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For your convenience we have provided answers to the most frequently asked questions we receive If you have any further questions please do contact us.
We are always happy to help!
FAQ Listing
Disability inclusion and equality feels like a minefield where do I start?
It’s normal to feel overwhelmed if this topic is new to you. Organisations are often made to feel they should understand disability but if you’ve never had training, of course it feels like a minefield.
We believe the key to disability equality lies within education and suggest the best place to start is to contact us for an informal chat. Most likely we’ll suggest beginning with a general disability awareness session. It covers and provides potential solutions for the following topics:
- An overview of disability
- Understanding what disability is
- The barriers that disabled people may face at work or accessing your organisation or services.
After an initial overview session, you’ll then be ready to move on to more specific areas, for example creating an accessible recruitment process.
We don’t have disabled people working for our organisation so why do we need your services?
Disabled people make up 20% of the UK population, so the likelihood is that you are employing disabled people. Disability is not always visible examples being epilepsy or Crohn’s Disease. Employees do not always disclose to their employer that they are disabled. There can be numerous reasons for this including they don’t consider themselves as disabled or worry about being treated differently. There are a number of processes you can implement to support all your employees regardless of whether they are disabled. You can also encourage disclosure by creating an inclusive culture within your organisation. Watch our video and read our blog for a few tips and contact us to find out more
What is the social model of disability?
The social model of disability is a philosophy which states that people are disabled by barriers in society rather than their impairment or difference. Imagine if everyone could use sign language. If our environment was set up with visual alerts and processes were inclusive, a profoundly deaf British Sign Language user would have the same access as everyone else. The social model of disability helps us to recognise barriers that make life harder for disabled people and removing them creates equality. Barriers tend to be either environmental, attitudinal or organisational. We often teach about this model within our training sessions.
We understand the Equality Act legislation so why would we benefit from your services?
Legislation is essential but whilst it explains what should be done, it doesn’t always explain the benefits of doing it, and how to go about it. Our training sessions will provide you with the missing pieces to allow you to ensure that you fully meet your duties under the Equality Act.
We would like to hire more disabled people but don’t know where to start?
There are lots of different factors to consider when recruiting, for example where do you advertise your job vacancies? Are your adverts accessible and encouraging disabled people to apply? Does your brand image demonstrate a positive attitude to equality and diversity? To find out more about creating an accessible recruitment process and discuss how we can support you, get in touch
Will employing disabled people take a lot of time, money, and resources?
It’s important not to make assumptions that just because someone is disabled, they will need a lot of extra support and resources. Did you know that only 4% of reasonable adjustments (changes made to a workplace to support disabled people) had a financial implication? Even then there are grants that can be used to support an employer with the cost. Reasonable adjustments can be very simple and effective for example, a larger screen or a quiet room to make calls. It’s important to have an honest and open conversation with a disabled employee about what adjustments might need to be made. If the correct reasonable adjustments are made it’s likely that a disabled employee will be able to get on with the job at hand. Many organisations benefit from having training around reasonable adjustments to help them understand what they are and how to implement them.
How will my business benefit from disability awareness training?
Non-disabled people often feel uncomfortable around disabled people. They worry about poor communication and unintentionally offending or patronising someone. Supporting your employees to feel competent and confident when interacting with disabled employees and customers will increase loyalty, productivity, and business growth. The purple pound is worth an estimated £249bn so positive recommendations from the disabled community improve your reputation.
Investing in training with Enhance The UK will:
- Provide your staff with the practical knowledge and insight they need
- Empower your team to confidently engage in necessary conversations from a legal standpoint.
- Help staff to break down the barriers faced by disabled staff and customers, showing them they are welcome and valued
- Make your organisation more inclusive for customers
- Provides the opportunity to diversify your workforce and access a larger talent pool.
We have in-house training so why would we need assistance from you?
Our training is delivered by disabled experts who share insight of their day to day working life and personal experiences. We’ve got over 10 years of experience of working with large organisations and know the challenges you face, even the ones you haven’t thought of yet. We’re friendly, our training is interactive and fun (yes, fun!). And we really are experts in all aspects of disability. We’re also a charity. So when you book our training sessions you’re enabling us to support disabled people with our work in creating inclusive education in schools and health projects.
Who is disability awareness training suitable for?
Are we able to change the content of training?’
Yes. All of our training is designed to be flexible and tailored to the needs of the delegates. If you have any specific requirements or goals just ask. We’ll work with you to create the right content for your team. Schedule a free consultation with you to discuss your training needs.
Can the group sizes be changed?
