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		<!-- END ODIOGO LISTEN BUTTON v2.5.7 (WP) -->{"id":1267,"date":"2011-05-01T10:00:34","date_gmt":"2011-05-01T10:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/slewth.wordpress.com\/?p=1267"},"modified":"2011-05-01T10:00:34","modified_gmt":"2011-05-01T10:00:34","slug":"in-memoriam-on-the-closure-of-skill-the-uks-national-bureau-for-students-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slewth.co.uk\/blog\/2011\/05\/01\/in-memoriam-on-the-closure-of-skill-the-uks-national-bureau-for-students-with-disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"In Memoriam: On the closure of SKILL, the UKs National Bureau for Students with Disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\t\t<!-- BEGIN ODIOGO LISTEN BUTTON v2.5.7 (WP) -->\r\n\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" language=\"javascript\">\r\n\t\t<!--\r\n\t\t\/\/ ODIOGO_START:do_NOT_remove_this_comment\r\n\t\tshowOdiogoReadNowButton (\"687068\", \"In Memoriam: On the closure of SKILL, the UKs National Bureau for Students with Disabilities\", \"1267\", 290, 55);\r\n\t\t\/\/ -->\r\n\t\t<\/script>\r\n\t\t<br\/>\r\n\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" language=\"javascript\">\r\n\t\t<!--\r\n\t\tshowInitialOdiogoReadNowFrame (\"687068\", \"1267\", 290, 0);\r\n\t\t\/\/ ODIOGO_END:do_NOT_remove_this_comment\r\n\t\t\/\/ -->\r\n\t\t<\/script>\r\n\t\t<!-- END ODIOGO LISTEN BUTTON v2.5.7 (WP) -->\r\n\t\t\n<p>I&#8217;ve written this post as part of <a title=\"Blogging Against Disablism Day\" href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/BADD2011\" target=\"_blank\">Blogging Against Disablism Day<\/a>, an annual event hosted by the\u00a0<a title=\"Blogging Against Disablism Day\" href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/BADD2011\" target=\"_blank\">Goldfish<\/a>. Be sure to check out other contributions via her excellent blog. \u00a0This post is about\u00a0the closure of <a title=\"skill\" href=\"http:\/\/www.skill.org.uk\/\">Skill, the National Bureau for Students with Disabilities<\/a> in the UK, the only pan-disability organisation dedicated to promoting equality for disabled people in education, training and employment. \u00a0Approximately two weeks ago the following message was posted to their website:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It is with great sadness that Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities announces that it has ceased operating. Following a period of financial difficulty, Skill&#8217;s Board of Trustees has decided that it is no longer viable to keep the charity open.\u00a0The Chair of Skills&#8217; Board of Trustees, Peter Little OBE said &#8220;This is sad day for all of us. We had recently appointed an outstanding new Chief Executive and agreed a clear strategy to reduce our costs and turn around our finances, but in the end time was against us&#8221; [&#8230;]\u00a0It is hoped that others may step in to fill the gap this has left in the support available.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"width: 204px\"><a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/BADD2011\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" \" style=\"border-color:initial;border-style:initial;border-width:0;\" title=\"Blogging Against Disablism Day, May 1st 2011\" src=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_aQ1h56WoARI\/RiR-V4_3yrI\/AAAAAAAAAFw\/F-efgSUbcM0\/s320\/bad02.gif\" alt=\"Blogging Against Disablism Day, May 1st 2011\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blogging Against Disablism Day, May 1st 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Does this constitute a suitable topic for Blogging Against Disablism? Well, read on. Unfortunately, I believe this loss will result in a kind of structural disablism rising unchecked. \u00a0In the first place, I had hoped that this closure would elicit some coverage in national Education media, but it appears, to me at least, that current news frenzy dedicated to rises in tuition fees and wider issues of university funding have foreclosed on any coverage of this significant loss to the sector as a whole, and disabled students in particular. And this <em>is<\/em> a significant loss.<\/p>\n<p>I was not aware of the financial difficulties facing Skill, and I have had few dealings with them directly. In these dealings, however, I have had a privileged view into some of the work they undertook &#8211; work that is extremely important \u2013 but receives little publicity. \u00a0In my PhD thesis I identify Skill\u2019s role consulting on the redefinition of UCAS and HESA\u2019s much disputed disability codes &#8211; the cornerstone of the self assessment process that all students face when applying to Higher Education Institutions. In this consultation, they represented disabled students views, in a way no one else, seemingly, can. \u00a0But this is by no means the most important work they\u2019ve done.\u00a0 A recent response to government consultation, an evidence submission on <a title=\"Skill submission on the funding of higher education\" href=\"http:\/\/www.publications.parliament.uk\/pa\/cm201011\/cmselect\/cmbis\/writev\/885\/m30.htm\">The future funding for Higher Education<\/a> is more typical of their output and their website\u00a0\u00a0continues to host a myriad of <a title=\"Skill Resources\" href=\"http:\/\/www.skill.org.uk\/page.aspx?c=236&amp;p=357\">important documents for students and educators<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It is the loss of their expert advisors and staff\u00a0that is the most worrying development, however, especially within a climate of cuts that are disproportionately hitting disabled people <em>and <\/em>students across the country. \u00a0It is not simply that disabled students are members of both these groups. As the number of disabled students in higher education has grown under the auspices of equality\u00a0legislation, a serious and unanticipated threat to disabled students&#8217; participation has manifested in\u00a0the administrative incompetence of the Student Loans Company.