Jamescape is pleased to have supported Access2Learn, a specialist DSA/workplace assessment and support provider for disabled and neurodivergent people, to become a Disability Confident Leader (Level 3)!

We’ve been working with Eve and Keri from the Access2Learn team for around a year now, initially supporting them through Levels 1 and 2 of the Disability Confident scheme. More recently, we’ve supported them with the final step to become a Disability Confident Leader (Level 3).

Disability Confident Leader is the third and highest level of the UK government’s Disability Confident scheme. The first two Levels of the scheme are very practical, focussed around implementing best practice, whereas Level 3 is all about evaluating those practices and their impact.

Building on what Access2Learn already did well

Because Access2Learn supports disabled and neurodivergent people, inclusion was naturally a big part of the organisation. That meant our starting point wasn’t a huge list of things they were doing wrong. In fact, like a lot of the organisations we work with, they were already doing plenty of good things for their staff without necessarily thinking about those practices from a Disability Confident perspective.

Our role was to help them work out what was already working, identify gaps and areas for improvement, and support them to implement best practice throughout their recruitment and staff management practices. Access2Learn was very receptive to our feedback and we regularly challenged them to go beyond compliance with the Disability Confident scheme.

For example, we supported their team with implementing a Guaranteed Interview scheme on all job listings and advised on how to set their essential criteria so applicants can best make use of the scheme. We also reviewed how reasonable adjustments were communicated to applicants at an early stage, strengthened the wording used in job adverts and helped the team formalise practices that had previously happened informally.

Putting Access2Learn’s practices in front of disabled people

Our Lived Experience Panel is at the heart of our Disability Confident support. Our 13-person Panel is made up of individuals from a variety of backgrounds with a range of lived experience of disability, including mental health, neurodiversity, and mobility. We’ve trained our Panel on inclusive workplace practices, so they can leverage their lived experience to provide independent scrutiny to our clients and challenge them to go further.

We hosted a focus group with four members of our Lived Experience Panel: Megan Gillaspy, Rachael Carroll, Holly Howarth and Acadia Andreas. They looked at the organisation’s job listings, policies, interview process, employee support programmes, and everything in between. Our Panel Members asked questions and challenged Access2Learn on areas where they felt the team could go further.

No individual can fully represent the experiences of all disabled people, but by involving a panel of people with different disabilities and experiences of work, we can introduce perspectives that an organisation may never have considered before. The focus group also gave Access2Learn an opportunity to talk through their approach directly with disabled people and get practical feedback.

Evaluating impact through public reporting on disability in the workplace

Beyond independent validation, the other key requirement for Disability Confident Leader is public reporting on disability and mental wellbeing. Organisations must release an annual survey to all staff and produce a short public report which details how they recruit and retain disabled staff, backed up by statistics on disability and job satisfaction, to provide public accountability.

We used our in-house platform, Confidently, to manage Access2Learn’s staff survey. The platform sent automated email reminders to staff who had yet to complete the survey every few days to drive a higher response rate. Since then, we’ve been working with Access2Learn to produce a comprehensive report that communicates the great work they’ve done.

What happens after Disability Confident accreditation?

Access2Learn have achieved Disability Confident Leader status, but that doesn’t mean the work suddenly stops. Disability Confident is an ongoing journey to learn, continuously review, and commit to improving disability inclusion practices. Disability Confident Leader organisations commit to releasing public disability reports each year along with a complete re-verification process every three years.

Access2Learn now have a stronger understanding of disability-inclusive recruitment and staff management, as well as feedback directly from people with lived experience that they can continue to build on.

A massive thank you to Eve and Keri for all of their work throughout the process, and to Megan, Rachael, Holly and Acadia for bringing their experiences and perspectives to the validation. And, of course, congratulations to the whole Access2Learn team on becoming an accredited Disability Confident Leader!

Ready to become a Disability Confident Leader?

We support organisations through all three levels of the Disability Confident accreditation scheme, from getting started at Disability Confident Committed through to independent validation at Disability Confident Leader.

We help organisations work out what they already do well, identify the gaps and make practical changes to their recruitment and staff management practices. Our support removes all the confusion and admin to ensure your team can get the greatest possible benefit from the scheme.

If your organisation is working towards Disability Confident accreditation, or looking to progress or re-verify, book in a chat today to find out how we can support you.