Learning Disability Week 2025.

Earlier this month was carers week, in which we discussed the role of unpaid carers, identifying the role they play in caring for family or friends whose needs arise through disability or illness.

Last week we turn our attention to learning disability week. This year the theme of the week is:

Do you see me?

This is about making sure that people living with a learning disability are seen, heard and included, and valued in all aspects of life.

Learning Disability Awareness

There are thought to be about 1.5 million people living with a learning disability in the UK. This means that anyone working in health and social care will at some time in their career be involved in the provision of care to an individual living with a learning disability.

It is important therefore that carers have an awareness of:

• What learning disability is.
• The effects it has on the individual.
• How the needs of the individual are best met.

It is worth remembering that equality and diversity legislation requires care providers to ensure everyone in their care has access to the same level of opportunities and the same standard of care which meets their individual needs.

What is a Learning Disability?

Learning disabilities affect the way people learn things. This may be something an individual is born with, or it may be acquired later in life due to injury or ill health – but which remains for the rest of their life.

A learning disability commonly impacts the ways in which a person both receives and interprets information. It will also very often affect their ability to communicate.

People living with a learning disability will often struggle with daily tasks; the activities of daily living.

They will also frequently experience difficulties with:

• Understanding new information.
• Understanding complex information.
• Skill development.
• Independent living.
• Day to day household tasks
• Forming relationships.
• Trustin new people.
• Managing money.
• Physical coordination.

There are many forms of learning disability, some examples include:

• Down’s syndrome.
• Profound and multiple learning disability.
• Autistic spectrum disorder.
• Williams syndrome.
• Rett syndrome.
• Prader-Willi syndrome.
• Fragile X syndrome.
• Global development delay.
• Acquired learning disability.

Care staff should also be aware that people living with the same diagnosis of a learning disability do not necessarily display the same signs and symptoms.

Social Exclusion

One of the biggest challenges faced by people living with a learning disability is that society at large is not designed to meet their needs and therefore they are often excluded from things. This exclusion often includes things where people living with a learning disability could add value, such as in workplaces.

It is notable that around one third of people living with a learning disability spend less than an hour outside their home on a typical Saturday. This theme is repeated in that only 26.7% of adults living with a learning disability are employed however 86% of unemployed people living with a learning disability want a paid job.

Training for Carers

The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a statutory requirement that Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered providers must ensure their staff receive learning disability and autism training appropriate to their role.

By appropriate to their role this means ALL providers, whether they are a learning disability provider or not, must ensure their staff are trained to recognise, understand and be able to work with people living with a learning disability and autistic people. This is because most health and social care staff will come across people living with a learning disability and autistic people during their working lives.

The preferred training for health and social care staff in England, is the Oliver McGowan training which is free to access for all CQC registered providers. Oliver McGowan died while in receipt of care because a sedative was used to sedate him when he was having a seizure because the hospital staff did not understand how Oliver, who was mildly autistic and had epilepsy and learning difficulties, behaved during an epileptic seizure.

Summary

Learning disability week is a good opportunity for providers of health and social care to check that their staff have all undertaken the mandatory training in learning disability and autism awareness.
It is also a good time for providers of care to people living with learning disability to review their approach to supporting people with learning disability to access the community and the same opportunities as everyone else.

Bettal Quality Consultancy has a comprehensive and regularly updated suite of policies, procedures and risk assessments, including for social care providers who support people living with a learning disability, to support busy registered managers and their teams in the provision of CQC compliant care.

Contact Bettal Quality Consultancy today to learn how our comprehensive and value for money policies and procedures can help you achieve successful care provision and CQC compliance.

To find out more please contact us or call us on 01697 741411 to get started!

Peter Ellis MA MSc BSc(Hons) RN
Consultant, Bettal Quality Consultancy