Summarise key aspects of legislation regulatory requirements and codes of practice
My interest lies primarily with teaching new skills to older and disabled people. The key legislation that may apply includes:
Equality Act 2010
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
Equality Act 2010 gives legal protection against deliberate or inadvertent discrimination to people with one or more protected characteristics, which include:
Age
Disability
Race
Religion/belief
Gender
Sexual orientation
For example:
Having a training session in a room only accessible by stairs would discriminate against a person with difficulty walking due to disability or age.
Unnecessarily strict dress codes could discriminate against a person who wears a turban, hijab or sari.
In most cases, such inadvertent discrimination could be avoided by ensuring that full details of any requirements are obtained at registration.
It is vital that the reasonable adjustments required by the student are available right from the start, if possible without the student having to ask for them. This will enable that student to participate at the same level as their peers, without drawing specific attention to their additional requirements.
A teacher would also need to be on guard to ensure that no deliberate or accidental discrimination took place between students, such as sexism or racism, even in jest. One way of addressing this is to have the students themselves develop and agree to a code of conduct from the start.
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
This Act is concerned with securing the “health, safety and welfare of persons at work” (Health and Safety Act 1974) as well as protecting other people in connection with the activities of the person at work (for example, students).
Some examples of this might include:
Ensuring that electrical equipment is tested and safe before use
Ensuring that there are no trailing wires which may cause a trip hazard
Ensuring the teaching space is safe and suitable before the students arrive
Checking any materials for possible hazards, such as risk
Equality Act 2010
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
Equality Act 2010 gives legal protection against deliberate or inadvertent discrimination to people with one or more protected characteristics, which include:
Age
Disability
Race
Religion/belief
Gender
Sexual orientation
For example:
Having a training session in a room only accessible by stairs would discriminate against a person with difficulty walking due to disability or age.
Unnecessarily strict dress codes could discriminate against a person who wears a turban, hijab or sari.
In most cases, such inadvertent discrimination could be avoided by ensuring that full details of any requirements are obtained at registration.
It is vital that the reasonable adjustments required by the student are available right from the start, if possible without the student having to ask for them. This will enable that student to participate at the same level as their peers, without drawing specific attention to their additional requirements.
A teacher would also need to be on guard to ensure that no deliberate or accidental discrimination took place between students, such as sexism or racism, even in jest. One way of addressing this is to have the students themselves develop and agree to a code of conduct from the start.
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
This Act is concerned with securing the “health, safety and welfare of persons at work” (Health and Safety Act 1974) as well as protecting other people in connection with the activities of the person at work (for example, students).
Some examples of this might include:
Ensuring that electrical equipment is tested and safe before use
Ensuring that there are no trailing wires which may cause a trip hazard
Ensuring the teaching space is safe and suitable before the students arrive
Checking any materials for possible hazards, such as risk
References: www.legislation.gov.uk Last accessed:12th May 2014