In line with our values, the University of Nottingham is driven by a social model of disability – an understanding that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference.

As we head towards Disability Recognition Month, we wanted to set out a series of initiatives to help provide improved support and a sense of belonging for staff and students with disabilities and create an inclusive culture where all talent can thrive.

Reasonable adjustments funding

We all have a moral, ethical and legal obligation to ensure that our university is inclusive and welcoming to those in our community with a disability.  A key part of this commitment is ensuring that appropriate reasonable adjustments are put into place when required.

Work has been taking place over the past few months to ensure that the resources to support staff with a disability and their line managers are more visible and easily accessed. This includes the compilation of a list of where the funds for reasonable adjustments are held across the university so they can be implemented quickly.

Staff should continue to discuss any reasonable adjustments that they feel they need with their line manager but should line managers have any concerns about the budget needed to facilitate the adjustment they should get in touch with the named contact for their area. These budgets will be reviewed annually with the expectation that as we increase the number of disabled staff we employ, in line with our key performance indicators, the spend against this budget will also increase.

AccessAble building guides

Following a £200,000 investment from the university, AccessAble has now begun surveying all our UK campuses to create detailed online access guides to all our buildings. You will hear more on this in coming weeks but these guides will allow neurodivergent and disabled members of our community to gain information about the facilities available and the access routes into a building.

The survey will also allow Estates to determine how and where to use their budgets to improve accessibility for all.

Manager resources

We are a Disability Confident committed employer and managers play a key role in ensuring staff with a disability feel valued and develop a strong sense of belonging at the university.  We currently offer a number of resources to support staff and managers in discussing, agreeing and recording reasonable adjustments.

You will be able to access more information about some of the initiatives above as part of the university’s focus on Disability Recognition Month. One of the events taking place is What’s new in the Disability Space, which includes a presentation on Disability: Rights and Responsibilities where staff from Human Resources and our Legal Services team explore what a disability is according to the Equality Act 2010 and how to disclose a disability, what reasonable adjustments are, as well as current and future support at the university for staff with a disability.

We would encourage you all to find out more and sign up for the session, which is open to everyone.

If you are a member of staff with a disability, and require additional support or advice, please contact your line manager in the first instance.

If you are a line manager please contact your reasonable adjustments contact for support with budget matters or the Employment Relations Team in HR for any other issues.