Disability Policy

Legislation upon which the policy is based

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) was passed in 1995 to introduce new measures aimed at ending the discrimination which many disabled people have suffered. It protects disabled people in the following areas:

employment
access to goods, facilities and services
the management, buying or renting of land or property

For service providers such as sports coach UK the Act states the following:

since December 1996 it has been unlawful to treat disabled people less favourably than other people for a reason related to their disability
since October 1999 we must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, such as providing extra help or making changes to the way we provide our services
from 2004 we must have made reasonable adjustments to the physical features of our premises to overcome any physical barriers

This policy relates to the legislation outlined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, it provides a platform in which to ensure disabled people have equal access to employment, services and programmes sports coach UK provide.
The policy also highlights the positive action sports coach UK intends to take to address disabled people's access to coaches and coaching.

Glossary of Terms

Disability: Defined under the DDA 1995 as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Disadvantage: The disproportionate deprivation of some or all resources.

Discrimination: The action that people take on the basis of their prejudices, which result in unfair and unjust treatment.

Direct Discrimination: Treating one person less favourably than another would be in similar circumstances. Direct discrimination on the basis of sex often shows itself in traditional stereotypes about the roles of men and women and what might be considered men's jobs and women's jobs. Women are frequently the target of discriminatory practices.

Indirect Discrimination: Instigating requirements or conditions which, on the face of it, apply equally to all but which, in practice, can be met only by certain advantaged individuals. Such requirements or conditions are lawful only if they can be objectively justified.

Equal opportunities: Within the employment context, treating people as individuals and providing them with opportunities on the basis of their skills, talents and qualifications so that they are neither disadvantaged nor denied access on the grounds of their age, disability, ethnicity, race, sex or sexual orientation.

Equity: In its simplest sense, fairness; the process of allocating (or reallocating) resources and entitlements, including power, fairly and without discrimination. It may also use positive action initiatives and measures to address existing inequities.

(These definitions are taken from Sport England's Making English Sport Inclusive: Equity guidelines for governing bodies fact file: Sports Equity 2000)

Equal Opportunities Statement of Intent

sports coach UK is committed to the principles and practices of equal opportunities both as an employer and in the delivery of services. Employment opportunities, programmes, products and services are available to all sections of the community and sports coach UK will not discriminate on the grounds of gender, marital status, race, colour, disability, sexuality, age, occupation, religion or political opinion.

job advertisements are widely distributed and proactive measures will be taken to ensure they are brought to the attention of disabled people
all advertisements display the wording sports coach UK is an Equal Opportunities Employer
a newly devised job application form (see attached) requests information on disability to be given on a tear-off slip which is totally anonymous and collection of this data will enable sports coach UK to monitor the effectiveness of its recruitment policy
the current job summary sheet, which gives details of each job advertised, will be extended to allow specific information to be recorded with regard to disabled people
job details are already made available in electronic formats through the sports coach UK website, upon request job details can be made available in large print or audio

Other Employment Policies

sports coach UK's comprehensive induction programme includes information and instruction on our Equity Action Plan and Racial Equality policy. This will be extended to include the Disability Policy
the current complaints (ie grievance) procedures and disciplinary procedures will be reviewed and revised to deal specifically with direct and indirect discrimination
sports coach UK is committed to a policy of equal treatment of all staff in relation to career progression and decisions on promotion and advancement within the company will be based solely on the individual's ability
sports coach UK HQ in Leeds has a ramp fitted for wheelchair users
any employee recruited to work at sports coach UK HQ who has a physical impairment, would be situated on the ground floor where there is access to toilets, meeting rooms, office space and the kitchen
a portable hearing loop is available at sports coach UK

Equity Training Programme

All staff, including technical, management and administrative staff will continue to receive appropriate training in equity issues.

technical and management staff will undertake sports coach UK's Equity in your Coaching workshop
administration and Management Services staff (ie those not directly involved in the provision of services to coaches) will undertake in-house equity training based on relevant areas of sports coach UK's Equity workshop
the current training evaluation process will be followed to monitor the effectiveness of equity training and to identify any follow up training required
all sports coach UK tutors will receive information on the benefits of attending equity training as part of their In Service Tutor Training programme. It will be strongly recommended that all tutors complete the Equity in Your Tutoring workshop

Data Collection

all Directorates of sports coach UK will collect equity data on every aspect of the organisation and its service delivery
sports coach UK will ensure that all systems will support both the collection and manipulation of data to monitor the effectiveness of its equity policies
sports coach UK will continue to ensure relevant data on all employees is recorded on the computerised personnel package and regular reports are run to monitor the current employee profile

Communication Strategy

sports coach UK's Mission Statement specifies the organisation's aim to promote and apply the principles of best practice in relation to equal opportunities and is displayed prominently throughout the headquarters office and sports coach UK's ten regional offices
sports coach UK's Statement of Intent regarding equality issues is contained within the sports coach UK's Staff Code of Conduct, which is issued to all staff on appointment

Publicity and Promotion

positive images and role models of disabled people and disabled coaches will be represented in all resources, promotional and publicity material
sources of obtaining positive images will continue to be identified and an annual budget will continue to be allocated for this purpose

Workshops

all sports coach UK workshops will be updated in terms of equity content, examples, illustrations and case studies by the Coach Education team through the workshop review schedule
sports coach UK will endeavour to use facilities for all Premier Coaching Centre workshops that are accessible to all people. Furthermore, sports coach UK will, as far as possible, encourage franchise partners to run workshops in facilities that are accessible to everyone
sports coach UK CDOs will endeavour to increase the number of disabled people gaining access to sports coach UK workshops through our positive action programmes
through Initial Tutor Training, tutors will be trained to challenge any discrimination that arises in workshops they are delivering
tutor evaluations will be reintroduced and record all incidences of discrimination

Positive Action Programmes - Tutor Training

sports coach UK will develop a positive action programme, which targets the development of tutors who are disabled

Coach Development Programmes

regional equity projects will be developed that look at the most effective ways of identifying recruiting, training, educating, deploying, supporting and mentoring disabled coaches
sports coach UK will work with key partners, English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) and NGBs to increase the number of disabled entering into coaching and develop schemes to support existing ones
sports coach UK will support the work of EFDS and NGBs to achieve disability standards in coaching
sports coach UK will endeavour to uncover the facts about disabled people and coaching
sports coach UK will collect evidence from partners' good practice schemes on the best ways of targeting disabled coaches. This information will be shared with all partners

Paralympians into Coaching

in partnership with the British Paralympic Association develop an implementation plan to support retiring Paralympic athletes to become coaches

Monitoring and Evaluation

A comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system will be developed to ensure the successful implementation of the disability policy.