“Speak Up and don’t be afraid” – Black history month
October is Black History Month – this is a month of meetings, films or activities to celebrate the history of British black people.
NEW
Covid and the law – latest for people, families and supporters: Webinar
Covid and the law – latest for people, families and supporters
Tuesday 3rd November: 3 – 4pm (on Zoom)
How we work
Learning Disability England wants to be led by its members, so that we do what matters to people with learning disabilities
Learning Disability England is made up of:
- Members – people with learning disabilities, family members, professionals, allies, organisations of any kind that share our aims
- The Representative Body – these are 12 people elected by the members. They work in partnership with the Trustees and lead on some decisions. These include deciding on who can be members, choosing the Trustees, making sure LDEs work is based on what is important to members and its values.
- The Board – the Trustees are a group of 8 – 10 people who have the job of making sure LDE is following the law and legal responsibilities. They work in partnership with the Representative Body and lead on some decisions. They make sure LDE has enough money, operates lawfully, employs staff, and keeps everyone involved safe.
If you want to read more about the governance arrangements of Learning Disability England you can read an easy version of our Articles of Association.
The different types of members
Choosing the right membership category for you
We organise our membership to reflect three different experiences and voices:
– Self-advocates (including self-advocacy organisations)
– Families and friends (including family carer and support organisations)
– Paid supporters and partners (including individuals who work in social care, service providers, commissioners, universities, development agencies and others)
Individual members can be:
– a self advocate with a learning disability
– a family member or friend of someone with a learning disability
– someone who works with people with a learning disability
– an ally who wants to be part of our national movement
Do you want to join as an individual?
What are self advocacy and family carer groups:
– your organisation is led by self-advocates and/or family members
– if your self-advocacy or family run organisation gets most of its income from delivering services rather than doing self advocacy and/or family voice support, then you will be part of the paid supporter category.
Do you want to join as a self advocacy or family carer group?
What are paid supporter organisations?
– paid supporter organisations get most of their income from delivering services
– they are organisations or companies who provide, commission or in other ways aim to improve the lives of people and families.
– they can be very small organisations or very large ones. The different membership rates mean organisations pay what they can afford
Do you want to join as a paid supporter organisation?
What are partner organisations?
– We know there are organisations with a much wider brief who have told us that they are also keen to support Learning Disability England’s work
– Partner organisations might be law firms, accountants, academic institutions, government departments etc
Do you want to join as a partner organisation?
Want to find out more about the benefits of membership?
Or find out more about our aims and values?
Join as a partner organisation
Other organisations with a much wider brief have told us that they are also keen to support Learning Disability England’s work.
We have therefore created a new category called Partner Membership to enable these organisations to join our movement.
We have therefore created a new category called Partner Membership to enable these organisations to join our movement.
Partner membership is open to organisations with a much
wider brief.
Organisations such as such as legal firms, universities, policy centres or similar.
Join now as a partner organisation by clicking here.
Or by phoning us on 0300 111 0444.
Membership fees for partner organisations depend on the size and type of your organisation.
Partner membership for Statutory, NHS or national organisations or national companies, such as local authorities and CCGs, is £995 per year
Partner membership for other smaller companies is £100 per year
Join as a paid supporter organisation
Different types and sizes of paid supporter organisations or groupsthat support our aims can be a member of Learning Disability England.
Join now as a paid supporter organisation by clicking here.
Or by phoning us on 0300 111 0444.
Organisations can join as an enhanced member and get additional benefits.
Or they can join as a Standard member.
Membership fees depend on the size and turnover of your organisation.
Vaccine to be offered to all people with learning disabilities
Today it has been agreed that everyone with a learning disability who is on a GP register will be offered the Covid vaccine as part of priority group 6.
Join as a self advocacy or family led group
If your organisation is led by self-advocates and/or family members, you can join as a Self Advocacy or Family Carer Organisation.
If a self-advocacy or family run organisation gets most of its income from delivering services rather than doing self advocacy and/or family voice support, then it will be part of the paid supporter category.
We know that small groups and voice organisations come in different shapes and sizes.
So our membership fee structure from 1
December 2020 reflects this:
Turnover less than £200,000 a year:
£25 a year
Turnover in excess of £200,000 a year: £100 a year
Join now by clicking here.
If you want to pay a different way, please email us on:
or phone us on 0300 111 0444
Join as an Individual Member
Individual membership is just £12 a year.
But we ask you to pay a little more if you can afford it to help fund our work together.
If you want to pay by cheque or postal order, please email us on:
or phone us on 0300 111 0444
Our Spokespeople
We have spokespeople with learning disabilities, families and other experts who are ready to speak at events and to the media.
At Learning Disability England we believe society’s attitudes towards people with learning disabilities will not be changed until we see people speaking up for themselves, especially in the media and in politics.
All our spokespeople are members of Learning Disability England.
They have personal, lived experience either as a self advocate with a learning disability, as a family member or as a paid supporter.
We also use professionals when covering technical issues.
We have spokespeople because Learning Disability England staff do not speak for people with learning disabilities.
We believe people with learning disabilities and family members speaking for themselves will change the way society sees them.
If you would like a comment or an interview with one of our spokespeople, please contact Sam Clark, Chief Executive, on info@LDEngland.org.uk or 0300 111 0444.
If you would like to find out more about becoming a Spokesperson for Learning Disability England, please contact us on info@LDEngland.org.uk or 0300 111 0444.