International Day of Disabled People events
Meet the Guide Dogs (University of Leicester staff only)
28 November 2023, 12.00pm – 1.45pm, Charles Wilson Belvoir City Lounge
Spend 15 minutes with a Guide Dog and their volunteer/owner and find out about the work that they do. For this event, please bring along a £2 donation to help support Guide Dogs.
“Every day 250 people in the UK start to lose their sight. When someone loses their sight, we're here to make sure they don't lose their freedom as well. Every penny donated will go towards helping us provide life-changing services for people with sight loss.”
'Please book using your University of Leicester staff email address.
Support showcase event
30 November 2023, 11.00am – 2.00pm, Charles Wilson Belvoir City Lounge
This showcase is an opportunity for disabled staff and students at the University to explore the support that is available at the University, and to ask questions on how best to access this support.
The showcase is free and open to attend from 10.00am.
WORD! International Day of Disabled Persons special
30 November 2023, 6.30pm - 9.30pm, Attenborough Arts Centre
Join us for a special WORD! in celebration of this year’s International Day of Disabled Persons. The event will imagine a present and future that is accessible for all without exception and explore this year’s IDPD theme of inclusive development and the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world.
With an open mic and specially curated line-up featuring the brightest cutting edge of the (dis)ability arts community. Every aspect of performance will be conceived of for access to expression, to include multiple forms of language within diverse ability.
WORD! is an 22-year-old voluntary poetry and spoken word organisation based in the East Midlands and uniquely co-produced by an NHS Trust. They deliver one of the longest running poetry and spoken word nights in the UK (WORD! at Attenborough Arts Centre) alongside an ever expanding programme of other activities across Leicester and Nottinghamshire.
If you’d like to perform as part of the open mic email hello@wordpoetry.co.uk. Please let us know of any access needs.
“WORD! is a warm, inclusive and vital part of Midlands word culture.” – Sally Jack, Sabotage Reviews
“One of the most treasured and beloved nights in the region.” – Rob Gee
What is Access to Work funding?
1 December 2023, 9.30am – 10.00am, Microsoft Teams
Access to Work is a publicly funded employment support programme that aims to help disabled people start or stay in work. It can provide practical and financial support for people who have a disability or long term physical or mental health condition, to overcome workplace barriers that arise from their disability.
This event will be an overview of what it is, how it works, why it could be beneficial to apply and a chance to ask questions.
Join the workshop via MS Teams
Format documents for accessibility webinar
4 December 2023, 2.30pm – 3.30pm, Microsoft Teams
Explore how documents could create barriers to learning and work, and how to create documents that can be read and understood by all.
An accessible document can be read and understood by a diverse group of students and/or staff, regardless of any disability they may have. This session will explain how documents could create barriers to learning and work, and introduces the elements you need to consider to make your documents and presentations accessible.
The webinar will be given in the context of the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility regulations, and will highlight resources and training available to you.
Contact ittraining@le.ac.uk if you have any questions.
Register your interestBeing a disability ally webinar
5 December 2023, 1.00pm – 1.50pm, Microsoft Teams
This session will look at the concept of disability from the perspective of those with a lived experience. We shall consider what it is to be an ally, why they are important and performative verses meaningful allyship. We shall then consider 7 ways you can be a meaningful ally to disabled people.
There will be time for questions, and signposting to sources of further information.
What is Access to Work funding?
6 December 2023, 12.00pm – 12.30pm, Microsoft Teams
Access to Work is a publicly funded employment support programme that aims to help disabled people start or stay in work. It can provide practical and financial support for people who have a disability or long term physical or mental health condition, to overcome workplace barriers that arise from their disability.
This event will be an overview of what it is, how it works, why it could be beneficial to apply and a chance to ask questions.
Join the workshop via MS Teams
Talk to our Staff Disability Adviser
7 December 2023, 9.00am - 3.00pm
Our Staff Disability Adviser (log-in required) is available to talk about disability and long-term health conditions, including neurodiverse conditions such as dyslexia, autism or ADHD.
Book a 40 minute one-to-one meeting to talk either about yourself, supporting colleagues or implementing reasonable adjustments for those you line manage. Find out more about some of the software we have available in the Software Centre that can be useful to help manage long-term conditions, as well as other support available either in-house or via Access to Work funding. This is available as part of the Disability Toolkit (log-in required).
These are face-to-face meetings in the Staff Health and Wellbeing Building, but if you would prefer this to be an online (MS Teams) meeting, please select ‘yes’ when booking and our Staff Disability Adviser will send you a Teams meeting link for your chosen time.
Times
- 09.00am – 9.40am
- 10.00am – 10.40am
- 11.30am – 12.10pm
- 1.00pm – 1.40pm
- 2.00pm – 2.40pm
- 3.00pm – 3.40pm
Staff Neurodiversity Group
11 December 2023, 12.00pm – 1.00pm, Gimson Room, Fielding Johnson Building and via Microsoft Teams
A safe space for members of staff who identify, as being neurodivergent (ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Tourette’s or similar). No formal diagnosis needed.
This is an opportunity to meet each other, ask questions and share information. We aim to meet up monthly, hybrid. We also have a closed Yammer (Viva Engauge) group (log-in required). The theme for discussion this time is “if you could change one thing in the workplace in 2024, what would it be?” Feel free to bring your lunch with you.