Guidance
Accessible Britain Challenge: good practice examples
Updated 15 January 2015
© Crown copyright 2015
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accessible-britain-challenge-good-practice-examples/accessible-britain-challenge-good-practice-examples
The Accessible Britain Challenge ended in March 2015. The Disability Confident scheme provides support and guidance on recruiting and retaining employees with disabilities and long-term health conditions.
This page has links to local initiatives to help disabled people become full and active participants in their community. Use the examples to get ideas to meet the Accessible Britain Challenge encouraging communities to become more inclusive and accessible.
We will add more examples over time.
Changing attitudes and behaviours
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Dementia Action Group | Working with local shops, cafes, the town centre GP surgery and library to make Poole High Street a dementia friendly place |
| Dementia support from Broxtowe Council (added January 2015) | The council is supporting the Dementia Friends campaign to help people develop an understanding of dementia and help people in their community living with the disease |
| Gloucestershire County Council: Building Better Lives | A consultation to develop a 10 year approach to improving the lives of disabled people |
| Hate crime app | For iPhone and android phones from Dorset police aims to help disabled people feel more confident in coming forward and reporting hate crime |
| Hate crime campaign ‘One community’ | A Bracknell Forest Council awareness campaign to increase reporting of hate crime, including any criminal offence motivated by hostility towards someone based on their disability |
| Hate crime in Merseyside (added January 2015) | The Police Commissioner is working with charities and organisations to stop hate crime against disabled people |
| Hate crime video | National Star College and Gloucestershire Constabulary explain what disability hate crime is, how it affects victims and how to help stop it |
| Keep safe in Gloucestershire (added January 2015) | Provides safe places for people with learning disabilities in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Stroud and the Forest of Dean |
| Let’s Loop Surrey | Hearing impaired people are working with the Surrey Coalition of Disabled People and Surrey County Council to improve the provision of hearing loops |
| No Barriers, The Mike Oborski Awards scheme | For people and organisations that go the extra mile for disabled people |
| Redbridge Council services for staff and customers who are Deaf, deafened or hard of hearing (added January 2015) | The council has been awarded a ‘Louder than Words’ Charter Mark for improving its services |
| The Good Life in South Staffordshire | Helping communities to become more inclusive and accessible by working with disabled people |
Thumbs Up! – How to offer good support to people with learning disabilities
Watch a video by Brighton & Hove City Council on 10 simple steps for improving customer service for people with learning disabilities. (added January 2015)
Thumbs Up! – How to offer good support to people with learning disabilities
Choice, control and financial inclusion
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Access Dorset Centre | An online facility for peer support between disabled people, older people and carers |
| Basildon Borough Council Inclusion and Diversity Team | Development and collaborative work with local disability groups and individuals to improve services through accessibility, awareness and wider community engagement |
| Basildon Borough Council Disability Equality Forum | Acts as a focal point for all disability action locally, bringing groups together to discuss joint action, engage with statutory services and develop new initiatives |
| Basildon Disability Forum | Organises events, including a major mental health conference, to raise the public profile of disability equality and promote public engagement, it makes sure polling stations are accessible and accredits council communications and documents with a ‘Peck Mark’ for clarity and accessibility |
| Brent Adult Social Care | Involves users in developing Adult Social Care strategy, contract management and procurement |
| Brent Advocacy Project | Advocates for people with learning disabilities, people using or wishing to use mental health services and older people |
| Buckingham Disability Service | Independent charity run by disabled people for disabled people, which encourages and helps councils, health services and companies to provide better support and facilities for local disabled people |
| Cherwell disability forum | Organised by the Cherwell Local Strategic Partnership, which brings together public, private, community and voluntary organisations within the Cherwell area |
| Hyndburn Borough Council Equality and Diversity Scheme | How the council is making sure services are accessible, including improving customer contact, parks and playing pitches, and planning for the future |
| Independent Living Centre Semington | The Independent Living Centre, Semington offers free, impartial advice to elderly and disabled people and practical solutions for easier living |
| Improving access at South Somerset District Council | How the council has reduced the barriers that deny people access to services, plus their equalities work |
| International Day for People with Disabilities event in Brent | Brought 300 residents together with the council and the Brent Housing Partnership to discuss issues that local disabled people said were important to them, in particular transport and the changes to welfare and benefit |
