Community Focus - Can I play too?

In schools, ensuring equality isn?t just the responsibility of the local authority, argues Steve Mannix.
Here at Shape we?ve had lots of enquiries from individual artists and companies who work in education and youth arts. Sadly, many of them have been under the misapprehension that the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) doesn?t apply to them. Sorry to disappoint you, guys, but it does!

Many of you will have read about the young disabled boy who had been excluded from several of his school?s activities (including the school play, annual school trip and other activities). The Disability Rights Commission recently helped his parents take a case against the Local Education Authority (LEA) and they won. The boy had been ?knowingly discriminated against?. ?Quite right?, I hear you all cry from your desks but what?s this got to do with me?

Disabled people have been excluded from quality educational experiences for decades. Barriers still remain. The Disability Rights Commission states that ?Young people who miss out on nursery, school or college are more likely to face a life of exclusion. Disabled people are half as likely to go to college, and twice as likely to end up with no qualifications. They are also twice as likely to be out of work?. Things are changing though ? and very fast in some areas of the country. The move is towards integrated education. There is a great debate around the whole concept, exploring the question ?Integration on whose terms?? What resources are available? Who is able to integrate? At Shape we fully support integration where resources, policies and the commitment of the whole school exist. The aim should be for true ?inclusion? across the board.

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001) makes it unlawful for schools, colleges and other education providers to discriminate against disabled people. The main provisions came into force on 1 September 2002, through an amendment to The Disability Discrimination Act. The law covers all areas of education ? schools, colleges, universities, adult education and youth services. None of these bodies may treat disabled pupils or students less favourably or put them at a ?substantial disadvantage?. In fact, they have to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate them. And this is where you all come in.

As an artist or as a company when you work in any of these environments, you are providing a service within education. You, too, should make reasonable adjustments. Why? Well, old arts education models are disappearing right before our eyes. In the past, arts organisations might have prepared work for ?special? schools. In future the ?special? school (love ?em and hate ?em!) may not exist ? the kids may have upped and gone into main-stream. Those organisations will now have to consider how to make work accessible every day of the week. In future you may not know if (or how many) disabled kids there are in an audience. Although I would stress that it remains to be proved, as a service provider under the DDA, the school or LEA may (again, I stress may), have a case against you if you are not making ?reasonable adjustments?. At all times you must ensure that you are not placing young disabled people at a substantial disadvantage.

Beyond the legal implications, this is potentially going to change the dynamic and processes of work in the arts. I know when I worked as an actor in Theatre in Education (hard to believe, I know, but we?ll pass on that one for now), our performance work was often very group-based and physical. Companies will need to ask themselves if their performers are trained to work in an integrated environment? Will their designs have to change to accommodate access needs? Are they using inclusive communication techniques?

Please, for God?s sake, don?t panic. Yes, you may be an individual artist with limited funding. That?s fine. But when you are planning your next series of workshops in a school why not ask the teacher whether any pupils have access needs? Think about ways in which you could adapt your work. And remember, disabled young people will have support ? they?ve not been thrown into the class and left to fend for themselves (not yet, anyway!). For example, a young visually impaired person will more than likely have sighted assistance. If they were to come to your session slightly early for a touch tour and introduction, their creative and educational experience would increase no end. Other young people may simply benefit from seeing materials in advance, such as a synopsis or description.

We are all working towards a similar goal. We want a society in which disabled people enjoy the same access to high-quality education as non-disabled people have. A small amount of effort now can really reap dividends later. I return to the young lad I mentioned at the beginning. What must he have felt like seeing his mates in the school play? This is not my kind of art and I?m sure its not yours. Some of my most rewarding moments have come from witnessing strong inclusive arts education. Let?s ensure that everyone can benefit.