A CHARITY is urging Bolton schools to be more aware of the needs of disabled people.

The John Grooms organisation has developed a hard hitting teacher's guide, "Just Like Us", which will be distributed to every school in the North-west.

The pack and website contain a selection of lesson plans and classroom resources that encourage youngsters to question their definitions of disability and honestly appraise their attitudes towards disabled people.

The executive director of John Grooms, the Rev Michael Shaw, said: "The biggest disabling aspect of many disabled people's lives is other people's attitudes, from adult preconceptions about disability to playground taunts."