What types of training do you offer?
DSN offers a variety of training around disability inclusion. We believe that one size fits no one and therefore all of our training offers are tailored to the needs of the cohorts.
Here are some examples of training we designed and continue to offer:
– Inclusive Pedagogy Training
(aimed at tutors and teaching staff, a 3h mini course that covers general awareness training, higher education specific training and practical pedagogy skills; the training is delivered to a small cohort, using frontal teaching, group work and experiential teaching)
– Neurodiversity Awareness Training for PG supervisors
(aimed at staff supervising PG students. It covers general awareness training, neurodiversity awareness, practical tools to foster an inclusive supervision experience and procedural advice. This training can be customised further to focus on a specific neurodivergence, e.g Autism, ADHD, Bipolar disorder, etc. Generally delivered within 90min, 60mins training with 30mins Q&A)
– General Inclusion Training for Admin Staff and HR
(aimed primarily at those who work on the procedural side. It covers general awareness training and then heavily focussed on how to support disabled staff using procedure. Generally delivered within 90min, 60mins training with 30mins Q&A)
– Communication in the light of Inclusion and Diversity
(not aimed at a specific group. Often we miscommunicate due to our differences, we come from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, we may be of different neurotypes. This training takes you onto a wee bit of a journey, inviting you to look at concepts of politeness and body language in different languages, giving you a bit of an idea what the neurodivergent experience can be like. The training is aiming to foster better communication by creating diversity and inclusion awareness. It can be delivered in 60mins or 90mins. The longer version allows for more interactive engagement with different languages around the world.)
– Mind The Gap, First Response Tool Kit
(aimed at teaching staff of all grades. This covers general first response tools for the classroom and supervision. Student Support service have now taken over and will be looking after the students instead of a personal tutor. However, if a student is struggling in your classroom, having a breakdown in class or during a meeting, there is a gap between the situation and the support structure. You will have to manage the situation and then organise getting support from the system in place. This course is all about The Gap. How to we bridge it? De-escalating, calming, reassuring, ensuring the student gets support, managing the rest of the class. Generally delivered in 90-120mins.)
– What to do with student adjustments?
(aimed at teaching staff of all grades. This covers a brief introduction into inclusion and the principles it is guided by, followed by actively working on solutions for implementing adjustments. Every year teaching staff are sent a list of adjustments for the students on their courses, but they are often unsure of how to implement them. This is highly dependent on the subject area and we may ask you to let our trainer sit in one of your seminars/tutorials/lectures well before the training so they have an understanding of your subjects area’s needs. Generally delivered in 90-120mins.)
That all looks very interesting but it’s not what my school/unit/department/staff needs. Can you make something especially for us?
We would be happy to.
All our training includes general awareness training (medical vs social model, labour of inclusion, etc). Beyond that, we will tailor to your needs.
Do you need classrooms tools? Focus of pedagogy? Tools for individual communication? Procedural advice? Tips on creating inclusive teaching material?
How big is the cohort? How much time can we get?
Drop us an email, we’re happy to have a chat and put together the right training for your needs. Email us here
What does it cost my department to invite you?
If you are part of the University of Edinburgh, currently nothing, and we hope it will stay that way. At the moment we can provide our training through citizenship and with some Trade Union help.
What is the advantage of getting DSN to deliver the training?
Our training is grounded in both research and lived experience. We are disabled staff that can speak from experience. And we have another have huge advantage: We know University of Edinburgh policy, procedure and practice. We can tell how to access help and how to handle procedure around inclusion. We are connected to the University community through other Staff Networks, Trade Unions and EDI streams which helps us address intersectionality.
Our training is continuously informed by developments and concerns that are specific to our University community.
Thank you so much for the adjustments training at our LEL awayday. You were brilliant – and many people came up to me afterwards to say how impressed they were with how you presented things. It was super helpful and engaging.
Thanks from me too for a great session on general inclusion and dealing with learning adjustments in our department (LEL, PPLS). It was really helpful to have a framework (5-Ts) to talk to each other about these issues. Your moderation of the discussion was brilliant, striking a good balance between generating empathy, highlighting the importance of the issues and at the same time keeping things manageable.
Claire delivered an excellent session on disability awareness with focus on neurodiversity for the Future Leaders Fellows Development Network. Participants included research leaders, network staff (who work across events delivery, communications, mentoring and training delivery for research leaders) and coaches. The 5-T framework was really useful for framing approaches to supporting staff/students/direct reports and Claire’s delivery style provided an engaging space for participants to contribute to discussion and ask open questions.
Thank you Claire for delivering a Bipolar Awareness session to colleagues. The session was very interesting and we all left with useful knowledge to put in to practice. Claire tailored the session to fit our request but the information delivered will be useful in so many situations!