Accessibility update  

We held an initial House Meeting on 26 February 2026. During this meeting, students showed that they were clearly very angry at the University and disappointed that the SU had not done enough. They also shared their stories and showed what the key priorities should be for this action group (outlined below).

After this House, Meeting, we got feedback from the BSL interpreters stating that it would be best that there were independent BSL interpreters present at future meetings to ensure students could speak freely about their experiences with BSL interpreters provided by the University. We agreed and allocated budget for this for future meetings. There have been delays from Randstad, the recommended company. This, plus the general demand for BSL interpreters has made it difficult to book BSL interpreters for follow-up meetings. To mitigate this, we will be scheduling in all action group meetings for Academic Year 2026/27 before the year begins.

On 14 April 2026, we held our second Student Assembly. Two members of this action group, Laura Kenny and Alicia Cartwright shared their experiences of accessibility at this University. Although turnout at the Assembly was low, they were able to convince people to join this action group, making the total number 14. There are some specific actions that we will be working with leaders (and anyone else who wants to get involved) on over the summer, such as a lift mailing list and dropped kerbs around campus. We will kick off the bulk of this work, heading straight into planning and action in September 2026.

Our key priorities are:

1. Improved physical access on and around campus:
   • Lifts being broken and students not being informed
   • Students with access needs not being evacuated during emergencies
   • Kerbs around campus and Preston City Centre not being accessible
   • Teaching spaces not suitable for multiple wheelchair users
   • Poor disabled toilet conditions (e.g. unhygienic, water on floors)
   • Frequent room changes across buildings increasing accessibility barriers
      
2. Reasonable adjustments being met in academic spaces:
   • Adjustments not consistently implemented after being approved
   • Lack of accessible teaching materials (e.g. slides not provided)
   • Students forced to self-advocate repeatedly for agreed support
   • Group work not adapted to accommodate needs
   • Missed opportunities (e.g. field trips) due to late or absent adjustments
   • Staff lack training on implementing adjustments
      
3. BSL interpreters being available and adequately resourced:
   • Insufficient number of qualified interpreters available
   • Difficulty booking interpreters, especially for additional activities (e.g. 1-1s, group work)
   • Pressure on unqualified students to interpret at events
   • Poor organisation and last-minute planning for interpreter provision
   • Provision not extended to all university-related activities (e.g. events)
   • Worries among students of over-requesting interpreter support

The spaces we have influence in are:

• The Disabled Students Commitment Group: This group has senior staff members in the University together to create and implement an action plan to make the University more accessible. This is a new committee and as of April 2026 has held 1 meeting. We have 4 students in this group and 1 SU staff member.
• The Disabled Students Advisory Panel: This group is made up of disabled students to give feedback on aspects of the university and to develop the Disabled Student Commitment action plan. The work of this group feeds into the Disabled Student Commitment Group.
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee: This group has senior staff members, including members of the Vice-Chancellors Group. In this space, proposals for policy changes relating to EDI are put forward for approval. This group feeds directly into the Board of Governors (the University’s most senior decision-making body). We have 1 student in this group and 1 SU staff member.

What comes next:

Over Summer

• Organising local businesses and leaders to advocate for improved pavements and dropped kerbs around the Uni and city centre
• Meeting the Estates Team to push to improve fire evacuation procedures

From September

• Monthly action meetings to decide on actions to take based on our priorities
• Carrying out actions to campaign for changes to our priorities.
• Meeting with decision makers in the University to secure public commitments for changes to our priorities
• Providing student feedback to the development of the new Disability Awareness training for staff
• Actions on co-producing sensory spaces