Transforming Organisations
West Midlands ADASS & NHS England Midlands
Supporting Change Through Human Rights for Autistic People & People with a Learning Disability
We are working in partnership with the West Midlands Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and NHS England Midlands to deliver online human rights workshops with health and social care professionals who work alongside people with a learning disability and autistic people.
How we designed the programme
The West Midlands branch of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and NHS England Midlands collaborate on their work to support people with a learning disability and/or autism across the region. This programme focuses on enabling leaders and practitioners across the region to harness the power of human rights to drive forward the Building the Right Support national plan, helping to ensure people with learning disabilities and autistic people have human rights-upholding care and support and reducing the number of people in inappropriate inpatient placements.
This training is being designed in partnership with staff across both organisations to ensure it focuses on key issues arising in practice, and is called 'Supporting Change Through Human Rights for Autistic People & People with a Learning Disability'.
Due to the large geographical area, workshops are delivered online and are available to staff in a variety of roles and teams, working in local authorities, NHS trusts, and Integrated Care Boards across the region.
About the programme
Two-part capacity building workshops
From June to September 2025, BIHR is delivering a series of two-part workshops, available to over 220 local practitioners who work with people with a learning disability and autistic people. The workshops aim to build capacity and confidence to use the Human Rights Act in local decision-making, exploring five important human rights with stories chosen to be as relevant as possible for attendees, and support on how to apply the law in often tricky practice scenarios.
Four-part practice leadership programme
In Autumn 2025, a selected group of up to 70 practitioners who have completed the two-part workshops will be chosen to undertake further in-depth training in order to become human rights practice leads within their organisations. The workshops will delve into complex issues that frequently emerge in their work, allowing space for reflection and planning about how the Human Rights Act can be sustainably embedded across services that support people with a learning disability and autistic people.
The future of this programme
This programme concludes in December 2025 and we will be sharing impact data shortly afterwards.
Related topics
Read more about human rights and our work in this area.
Health, Care & Social Work Duties
Find out about the way human rights apply in health, care and social work and the duties public bodies hold to respect, protect and fulfil rights.
Health, Care & Social Work Duties
Find out about the way human rights apply in health, care and social work and the duties public bodies hold to respect, protect and fulfil rights.
Why our Human Rights Act Matters...to people with learning disabilities
Fiona Dawson (member of The Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities Human Rights Town App Development Group) writes about why the Human Rights Act Matters to her.
Why our Human Rights Act Matters...to people with learning disabilities
Fiona Dawson (member of The Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities Human Rights Town App Development Group) writes about why the Human Rights Act Matters to her.
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