May 2022
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This conference discussed priorities for supporting disabled students in Higher Education.
It took place in the context of the National Disability Strategy, with government plans for improving support for disabled people throughout their life - including through the transition to higher education, apprenticeships, and employment - and the Access to Work Adjustment Passport scheme.
Delegates considered what is needed to take forward the ambitions set out in the Strategy, including increasing the number of disabled graduates in employment.
Further sessions looked at how the experience of the pandemic can inform best practice in provision for disabled students going forward, including in terms of blended learning and support such as funding, in the context of the Disability Strategy.
We were pleased that Nicola Turner, Senior Fair Access Adviser, UCAS presented the initial findings of UCAS’s latest report on disabled students’ experiences of Higher Education at the conference.
Overall, areas for discussion included:
- the impact of the pandemic on the experiences of disabled students in HE
- streamlining the transition process to university
- improving student life on campus and increasing awareness of available support
- priorities for educational attainment
There were further keynote sessions with Katherine Bayliss, Student Funding Policy, Higher Education and Further Education Directorate, Department for Education; Professor Geoff Layer, Chair, Disabled Students’ Commission; and Helen Saelensminde, Chief Executive Officer, Snowdon Trust.
The conference was an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues alongside key policy officials who attended from DfE; the Cabinet Office; Department for the Economy, NI; GLD; Home Office; Ofsted; the Tertiary Education Review; and the Welsh Government.
