Disability & Wellbeing Service Accessibility and The Social Model of Disability

Accessibility. Essential for some, better for all. Accessibility is about removing barriers to enable participation for all.

Within the University, disabled students may have an adjustment report. This details the impact of their disability on study. It recommends reasonable adjustments that will remove barriers and reduce this impact. Many of the recommended adjustments relate to accessibility. Having accessible teaching and assessment improves the learning experience for all. It can reduce the need for individual adjustments.

The videos referenced within this section are hosted on YouTube. They have closed captions and synchronised transcripts. To access the transcript within YouTube video, use the '...' option next to 'Share' and choose 'open transcript'.

Further information

The Social Model of Disability

The Social Model of Disability says that people are not disabled by their impairments or health conditions. Rather they're disabled by disabilist attitudes. And by organisational and physical barriers in society.

The social model of disability recognises that one-medium teaching and learning may not be effective for all people.

The following videos provide insight into the social model from three different groups:

POUR, the 4 principles of accessible digital content

To be accessible, digital content should be:

  • Perceivable
  • Operable
  • Understandable
  • Robust

The duty to provide reasonable adjustments is anticipatory.

We'll not know the requirements of all of our students. Some may complete all assignments through voice input. Others may need to use a screen reader or magnification software. And others may only be able to work in short bursts before taking a break. Accessible content enables all to access the content with no loss of information.

Legislation