In celebration of National Inclusion Week (23 – 29 September), Challengers’ CEO Gen Dearman shares her thoughts on inclusion and what it means to be truly inclusive.
We’re all familiar with the word inclusion and I’m sure we can all agree that being inclusive is a good thing, but inclusion can mean different things to different people.At Challengers we actively celebrate and embrace diversity and ensure that everyone feels welcomed, valued and supported, regardless of abilty, medical needs, race or gender, by fostering an environment free from barriers and discrimination. Inclusion is a huge driver of why we do what we do, focusing specifically on inclusion for disabled children, young people and their families. It’s so important to us that it’s the first value in our ‘Challengers Approach’ – the set of five values which define our organisation.
Inclusion at Challengers goes beyond the services we provide for disabled children and their families. It extends to the culture we foster amongst our staff team. We work hard to provide an inclusive working environment where everyone is free to be themselves When staff feel included and appreciated, they bring their best selves to work.
We have a large and diverse workforce, with a majority aged 25 and under, which means that many work with us alongside their studies and go on to pursue different careers. The experiences they have at Challengers stay with them, meaning they leave with a greater understanding of why inclusion is so important, and maintain this as a value throughout their career and life.
As proud members of the Disabled Children’s Partnership, we were also pleased to see the new ‘Disabled Children at the Table’ policy report shared last week, created in collaboration with the Council for Disabled Children. It calls on the new government to prioritise inclusion and the needs of disabled children, making recommendations on how they can do this. Research from Sense tells us that 70% of disabled children are chronically lonely, and we know from our own parent carer survey that 55% of our families cannot access any services other than Challengers – highlighting the exclusion which exists in our society. We’re working hard to make a difference to this, but we can’t do it alone…this is an opportunity for the government to invest in inclusion and make a positive change to the experiences of disabled children (and adults) in the UK.
So this week, as we focus on inclusion, I challenge you to think about what it means to you, and the actions you can take to be more inclusive to those around you.
Did you know Challengers offers Disability Awareness training and workshops? Get in touch to find out how we can help to make your company, school, or community group more inclusive.