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Regulations and procedures governing entry to, and work in, teaching, nursing and social work are to be subjected to the first detailed legal review of their compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act (18 Apr 2006).
The review will form part of a Formal Investigation being undertaken by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) which begins on Monday 22 May 2006.
The DRC's 12-month Formal Investigation will look into how training, qualifying and working practices within these professions may be posing challenges to the entry and progress of disabled people.
General Teaching Council (GTC) Chief Executive Carol Adams says:
"The GTC welcomes the Disability Rights Commission's formal investigation into public sector fitness standards, particularly in relation to the barriers disabled teachers may face when entering the profession. The GTC looks forward to working with the DRC to ensure all findings from the investigation are fed into the work of its Disabled Teacher Taskforce, which is considering the ways in which national bodies can create more opportunities for disabled people to enter teaching.
It is vital that teachers with disabilities receive the support they need to enter the profession and to have long and successful careers, and the DRC's formal investigation will provide some enormously useful information about how this can best be achieved."
