Camden Council Launch Disability Inclusion Learning

Camden Council launch Disability Inclusion Learning Offer, in collaboration with Inclusion London,

 

 

We want to be an organisation where everyone can bring their best selves to work – where everyone can feel safe, supported and able to thrive.

We want all of our staff to be able to thrive at Camden and HR are often at the forefront of enabling this to happen. Recent research we carried out with a company called Scope as well as research into the experiences of our disabled staff highlighted the barriers that disabled people face both within the workplace and in wider society.

We are therefore launching our new Disability Inclusion Learning Offer, in collaboration with Inclusion London, a Deaf and Disabled people’s organisation run by and for Disabled People.

The Disability Inclusion Learning Offer will provide us all with the knowledge and understanding to better support disabled staff, and is specifically tailored for Managers and HR staff. We wanted to give managers specific knowledge to be able to support disabled staff and ensure that there is consistency in the understanding and knowledge level across the organisation. It is also important that our HR colleagues are equipped with the knowledge and expertise to advise managers and staff around disability. 

 

Why the Camden Disability Network (CDN) feel we need the Disability Inclusion Learning Offer

The ‘Camden Disability Charter: A Charter for Change’ was signed on 3 December 2020 (International Day of Disabled People). The organisation made a commitment to all staff to ensure that actions are taken in the best interests of the disabled community. Through the Charter the Camden Disability Network have helped the organisation to achieve significant change; including a new approach to disability leave, and the introduction of the Wellbeing Passport and Senior Disability Champions. The Charter has also helped our Network push for further work to be done around awareness raising and support for disabled staff more widely.

The organisation pledged to undertake research into the experiences of disabled staff to help understand the impact of policies and practices on our workforce. This research through 2020-2021 helped HR to understand the experiences of disabled staff in Camden. Crucially this clearly illustrated the need for learning around disability inclusion; something for which members of the Camden Disability Network have long advocated.

 

What do disabled staff want and need?

Disabled staff have one main ask in Camden; we want to feel included and able to bring our best selves to work every day, and be unapologetically and authentically ourselves without fear of discrimination, missing out on opportunities, or being treated as ‘lesser’ than non-disabled members of staff. We want all barriers to be removed which are currently preventing disabled staff from bringing their best selves to their work, and from feeling valued, safe and respected by others.

​​​​​​​We believe that it is the way society is organised which creates barriers to inclusion, rather than a disability itself. This has historically prevented disabled people from taking an equal part in life. This ‘Social Model’ of disability needs to be better understood and the new Disability Inclusion Learning Offer provides a key step in Camden finding ways to remove barriers for disabled staff and change attitudes.

 

Camden Disability Network tell us what this means to them

The Camden Disability Network (CDN) was formed through a group of disabled staff (including those with long term health conditions, age-related acquired impairments, neurodivergence, or as yet undiagnosed health issues) with common interests and goals. It has gone from strength to strength in the past 2 years to push for massive change organisationally.

The CDN has collated some views of what disabled staff want and need from the organisation, and what we hope to see the organisation gain through rolling out the Disability Inclusion Learning Offer.

We are 100% behind this new project and are proud to be a part of these crucial steps to helping improve the working lives of disabled members of staff, and making Camden Council a more inclusive and inspirational council. We realise that change culture cannot happen overnight, but this is a massive move in the right direction.

For further information on the culture of Camden Council and other diversity, inclusion and equity programmes and policies please click here