Kia Ōrite Achieving Equity
Part 3 - BEST PRACTICE STANDARDS FOR CREATING A FULLY INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT

3.10  Staff Development

Vision

Staff development initiatives include disability issues and ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to work effectively with people with impairments and create a fully inclusive environment.

Best Practice Standards

1. Disability training is adequately resourced and arranged as part of induction and development programmes for all staff and, in particular, those involved with teaching.
2. Strategies to encourage staff to attend disability training are developed and implemented.
3. Specialist expertise, including the expertise of people with impairments and whanau, are actively involved in staff disability training and appropriately reimbursed.
4. Staff have access on an ongoing basis to resource information about creating an inclusive educational environment and have sources of support, both internal and external.
5. Designated contact(s) for students with impairments in different parts of the campus have appropriate and ongoing professional development.
6. Applicants for appointment or advancement demonstrate evidence of appropriate responses to students with impairments.
7. Strategies to measure if staff have the knowledge and skills to work effectively with people with impairments are developed and implemented.

Understanding these Best Practice Standards

• Ideally staff induction, development programmes and resource information should cover:
  • Disability equity issues, the principles and benefits of universal instructional design, inclusive teaching practices, curriculum development and learning resources.
  • The implications of different impairments on learning and teaching strategies, including barriers and solutions.
  • Designing and managing physical access for people with different impairments.
  • Student involvement, cultural issues, different communication and information strategies.
  • The range and types of support available to students with impairments.
  • Obligations under the Human Rights Act and other relevant policy and legislation.
  • Strategies to plan, implement and evaluate support for students with impairments.
• Having a designated time for staff development, endorsement from Council and Senior Management, an accredited training programme and ongoing support for teaching staff, may help to improve attendance.
• Where possible training should involve all staff, including general, teaching, part-time and contract staff.
• Strategies for measuring outcomes of training can include reviewing progress with student participation, retention and success rates, student climate surveys and staff evaluations of the benefits of training.
• Staff development initiatives may also include staff mentoring, competency programmes, actively employing more staff with impairments and advertising positions among disability community networks.