It depends on the training or workshop you would like delivered. Our sessions are interactive and to ensure the high standards we set it’s essential that people have time to ask questions and take part. Our face to face disability awareness training sessions and our Virtual disability awareness training sessions are capped at 16.
We want our policies and procedures to feature in your training sessions, can you do this?
We always tailor our training to the requirements of the organisation that we work with. Whether we can cover specific policies and procedures will depend on the length of session booked and the required outcomes of the session. You are welcome to schedule a free consultation to discuss your training requirements.
Who delivers the training?
We are a professional, experienced team with education, training, counselling, mentoring and business backgrounds. Our trainers are all disabled themselves and are able to offer both expert knowledge and lived experience.
How do we book a session?
It’s simple to book with us, either schedule a free telephone or zoom consultation, or email us on info@enhancetheuk.org
We don’t have any deaf employees so why would we need deaf awareness training?
- 1 in 6 people in the UK having some level of hearing loss so it’s highly unlikely that everyone who works for you has ‘perfect’ hearing.
- It takes the average person 10 years to accept that they have hearing loss and do something about it. We all have that family member of colleague who asks you to repeat yourself constantly or who doesn’t seem to listen to what you say!
- It may be that a member of staff doesn’t’ know they have hearing loss or hasn’t disclosed it to you. Being deaf aware will improve communication for all staff.
If the trainer is deaf will we be able to understand each other?
Yes of course. Our trainers are highly experienced at communicating effectively within a training environment. One of the many benefits of having a trainer who is deaf or has hearing loss is that attendees will be able to practice what they learn within the training environment.
Will we be able to sign by the end of the course?
On a full day of deaf awareness, we do include some basic British Sign Language, such as how to fingerspell, how to greet someone in BSL and some simple work based terminology. It takes years of practice to be fluent in sign language but every little bit helps!
Who delivers the BSL training?
Our courses are run be highly experienced Deaf trainers who are warm, friendly and supportive.
Is learning to Sign easy?
Learning to sign is not easy. It takes patience and practice, but it is fun and enjoyable! It’s important that you realise that you wouldn’t go into a French class and expect to be fluent within a few hours and it’s the same with British Sign Language. It’s a highly complex language and takes a long time to reach fluency. But, every bit of sign language you know is helpful to aid communication and also establish a rapport.
Is BSL the same as Makaton?
No. Many of the signs used for Makaton are taken from British Sign Language but Makaton is not a language. It is a basic signing and symbol system used to support spoken language. BSL is a full language with its own grammar and syntax and is the language of the Deaf community.
Will a British Sign Language translation be word for word what is on our site?
No. British Sign Language has a different grammatical structure then English. Please be assured that our translators are highly qualified and experienced at accurately translating English into BSL.
Do we need to have a large budget to translate our website?
No. We can help you to choose the content to be translated and will assist you to work to your budget.
Will all the improvements you suggest in the audit be expensive?
No, it’s important to look at what’s reasonable to expect an organisation to do. As a charity we always try and offer a variety of recommendations to suit all budgets. Sometimes it can be just a change in working practices which are free to implement.
Do we have to tell all staff that we are having an audit?
No, often it can be useful for a closed audit to be conducted so only those who need to know are informed. When we discuss your requirements with you, we can agree whether or not a closed audit is the best approach.
Does our building have to be fully accessible for your disabled auditors to be able to visit?
No, we work closely together as a team and will send the most suitable auditors for your service and premises. Information about the current accessibility of the building will be asked prior to booking an audit.
Is someone who is neurodivergent disabled?
It is important to note that some neurodivergent people think of themselves as disabled others don’t. it’s a matter of self-identity. However, the likelihood is that most neurodivergent people would be classed as disabled under the equality act (2010). But this will really depend on whether their condition has a long-term significant impact on their everyday lives. If it does, you have a duty to make sure that you don’t discriminate against them and that you provide reasonable adjustments.
I am neurodivergent myself and find sitting through training difficult. Can I have extra breaks if needed?
Of course! Our trainers are highly experienced in making reasonable adjustments and ensuring people’s access needs are met. We ask about any access needs prior to any training sessions and will always do our best to accommodate these.
Will this training provide me with a list of adjustments which I should make for all neurodivergent staff?
No. There’s a famous saying is if you have met one Autistic person, you have met one Autistic person. Well, that’s the same for everyone really! Everyone will have their own access needs and reasonable adjustments which will be helpful for them. What our training will do is raise your awareness of reasonable adjustments which are often helpful and equip you with the skills and confidence to be able to communicate with people appropriately about their access needs.
Will this training help me to get an ADHD assessment?
No. This training will not support with achieving a diagnosis, but it will help your colleagues have more awareness of neurodiversity.