Disability(DISABILITY)


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Key

Value

Name
Disability
Short Name
DISABILITY
Parent Entity
TypeField
Applicable To
England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Coverage

All Disability entities

Description
This field records the type of Disability that a student has, on the basis of the student's own self-assessment.
Notes

Continuing students should be asked this question every year, and the data must be updated throughout a student's Engagement where applicable.

The data is recorded on the basis of the student’s own self-assessment.

Since it is possible for a student to have more than one disability, there may be more than one disability entity per student in a provider's return; the entity can be returned up to nine times to capture as many disabilities as are known.

Advance HE has a number of resources relating to gathering information across the protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010, including guidance on the collection of diversity monitoring data: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/guidance-collection-diversity-monitoring-data. If you have any further queries regarding equality monitoring, please visit https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/.

As it is important that the disability question wording ties in with the Equality Act definition of disability, it is recommended that all providers use the same question wording to ensure that comparable disability data can be obtained.

Suggested question: ‘Do you have an impairment, health condition, or learning difference that has a substantial impact on your ability to carry out day-to-day activities and has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months?’

Advance HE also recommend including additional explanation for this question such as:

Under the Equality Act 2010 (England, Scotland, and Wales) and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Northern Ireland), a person is considered to have a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. 'Substantial' is defined by as 'more than minor or trivial'. An impairment is considered to have a long-term effect if:

  • it has lasted for at least 12 months
  • it is likely to last for at least 12 months, or
  • it is likely to last for the rest of the life of the person.

Normal day-to-day activities are not defined, but in general they are things people do on a regular or daily basis, for example eating, washing, walking, reading, writing, or having a conversation. Only serious visual impairments are covered by the legislation: for example, a person whose eyesight can be corrected through the use of prescription lenses is not covered; neither is an inability to distinguish between red and green. The same logic does not apply to hearing aids: if someone needs to wear a hearing aid, then they are likely to be covered. However, both hearing and visual impairments must have a substantial adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities in order for a person to be covered by the legislation.

57 D/deaf or have a hearing impairment

  • Big D deaf people are those who are born deaf or experience hearing loss before spoken language is acquired and regard their deafness as part of their identity and culture rather than as a disability. They form the Deaf Community and are predominantly British Sign Language (BSL) users.
  • Small d deaf people are those who have become deafened or hard of hearing in later life, after they have acquired a spoken language and so identify themselves with the hearing community. Small d deaf people are more likely to use hearing aids and develop lipreading skills.

59 Development condition that you have had since childhood which affects motor, cognitive, social and emotional skills, and speech and language

  • Cognitive related delays - downs syndrome, shaken baby syndrome, childhood encephalitis
  • Motor - cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spastic limb, where individuals feel that they are motor control related rather than physical
  • Social - neurodiversity, childhood related legacy impacts and conditions
  • Speech and language - selective mutism, abuse or trauma linked speech delays, stutters or stammers, specific medical conditions and region specific brain injuries

98 Prefer not to say

This code should be used when the student does not wish to declare this information.

99 Not available

This code should be used when the provider is unable to obtain the data in order to submit it to HESA. Note that this option should not be presented to students explicitly.

When presenting the options to data subjects, it is recommended that code 95 – ‘No known impairment, health condition or learning difference’ – be listed at the top.

Reason Required
To permit disability-based analysis; for monitoring levels and trends in participation by particular groups of people; to monitor take-up of Disabled Students' Allowance as Disabled Students' Allowance is now not means tested; to support the allocation for disability premium; to permit analysis based on type of disability
Field Length
2
Quality RulesQuality Rules to follow
Minimum Occurrence
1
Maximum Occurrence
1
Primary Key?
True
Valid Values
CodeCoding Frame Label
51Learning difference such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or AD(H)D
53Social/communication conditions such as a speech and language impairment or an autistic spectrum condition
54Long-term illness or health condition such as cancer, HIV, diabetes, chronic heart disease, or epilepsy
55Mental health condition, challenge or disorder, such as depression, schizophrenia or anxiety
56Physical impairment (a condition that substantially limits one or more basic physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, lifting or carrying)
57D/deaf or have a hearing impairment
58Blind or have a visual impairment uncorrected by glasses
59Development condition that you have had since childhood which affects motor, cognitive, social and emotional skills, and speech and language
95No known impairment, health condition or learning difference
96An impairment, health condition or learning difference not listed above
98Prefer not to say
99Not available
Revision Historyhttps://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/coding-manual-tools/revision-histories?Collection=22056