1 of 13

A Note for Teachers

  • Facing History and Ourselves is an educational charity providing teaching resources to help young people develop as empathetic, critical thinkers, who understand the role they can play in shaping society for the better. We believe that civic agency is developed through intellectual rigour, emotional engagement and ethical reflection. Learn more about us on our website.

​

  • This PowerPoint presentation has been created to be used in a S1-4 and KS3-4 assembly during Disability History Month.

​

  • While you may need to modify this presentation to meet the needs of your students, please note that Facing History and Ourselves does not endorse your changes that alter the presentation's content or original layout.

​

​

2 of 13

Disability History Month�Assembly

Facing History UK Assemblies

#ChangeStartsWithMe

3 of 13

Disability History Month

What is Disability History Month and why does it matter?

​

Photo by Run 4 FFWPU

4 of 13

What is Disability History Month?

​

  • UK Disability History Month (UKDHM) 2025 takes place between 20th November and 20th December.
  • Disability History Month spotlights the struggle faced by people with disabilities for equality and human rights.

​

Photo by Run 4 FFWPU

5 of 13

Word Associations

​

What words or phrases come to mind when you hear the following word:

​

disability

​

​

​

​

6 of 13

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995

​

​

  • The Disability Discrimination Act was introduced in 1995. It was the first UK legislation protecting disabled people against various forms of discrimination.

​

  • The Disability Discrimination Act only came into existence after years of campaigning and protests by disability civil rights campaigners.

Photo by Ann H

7 of 13

Video: The Campaign for Civil Rights

Play video on YouTube

​

Watch the video ‘The Disability Discrimination Act 1995: The Campaign for Civil Rights’. As you watch, think about the following questions:

​

  1. What information from the video did you find surprising, interesting or troubling?
  2. What challenges did the campaigners for disability civil rights face?
  3. In this instance, do you think those that were protesting were right to protest?

​

​

8 of 13

What Happened Next?

​

  • In 2006, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted. This international law puts the rights of disabled people at the centre and ensures that governments and aid organisations adhere to this in both their policies and practices. The UK ratified and accepted this in 2009.
  • In 2010, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 was replaced by the Equality Act 2010. The Disability Discrimination Act remains on the statute book in Northern Ireland.
  • The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and society. Under the Equality Act 2010, disability is one of nine protected characteristics. Those disabilities are protected from direct and indirect discrimination, harassment related to disability, and victimisation.�

9 of 13

The Equality Act 2010

​

Of the nine protected characteristics, disability is the only one that may require physical changes to a building or environment in order to avoid discrimination. These changes are called reasonable adjustments and may require removing or finding ways to avoid physical barriers and ensure good access.

  • Think about the buildings that you spend a lot of time in such as your school building or your home.
  • Are these buildings easy to access for disabled people? What “reasonable adjustments” could be made to make access easier?

​

​

​

​

10 of 13

Exploring Your Response

Take a moment to reflect on your response to the following statement:�

​

Things have improved for disabled people.

�

Do you agree, strongly agree, disagree or strongly disagree?

​

11 of 13

Some Statistics

​

  • Hate crime against people with disabilities remains high. In 2023/24, 11,719 hate crimes were reported to police forces in England and Wales. While this is a decrease on the previous two years, it is still 18% higher than in 2020/2021.
  • Inequalities between disabled and non-disabled people have increased. Disabled people are far more likely to report feeling lonely. They also have higher levels of unemployment and are less likely to own their own homes.

​

​

  • What can be done to counter this increase in hate crime against disabled people?
  • What changes might need to be made to laws?
  • How can you counter the attitudes that lead to hate crime in school?

​

​

12 of 13

Exit Ticket

​

Take a moment to think about the following:

​

Disabled people deserve equality and human rights because ___________________�___________________________________________

​

The Equality Act 2010 is __________________

_______________________________________________

​

Disability History Month matters because

_______________________________________________

​

13 of 13

Follow Us!

@facinghistoryuk�

www.twitter.com/facinghistoryuk www.instagram.com/facinghistoryuk

www.uk.linkedin.com/company/facing-history-uk