This Learning Disability Week, Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) is advertising a new clinical academic post in learning disability nursing, and we wanted to make sure it reaches as many people as possible across the KSS community.

The post is a Lecturer in Academic Learning Disability, based in Canterbury with some travel to Medway, at 0.4 FTE (15 hours per week) on a fixed-term contract of 24 months. It is a clinical academic role, meaning the person appointed will split their time between academic duties and clinical practice — exactly the kind of bridging role that learning disability nursing needs more of.

The role sits within the School of Nursing, Midwifery, Allied and Public Health at CCCU and focuses specifically on the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities and autistic people. The successful candidate will contribute to teaching, curriculum development, practice supervision and assessment, and scholarly activity. There is also a specific remit to develop a sustainable model of long-arm practice assessment, and to work with the Head of Placements to grow learning disability placement capacity in the region.

This is a real opportunity to shape how the next generation of nurses understands and responds to the needs of people with learning disabilities. Every nurse who graduates with better knowledge, skills and confidence in this area is a step towards closing the health inequalities gap.

If you are a registered nurse with a learning disability field background, current NMC registration, and a passion for education, we would encourage you to look at the full job description and person specification. A teaching qualification and HEA Fellowship are listed as desirable rather than essential, so do not let those requirements put you off applying.

You can apply here:
https://staffspace.canterbury.ac.uk/ce0226li_webrecruitment/wrd/run/etrec179gf.open?WVID=902714Bjox&LANG=USA&VACANCY_ID=936091Im1H

Please share this post with anyone in your network who might be interested — colleagues, students approaching registration, or nurses considering a move into academia. The right person for this role may not be actively job-hunting; they may just need someone to forward them this link.

Daniel Marsden, Senior Lecturer in Learning Disabilities and Autism, Canterbury Christ Church University

People with learning disabilities face serious health inequalities. RNLDs are essential to addressing them — yet specialist posts are disappearing, and fewer people are training as learning disability nurses.

The RCN is publishing a review on the field. This free one-hour webinar, presented by Jonathan Beebee, will examine the findings and the actions being called for.

Thursday 25 June | 12:00–13:00 | Online | Free

Register here 👉 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rcn-learning-disability-nursing-review-tickets-1988481002206

Please share widely with colleagues, students, and anyone interested in learning disability care and support.

Today, 12 May 2026, LOUD wrote to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, to raise urgent concern about the continued inaction to confront the loss of the RNLD skill set from the workforce in the South East of England.

LOUD is an Expert by Experience group at Canterbury Christ Church University, made up of people with learning disabilities who work alongside health professionals and academics to improve education and research. Many of you in this community will recognise the issue immediately. No universities situated in our region are currently training new learning disability nurses. There is no workforce commissioning in place to rebuild the pipeline. The consequences are already being felt.

LeDeR data tells part of the story — women with a learning disability still dying 23 years earlier than the general population, with around half of all deaths deemed avoidable. But our letter puts member voices at the centre:-

• People being refused access to a learning disability nurse during hospital admissions.
• People falling between services with no clinical ownership.
• People unable to raise complaints through inaccessible routes. 

Our three asks of the Secretary of State are a workforce review focused on the South East, a dedicated workforce strategy with Kent and Medway as a named priority, and reinstatement of the expectation that every NHS hospital and GP surgery has access to a qualified learning disability nurse — not a social prescriber.

The letter is copied to all 18 Kent and Medway MPs. Both a full letter and an Easy Read version can be found below.

We have asked for a response ahead of Learning Disability Week, 15–21 June. We will share any reply we receive.

Daniel Marsden, Senior Lecturer, Canterbury Christ Church University Vanessa Cowley, Co-Chair, LOUD

On 17 February 2026, more than thirty-five learning disability nursing professionals from across Kent and Medway gathered for a day of honest, structured conversation about who they are, what their work does, and what needs to change. Over 500 combined years of experience were in the room.

The result is We Are Still Here. We Are Still Vital. — a new report that is ready to read and share.

What it found

Participants were clear. LD nurses see the whole person, identify what others miss, prevent diagnostic overshadowing, and change how entire teams behave. When asked what would be lost without Learning Disability nursing, answers included over-medication, people lost without a voice, earlier deaths, and — from one experienced practitioner — simply: Catastrophic.

Three collective actions

1. Formalise a Kent and Medway Learning Disability Nursing Network — quarterly, with lived experience representation, linked to the KSS Community of Practice.
2. Take LD nursing into schools and colleges — outreach into at least five settings within twelve months, co-delivered with lived experience partners.
3. Build the evidence base — a working group to develop outcome frameworks that capture the preventative impact of Learning Disability nursing.

Read it. Share it. Use it.

The report is written to be placed in front of commissioners, Chief Nurses, and workforce planners. If you’d like to get involved in any of the three collective actions, we’d love to hear from you.