Information about relevant legislation

Equality Act 2010

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has a range of advice and guidance on the Equality Act 2010: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/ en/ advice-and-guidance/ equality-act-guidance [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]

ENQUIRE:

Enquire is the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning and is managed by Children in Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government. http://enquire.org.uk/

Information Technology (IT) and assistive technology

CALL provides information and advice on technological aids for communication and learning to professionals, carers and disabled people themselves. They support children and young people across Scotland to overcome disability and barriers to learning.

Below are some of the CALL websites which will provide you with very helpful information to support your own professional practice and understanding of how to provide an accessible learning.

Digital Question Papers are digital versions of SQA National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exam papers. They are designed for candidates with disabilities or additional support needs who have difficulty using the ordinary paper exam papers.

Candidates can read the paper on computer or tablet, zoom in to make the text larger, change the colours to reduce glare or increase contrast, and use text-to-speech software to read the questions.

Papers in 'question and answer' format have red answer boxes into which candidates can type - or dictate, with speech recognition - their answers. For the 'question only' papers, candidates can type or dictate into Digital Answer Books. 

Further information is available on the SQA website in the Assessment Arrangements section

A 'text-to-speech' program or 'text reader' on your computer or tablet reads text from a document or web page to you using a computer voice.

A text reader can read:

• Text on the Internet, emails, and instant messages
• Digital SQA exams and assessments
• Difficult words, sentences or whole paragraphs of text
• Books, documents, and homework on your computer
• Scanned or photographed paper materials

Free digital voices for text to speech software

Free Scottish Computer Voices

http://www.thescottishvoice.org.uk/ home/

The 3 Scottish voices are provided by CALL Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government For use with a text reader and are free for the Scottish public sector

Use the voices with a text reader to

• Read electronic books
• Read PDF files (such as SQA exam papers)
• Read documents in Microsoft Word
• Read web pages
• Create audio files using the voice
• Speech with an electronic communication aid

Voice Aloud will read the page aloud. E.g. In BBC app, choose Share or select Voice Aloud. The BBC text is then imported into the Voice Aloud app and read out.

Books for All provides books in accessible formats for pupils in Scotland who have difficulty with ordinary printed text, including those with dyslexia. There is a wide range of books on this website, including exam revision materials. 

RNIB Bookshare (Royal National Institute of Blind)

https://www.rnibbookshare.org/cms/help-centre

RNIB Bookshare is a free online resource that provides UK curriculum materials in a range of accessible formats that can be adapted to suit the personal reading needs of learners.

The service enables learners who cannot read standard print, including those with dyslexia or sight loss, to read the same books at the same time as their peers, giving them the same educational opportunities.

With RNIB Bookshare you can

• Access thousands of books; early years to higher education.
• Access thousands of accessible images: curriculum subjects and leisure topics.
• Give your learners and staff access.
• Set up reading lists and assign books to your learners.
• Empower your learners to read on their own, using our free built-in reading tool designed for print-disabled learners.

RNIB Bookshare is free to join and use for:

• early years centres
• schools, colleges and universities
• sensory support teams
• adult learning centres.