What is Bild (British Institute of Learning Disabilities)?

Updated

Bild is a UK national charity that works to promote and protect the rights of people with learning disabilities, and it also works to improve support for autistic people. It serves people with learning disabilities and autistic people, along with the families, carers and organisations that support them, through courses, qualifications, organisational development and practice leadership programmes. It is a good starting point if you want to understand the organisation before booking training or exploring its resources.

What Bild does

Bild describes itself as working to improve support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people. Its work is organised around several areas:

  • Health Inequalities – addressing disparities in health outcomes for the people it serves
  • Homes Not Hospitals – campaigning around where people with learning disabilities live and receive support
  • Practice Leadership – developing the leadership behaviours that help create capable and supportive environments
  • Working Together – collaboration with people with learning disabilities, autistic people and their supporters

The charity also runs Bild for the Future, an advisory group of people with learning disabilities and autistic people that helps ensure its work is rooted in real-life experience.

Learning and development options

Bild offers several routes for individuals and organisations who want to build their skills:

Option What it is for
Courses Training for those supporting people with learning disabilities or autistic people, focused on empowering people to thrive and improving practice
Qualifications Practice-based qualifications to expand skills and understanding
Organisational development Support for organisations using Bild's Organisational Development Framework
Practice Leadership programmes Developing the skills and confidence to support a team to improve practice
Bild Diploma A sector-leading diploma in practice leadership with a choice of pathways
Open programmes Places for one or two learners rather than a whole organisation
CAPBS Coaches A first step in practice leadership through Bild's Centre for the Advancement of PBS

Bild also offers a new Practice Leadership workforce development programme, focused on the leadership behaviours that help create capable and supportive environments where people can thrive.

Who it is for

Bild's audience includes:

  • People with learning disabilities and autistic people
  • Family carers and peer educators
  • Support staff and line managers
  • Organisations seeking to improve their practice and develop their workforce

The charity reports that 99% of line managers felt learners had implemented positive change in the workplace following a Bild Coaches programme, and 93% of learners on its foundation course (the figure is cut off in the source) — useful signals if you are weighing whether the training delivers workplace change.

How to decide if Bild is relevant to you

  • If you are an individual wanting to build practice leadership skills, look at open programmes and the CAPBS Coaches programme as entry points.
  • If you are an organisation wanting to improve support quality across a team, the Organisational Development Framework and the Practice Leadership programme are the relevant starting points.
  • If you want a formal qualification, the practice-based qualifications and the Bild Diploma offer structured pathways.
  • If you are a family carer, Bild's learning opportunities and its peer educator perspective may help you understand how to create a supportive environment.

To stay informed, Bild offers a newsletter sign-up on its site.