Attitude is Everything Disability Equality Training for Live Events

Topic one: Why does access matter?  

Suzanne Bull, Chief Executive of Attitude is Everything, and Paul Hawkins, Attitude is Everything’s Festivals and Volunteering Manager and Training Lead, will talk about why it is important to get disability access right for your customers, and how great disabled access can boost your reputation and be good for your business.  

You will also learn some key facts and stats on disability in the UK today, and hear from customers on why poor access often means they simply will not return to venues or festivals.  

Topic two: Barriers to access  

Disabled customers talk about why access is important to them, what events can do to be more accessible, and the importance of talking to disabled customers to understand what they need. 

You will look at the basics of access provision, some examples of good and bad practice and how access can matter in customer service scenarios.

Topic three: What the Equality Act means for you  

You will explore how disabled people have been treated through the ages, the development of disability equality legislation during the 20th century and how this led to the 2010 Equality Act; the key law underpinning disability equality legislation in the UK today. 

You will then look at your responsibilities under the Act, including what is meant by a reasonable adjustment.  

Topic four: Making events accessible   

Access professionals within the music and events industries will talk about how they make their events accessible. You will examine both the common and less common requests you may need to meet to ensure your event is accessible for everyone. 

Topic five: The social model of disability  

You will examine the different models for understanding disability that have evolved over time, and how disabled people have often been subjected to the whims and preferences of those who are non-disabled. 

You will learn about the Social Model, a model of understanding disability devised by and for disabled people, and how thinking about disability in Social Model terms can better equip you to deliver high quality access provision.  

Topic six: Language and terminology  

You will look at why language and terminology matters in professional settings, and the impact of using outdated or inappropriate terminology on the experience of your customers. 

Topic seven: Accessible communication and communicating access  

You will focus on the importance of providing clear access information and accessible materials to your audiences, including access information pages on websites.  

Topic eight: The value of lived experience  

You will explore the value of including Deaf and disabled people in your events and at all levels in your organisation. This includes programming disabled artists, working with disabled employees and looking at how to ensure boards and directorships are as inclusive as possible. 

You will need access to a laptop/desktop computer. It is an essential piece of equipment that you will need right from the start of the course.  

Our Virtual Learning Environment, Learn, only requires an operating system that can run the latest compatible web browsers. Your computer operating system should be kept up to date with the latest recommended security updates and upgrades. 

We recommend one with as fast a processor as you can afford (8GB of RAM minimum) and a reasonably sized screen (13" minimum, 15" is optimum), plus the following minimum computer specifications: 

Windows: 

• Windows 10 
• At least an i7 processor 
• No less than 8-16 GB Ram  
• Graphics Card (nVidia 1080 minimum, not Intel Iris integrated graphics) with at least 2GB  
• 256GB hard drive space minimum  
• 1920 x 1080 display resolution or higher (most displays offer a higher resolution than this) 

Apple MacBook: 

• Mac OS 10.15 or newer 
• At least an i7 processor 
• No less than 8-16GB Ram  
• Graphics Card 
• 256GB hard drive space minimum  
• 1920 x 1080 display resolution or higher (most displays offer a higher resolution than this) 
• A dongle to plug additional resources into the laptop is also required for all modern MacBooks 

16 -32 GB memory stick so you can back up your work regularly (approx. £10-20) 

Along with compatibility and web standards, Learn has been carefully crafted to accommodate low bandwidth environments. It is recommended to have a minimum Internet speed of 512kbps.