External training, networks and mailing lists

A list of useful external resources

Expand All

NADP is the Professional Association for disability and inclusivity practitioners in further and higher education. NADP provides codes of practice, peer support, conferences and education events, and a legal helpline service. It has an active mailing list for members, and also free resources on its website, including the NADP Journal, an open access journal exploring disability issues in Higher Education.

See a list of upcoming NADP events and training, and also a list of previous events. It also has a resources section, categorised according to disability type.

Disability Matters is a free e-learning resource for the UK workforce. There is sometimes a focus on children and medical contexts, but the introductory guides are useful as a general introduction to understanding disability issues.

The Office for the Independent Adjudicator deals with formal student complaints which have not been resolved by University processes. It also provides useful resources for University staff, which includes: Good practice framework: supporting disabled students. This guide may be particularly beneficial for disability leads in colleges and departments.

Many organisations offer bespoke training on specific issues on request, which Disability Leads could use to deliver their goals for staff training. This may be worth considering for departments/colleges/divisions who have set a specific goal to develop an understanding of a particular area of disability support, or wish to offer staff more general disability awareness training: Advance HE (formally the Equality Challenge Unit) can deliver a half-day course on Disability Equality in Higher Education on a consultancy basis.

Disability Rights UK also offers disability awareness training for managers, and this course can also be delivered in a context specific way for organisations.

As well as providing courses that individual staff members can book (see the relevant sections below for details), the following organisations can also develop bespoke sessions for departments/colleges where a cohort of staff can be trained at the same time in more specific areas of disability support:

The National Autistic Society has a very useful page on supporting autistic students in college or university. It also delivers a range of training courses, both online and face-to-face.

Neurodiversity at Work is a guide, commissioned by CIPD, intended for HR professionals and leaders across functions who want to learn more about neurodiversity, and how they can support neurodivergent people to be comfortable and successful at work.

The Disability Advisory Service has also developed an Asperger’s Video Series, explaining the role of ASC mentors.

The UK Adult ADHD Network (UKAAN) has a PowerPoint presentation on the impact and impairments of ADHD in Higher Education.

The Royal College of Nursing has developed a guide on Dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia, which contains lots of good information about how to support people. This Guardian article provides helpful suggestions of ways to support dyslexic students in a University context.

The University of Birmingham’s Vision Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research (Victar) has produced a guide to Supporting the Achievement of Learners with Vision Impairment in Higher Education.

Download a pdf version

The information on this page is available for you to download as a pdf

DOWNLOAD

Contact us

Disability Advisory Service

Go to another chapter in this Guide