Core Managers: Increasing Disability Positivity

Create a culture of disability positivity with NHS Leadership Academy

Disability positivity is about challenging society’s negative perception of disability to instead recognise and celebrate diversity in the workplace. On this four-week course from NHS Leadership Academy, you’ll learn how to be disability positive as a manager.

Guided by diversity and inclusion experts, you’ll learn how to support, celebrate, and advocate for your disabled colleagues. You’ll be able to use your training to create a culture of disability positivity in your team and workplace.

Understand the legal definition and social model of disability

Before you can begin challenging negative assumptions and practising positivity, you need to understand what is meant by ‘disability’.

You’ll examine the legal definition of disability, and explore the distinction between visible and invisible disabilities. You’ll also discuss the social model of disability and the role that society itself plays in creating barriers for disabled people.

Discover the crucial role managers play in championing disability positivity in the workplace

Once you’ve understood the meaning of disability, you can begin developing the leadership skills you need to create a disability positive culture.

You’ll learn what you as a manager can do to lead by example and build an environment in which your disabled staff feel celebrated and supported.

Learn what you can do to support your staff and make reasonable adjustments

In the last two weeks of the course, you’ll focus on concrete strategies for addressing the needs of disabled staff.

You’ll look at a range of real-world examples of reasonable adjustments that have measurably improved the lives of disabled individuals in the workplace.

At the end of the course, you’ll take away key action items that you can implement immediately in your own workplace.

This course is designed for all managers and supervisors working in healthcare facilities.

The fifth in a series of training sessions on equality, diversity, and inclusion in NHS services, it will help you to develop core inclusive leadership skills.

• What is disability positivity?
• Welcome to increasing disability positivity
• What is a disability?
• What is disability positivity?
• Putting principles in practice
• Why should managers aim to increase disability positivity?
• Legal framework
• Make a difference
• Lead by example
• Putting principles in practice
• How can we as managers make reasonable adjustments?
• Defining reasonable adjustments
• Examples of reasonable adjustments
• Implementing reasonable adjustments
• Putting principles in practice
• How can we as managers enable success?
• Building disability positivity in your team culture
• Focus on the individual
• Putting principles in practice
• Final thoughts