The most immediate objection that I as an ex-teacher (etc) would have to the
statements which Val and Elizabeth kindly relayed for us is to the phrase:
"should be recorded confidentially by the institution's medical
adviser and made available to a prospective employer's medical
adviser on request"
I would take violent exception to any medical adviser recording such
information in these crcumstances and then relaying them to an employer
WITHOUT THE STUDENT BEING AWARE OF WHAT IS CONTAINED IN THE STATEMENT OR
UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES IT IS BEING TRANSMITTED.
I can conceive of circumstances in which a candidate should not be allowed
to teach (at least temporarily) although straightforward physical or sensory
disability should not be a barrier. Where there appear to be barriers then
the students/teachers should be aware of why they exist and should be able
to discuss the criteria and if necessary challenge both the "facts" and the
decisions.
When I was advising such a student recently I was horrified at the amount of
buckpassing and "folklore" which is thrown in one's face when following this
kind of situation through. If you aren't careful you go round in circles and
suddenly realise you are following your own footprints (as Pooh did!) Even
the DfEEE has a tendency to refer back questions to source without being
open about criteria.
I wonder what "Qualified teacher status" but "not allowed to teach" denotes?
Dr R.A.L.Hinton
Director, Tactile Diagrams Research Unit &
Senior Tutor to Students with Disabilities
Education Dept.
Loughborough University,
Leics. LE11 3TU
United Kingdom
Tel: 01509-222770 Fax: 01509-223912
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