Scope access requirements for a production
Overview
This standard is about working with productions to reach a shared understanding of the role of an access coordinator for any genre or budget. The access coordinator guides production applying a social model approach to identify barriers, support individuals to declare access requirements and provide solutions to productions to meet the access requirements.
This will involve working with relevant organisations in the screen industries that provide information, advice and guidance on accessibility.
This will also involve liaising with Heads of Department (HODs) and production, to ensure compliance with legislation and production or broadcaster policies.
This standard is for Access coordinators.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- assess the scope of your role using production information and confirm your responsibilities with the production team
- make contact with production cast, crew and creatives to ascertain access requirements
- liaise with individuals who have declared access requirements
- liaise with the production contact and other departments to confirm the requirements of the production, concept and creative vision
- work with location crew to identify any barriers to access on location, advising on potential adaptations needed for the production
- work with the production team suggesting alternatives, when original proposals create potential creative or practical barriers
- support and guide heads of department to facilitate access solutions to and maintain accessibility
- work with the production team to support them in addressing any access requirements that are identified
- support and advise on legislation relating to access requirements
- complete access records in line with data protection, production processes and contractual agreements
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- how to obtain the production information and interpret the access requirements
- how the production process works and the solutions to remove barriers to access within the available budget and production schedule
- how to approach cast, crew and creatives to confirm access requirements
- different types of access requirements using a social model approach
- how to work in collaboration with other departments, in particular Location, Costume, Construction, Props, Camera, Stunts, Hair & Make-up, Physical and Visual Special Effects
- how role interacts with other roles such as Support workers, Intimacy coordinators, Wellbeing facilitators and other professionals
- how to encourage teams to hire and support a diverse, intersectional workforce
- who to report problems or difficulties to as they arise
- the policy, regulatory, organisational requirements and industry guidelines around access to productions
- how to record access information in line with data protection, production processes and contractual agreements
Scope/range
Access requirements
- physical access
- environment
- lighting
- sound
- facilities
- transport
- physical contact
- personal space
- timeframes
- allergies and sensitivities
Resources - access equipment
- ramps
- adaptive furniture (evac chairs, off-roading chairs, standing desk)
- office equipment (different coloured paper, braille printer)
- software (text to speech, note taking software, time management software)
- adaptive hardware (specialised mouse and keyboard)
Resources - professional support
- personal assistants
- support workers
- creative enablers / collaborators
- sign language interpreters (British Sign Language (BSL), American Sign Language (ASL)
- lip speakers
- BSL monitors
- chaperones
- intimacy coordinators
- wellbeing facilitators
- medics
- assistance and support animals
Legislation/policies
- Equalities Act 2010 (England, Wales, Scotland)
- In Northern Ireland
- Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998
- Ireland Sex Discrimination Order 1976
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995
- Race Relations Order 1997
- Relevant industry access funding
- Government access funding (Personal Independence Payment, Access To Work)
- Reasonable adjustments
Scope Performance
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
Skills
Glossary
Social model
The social model of disability is a way of viewing the world, developed by disabled people. The model says that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or condition. Barriers can be physical, like buildings not having accessible toilets. Or they can be caused by people’s attitudes to difference, like assuming disabled people can’t do certain things. The social model helps us recognise barriers that make life harder for disabled people. Removing these barriers creates equality and offers disabled people more independence, choice and control.”
(Definition provided by Scope UK)
Access Coordinators apply this way of thinking across creative sectors and apply it wider than the term disabled, it is also for people with short and/or long term health conditions, invisible conditions, people who might be pregnant or experiencing menopause and even those that don’t identify as having any condition but find certain tools helpful in their day to day lives.
Further to this way of thinking, we draw on our own experiences and appreciate the intersectionality in our industry and how that can impact someone’s experience with access.
Access barrier
An access barrier is simply an obstacle of any kind that stops a person from accessing a place or resource. These barriers can be physical, attitudinal or related to information and communication. Some examples might include: no step free access, lack of awareness, not having captions or subtitles available.