NADO Inaugural Conference : Plenary Session
Dave Laycock was invited to chair this session. He began by asking if anyone had any comments about the workshops. It was commented that each group raised very similar issues.
The aim of the plenary session was to find a mechanism of taking the process (of forming an association) forward. It was noted that the afternoon session was not likely to result in a complete organisation with an executive committee etc. The session could perhaps result in giving some people responsibility for setting up a working party or several working parties to act on everyone's behalf over the next few months and find out, for example, what qualifications exist already.
Delegates were asked if anyone would have time to do this over the next few months. There was concern about how much commitment would be required. The chair said that a working group with responsibility for finding out about qualifications may not need to have many meetings but could communicate predominantly via an email list.
E.A. Draffan commented that it could be very useful to collect job descriptions as they vary greatly and this could be a starting point for the working group.
Sophie Corlett responded to this by saying that before setting up something so specific it would be useful to have a working group looking at what NADO is, what it is there to do and who it is for. NADO firstly needs a mission and some aims.
One delegate raised the issue of whether membership should be on an individual or an institutional basis. Whilst this was recognised as being important, the chair decided that this was a secondary issue to be focused on at a later time. The organisation would start by being for the general broad based disability officer, but in time it may have separate sections devoted to specific disability support workers.
It was commented that the session had already identified three areas for enquiry: who would be eligible for membership; training and qualifications; and type of membership (individual or institutional).
After discussion it was agreed that a working party would be the way forward with an optimum number of seven people working on it. The group proposed that Dave Laycock should be in this working party. Dave agreed to this and proposed that Steve Metcalfe should also be on it, as Steve is bidding for funds under strand two of the HEFCE initiative, "Improving provision for disabled students", to employ a secretary for NADO based at the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside. This person would be responsible to the NADO committee and would deal with the administration of NADO's activities. It was noted that if this bid was successful it would come at a prime time (money coming through in January 2000), providing enough time for the working party to work through the aims and the objectives of the organisation beforehand.
It was commented that Dave Laycock and Steve Metcalfe were already established in their roles and that it was important that the working party should be representative of gender and institutions, and represent colleagues in Scotland and Wales.
It was restated that the working party would meet over approximately three meetings (location to be decided by the group) before January 2000, to set the association's aims and objectives and decide who it is for. The working party would consist of Dave Laycock, Steve Metcalfe and five other 'representative' people. There was much debate about how to choose these five people. Eventually it was decided that those who wanted to put themselves forward should send their CVs and a brief description of what skills they could offer the working party to Dave Laycock (<<dave@nadp-uk.org>>) by 23 April. A decision would be made by 1 May.