<\/p>\n<p>On the 5<sup>th<\/sup> of February 2010, the BBC reported that:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Almost 12,500 disabled students in England are still waiting for grants to pay for specialist equipment, figures from the Student Loans Company show.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:right;\"><a title=\"Disabled students wait for specialist equipment grants\" href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/1\/hi\/education\/8495290.stm\" target=\"_blank\">Disabled students wait for specialist equipment grants<\/a>\u00a0(BBC)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align:left;\">Since then, the SLCs failure to process 209,000 student\u2019s grants and loans in autumn 2010, left half of all applicants waiting weeks, and in some cases, months for financial assistance. \u00a0This had a direct and disproportionate impact on disabled students, threatening study and subsistence. As the Guardian reports:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>At one point last year [2010], 87% of the 4 million calls to the SLC were going unanswered.\u00a0Disabled students were disproportionately affected, with three-quarters of the 17,000 disabled students who applied for loans failing to receive them three months into the start of term. (Guardian).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Horrifyingly, with a view to the this academic year (beginning September 2011), the same Guardian article reports that the <a title=\"Student Loans Company Faces Ongoing Risk\" href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/politics\/2010\/dec\/07\/mps-student-loans-company-risks\" target=\"_blank\">Student Loans Company Faces Ongoing Risk<\/a>. \u00a0The authors note that in 2010 the Student Loans Companry was only responsible for processing\u00a0the applications of new students. From this year the SLC will be responsible for applications for grants and loans from all students in England. The system was previously administered by local authorities.<\/p>\n<p>In this context, the loss of any disability advocacy seems perilous. \u00a0Who will step in to fill the gap?<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#ff0000;\">***update*** As of the 6th July 2011 the Disability Alliance has adopted Skill&#8217;s critical services for Disabled Students. <span style=\"color:#000000;\"><a title=\"Skill webpages at Disability Alliance\" href=\"http:\/\/www.disabilityalliance.org\/skill.htm\">Their Skill web space is under construction<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Thoughts and comments are very welcome, as always.<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\r\n\t\t<!-- BEGIN ODIOGO LISTEN BUTTON v2.5.7 (WP) -->\r\n\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" language=\"javascript\">\r\n\t\t<!--\r\n\t\t\/\/ ODIOGO_START:do_NOT_remove_this_comment\r\n\t\tshowOdiogoReadNowButton (\"687068\", \"In Memoriam: On the closure of SKILL, the UKs National Bureau for Students with Disabilities\", \"1267\", 290, 55);\r\n\t\t\/\/ -->\r\n\t\t<\/script>\r\n\t\t<br\/>\r\n\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" language=\"javascript\">\r\n\t\t<!--\r\n\t\tshowInitialOdiogoReadNowFrame (\"687068\", \"1267\", 290, 0);\r\n\t\t\/\/ ODIOGO_END:do_NOT_remove_this_comment\r\n\t\t\/\/ -->\r\n\t\t<\/script>\r\n\t\t<!-- END ODIOGO LISTEN BUTTON v2.5.7 (WP) -->\r\n\t\t\n<p>Two weeks ago, Skill, the UK&#8217;s National Bureau for Students with Disabilities in the UK closed. This was the only pan-disability organisation dedicated to promoting equality for disabled people in education, training and employment. In this article, I consider the status of disabled students in light of this loss of advocacy in a climate of cuts that are disproportionately hitting disabled people and students across the country.  It is not simply that disabled students are members of both these groups. As the number of disabled students in higher education has grown under the auspices of equality legislation, a serious and unanticipated threat to disabled students&#8217; participation has manifested in the administrative incompetence of the Student Loans Company. In light of reports of continuous failing, I ask who will represent disabled students now?<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[43,47,285,287,96,103,122,150,157,181],"class_list":["post-1267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comment","tag-badd2011","tag-blogging-against-disablism-day-2011","tag-disability","tag-education","tag-higher-education","tag-inclusion","tag-national-bureau-for-students-with-disabilities","tag-skill","tag-student-loans-company","tag-widening-participation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/slewth.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/slewth.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/slewth.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slewth.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slewth.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/slewth.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/slewth.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slewth.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slewth.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}