hodge MBE who was MP parliamentary Undersecretary of state for employment and equal opportunities, and now holds the position of Minister of State for Lifelong Learning and Higher Education, had a meeting with Steve Metcalfe about NADO and showed great interest and articulated her support for the continuation of the venture. We all congratulate Margaret Hodge on her appointment within the new government as secretary for state for the Department for Education and Skills and look forward to her continued support.
The very successful NADO electronic discussion list is now closed to non-members - so continued use is for members of NADO only, we are encouraging people to join so that they can use this excellent facility. To enable the Executive to meet regularly a separate electronic discussion list has been formed, and this is used to develop a rapid response to issues. Travel in the UK is - despite it small size - difficult and often members cannot take the time off to hold meetings - at least at the same time. This electronic method has proven to be very effective and considered opinions from the executive have proven most valuable. However this is not a closed shop and the membership is often asked for its input into discussions as well as being kept up to date with the progress of discussions taking part.
NADO members report that having a champion at a senior level is essential for progression. It is also essential that other staff within the institution who are not directly involved with disability-related issues are provided with a more co-ordinated approach to staff development, and are encouraged to attend. The DDA employment section has already had an impact for staff with disabilities as institutions are being encouraged to tighten-up their practice with regard to the appointment and promotion of staff. Staff have also become more aware that they are entitled to appropriate disability accommodation. NADO welcomes the government's initiative to include education within the DDA and will do all it can to ensure that the service offered to students by NADO members is second to none and that quality and professionalism are ensured. At present we have just completed the difficult process of developing a code of conduct for future distribution to Members.
So to summarise, we now have in the UK a professional organisation for individuals engaged in facilitating the education of students with disabilities in the post-16 sector. As an organisation NADO gives advice and information regarding roles and responsibilities and contractual arrangements for employees and employers; an organisation who at the forefront of its objectives ensures that its members are recognised for the valuable professional work they do.