Corporate Structures and Policies
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Accessibility and inclusion must be embedded into the strategic aims and resulting organisational policies of every education establishment if truly inclusive practice is to become mainstream.
Most organisations already exhibit pockets of good practice in teaching, library provision, learner support or in physical access arrangements. However, few organisations successfully integrate these pockets of good practice to create a whole institutional culture of inclusion. In terms of technology, principles of inclusion should shadow all references to technology throughout strategy, policy and practice.
Senior managers must be aware of the key issues and drive forward appropriate strategies within the institution in order to support existing practice. Rarely will devolving responsibility to the Disability or Learner Support units achieve widespread accessible mainstream practice. This is because only senior managers have the overarching responsibility required to bring together all key stakeholders from across the organisation to implement principles of inclusivity into every fact of the organisation’s operation support.
If inclusive practice is to become truly embedded into the culture of education so that accessible practice is synonymous with good practice, institutional or organisational leaders and managers have an important role to play, as brokers, as change agents and as policy makers.
JISC Techdis has provided a number of resources specifically aimed at senior managers of education institutions to support moving the sector towards a more inclusive and accessible mainstream provision.
