The Attitude Is Everything Charter Of Best Practice
Attitude is Everything improves disabled people’s access to live music by implementing this Charter in music venues, clubs and festivals across the U.K. The Charter Award is in 3 stages – Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each stage has conditions that must be fulfilled. We expect music venues, clubs and festivals to aim for the Gold which is the equivalent to a “Lifetime Achievement Award”. When venues sign up to the Charter of Best Practice, they also agree to be mystery shopped by our team of disabled gig-goers and musicians who give us feedback on each venue. Before a venue takes up the bronze award, it will need to have an Access Survey and all staff will have to complete a Disability Equality Training course (included sub-contracted staff), and as new staff join, to create a way that this information can be disseminated. During training, each venue must complete an Action Plan of how they will achieve the three stages. This Action Plan will be given to the mystery shoppers for monitoring purposes.
Bronze
Charter venues who have the Bronze stage must achieve the following minimum standards;
- Have an accessible toilet / several toilets according to the size of venues / festival
*If it is a festival, sub-contractors cannot leave until all disabled facilities are inspected by the festival team - No steps (level access) to enter the building or to get to the auditorium / arenas
- A priority emergency exit (s) / refuge (s) for disabled people / emergency evacuation lift*
*further details available on this - Staff provided to escort disabled people to emergency exits
- A policy on how disabled people book tickets that is properly communicated on publicity material and to ticket agencies
- A policy on a designated viewing areas / platforms
- Every person who answers the phone / email can respond confidently to the question “What is the access like at your venue?”
- Information about the venue's access and publicity provided in a range of accessible formats* with a named contact for further information (this is already a requirement under the Disability Discrimination Act)
*Further details on what are accessible formats will be provided - Induction loop in the box office / infra red system in the auditorium
- Accessible signage
Silver
- Charter venues have to go beyond the minimum level of physical access*
* further details available on this - Develop the viewing area / platform policy to include early entrance for disabled and deaf customers, if needed, having a quality and comfortable structure in place
- Have backstage access for disabled employees and artists, and ensure that access requirements are included in the artist's contract
- Venue / festival develops an Equal Opportunities recruitment policy
- Venue / festival leads the way for a "2 for 1" deal on tickets for disabled people and their companions -informing promoters / ticket agencies of this policy
- Venue / festival to develop an "Access Address Book" of regular disabled customers and their requirements
- All staff (including sub-contracted stewards) to have completed a deaf awareness / basic signing skills course to develop a policy on access for deaf people, for example, deaf people going in the front row to lip read the singer / view the interpreter
- All staff to have completed visual impairment awareness training (including sub-contracted stewards) so that the venue / festival can develop a policy for visually impaired people, for example, staff guiding people, describing the way to the venue without giving visual descriptions and a commitment to improving access for people with visual impairments in dark, smoky spaces, e.g. all merchandise points, box office, bar and food counters to be easily seen, defining edgings on walls and stairs
- All staff to have completed specific training around people with learning disabilities and people with mental health issues
- Have strict criteria that the venue / festival gives to the promoter on how they must provide access* in the contracts. This may include how the venue and the promoter splits the cost of access and takes joint responsibility. Each venue should lead on this because they have the knowledge about their venue / festival and can advise promoters accordingly
*Accessible gigs include ramped access onto the stage, live audio description describing the stage action, live BSL interpretation / captioning of lyrics.
Gold
- Every music venue, club and festival to recognise that this is equivalent to a "Lifetime Achievement Award" and to communicate this to all their promoters, ticket agencies and sub-contractors
- For a period of 5 years, the venue / festival has to demonstrate that it was working towards the Charter of Best Practice with a proven, consistent and successful track record of working with promoters, ticket agencies and sub-contractors to improve access to live music
- This includes BSL interpreted / captioned gigs and audio described gigs
- The venue / festival employ disabled people in key positions on their staff team
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