| Mental Health Services and the Future event | A multi-faith forum event (funded by London Borough of Brent Council) looking at the future of mental health services and how to improve mental health in the borough |
| Northampton’s Disabled People’s Forum | A forum set up by Northampton Borough Council to represent the views of disabled people in the town |
| Partners for Brent and Brent Connects Disability Forum | Partnership groups led by the leader and deputy leader of London Borough of Brent Council respectively, which improve services in consultation with the community |
Education and employment
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| 30/30 Challenge | Gloucestershire County Council’s challenge to local businesses to offer a day’s work to a young person with a learning disability |
| Austerfield Study Centre community project, Doncaster | A successful transfer of a study centre to a local community group, forming a not for profit company, which provides environmental education |
| Bishopwearmouth Horticultural Nursery | Provides daily vocational training opportunities through horticulture for disabled people in the Sunderland area |
| Breakthrough Supported Employment, Bracknell | Service offering a personalised approach to support people with a learning disability or autism to look for, access and retain employment |
| Businessability | Bolsover and Chesterfield Councils’ scheme to help people with a long-term health condition or disability to run their own business |
| Bury Employment Support and Training (added January 2015) | Support and practical help for employers who want to diversify their workforce and offer equal opportunities |
| Community Outreach and Support Team (COAST) | Help for disabled people seeking work related activity of less than 16 hours a week in Poole |
| Employment support in Peterborough (added January 2015) | Examples of disabled people finding employment in Peterborough |
| Essex Coalition of Disabled People Works (added January 2015) | Help for disabled people in Essex to find employment |
| Fire safety course for adults with learning disabilities | A fun and social course from Oxfordshire County Council |
| Green Machine (Enterprise), Bracknell | A social enterprise to give volunteer and employment opportunities to disabled and disadvantaged people through Bracknell Forest Council’s recycling and green space management operations |
| Horticulture apprenticeships at Askham Bryan College | Middlesbrough Council apprenticeships at the fully disabled accessible Stewart Park, providing valuable life and vocational skills required for further training and employment |
| K9 Project | Uses dogs to create easy access learning opportunities for some of the most vulnerable people in Cambridgeshire |
| Learning Difficulties Awareness, South Gloucestershire | Runs learning difficulties and autism awareness sessions to year 6 primary school children |
| Leonard Cheshire ‘Change 100 for Students’ (added January 2015) | Offers paid internships for disabled students in a range of businesses |
| Project Search, Blackpool | A 1 year internship program aimed at helping final year disabled students get employment |
| Project Search, Torbay Hospital | Internships for young people with a learning disability and to help them find paid employment at the hospital or elsewhere in the community |
| Project Search, Whitefield Schools and Centre | Internships for 6 young people with special education needs at Whipps Cross hospital to provide them with employment skills |
| Second Time Around Furniture Project, Banbury | Scheme restoring old, second-hand furniture to sell and providing training and volunteering opportunities for young people with learning disabilities |
| Spinal cord injuries (added January 2015) | Training and case studies from the Spinal Injuries Association on life and work after an injury |
| The Write Track, Mansfield Palace Theatre | A workshop group to encouraging new writing, including from people with autism |
Dyslexia video
Watch a video made by members of West Midlands Fire Service. All of them are professional, successful individuals, all are also dyslexic.
Health and well-being
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Accessible sports and leisure facilities and courses | From Wokingham Borough Council |
| Brent health passport | Sets out useful basic information about an individual for all health and social care practitioners |
| Buckinghamshire County Council Get Active (added January 2015) | Support for adults with learning disabilities to be more active |
| Cycling scheme | Hull Council provide a selection of specially adapted bikes for disabled children and young people to use in East Park |
| Different Strokes | Helps younger stroke victims to recover through exercise classes across the UK |
| Get Active, Active Mansfield | Paralympic swimming stars Charlotte Henshaw and Ollie Hynd have teamed up with Active Mansfield to get Mansfield more active |
| Inspire Peterborough | Supports disabled people to improve their health and well-being through sport and leisure activities |
| Leatherhead Lyrical Community Singing Group | A weekly choir bringing benefits to people with mental health problems |
| Life’s an Adventure | A programme aiming to use adventure activities to inspire people to increase their physical activity levels to improve their health and well-being in Dorset |
| Walks in Suffolk | Some easy going walking trails in Suffolk |
| Wessex Accessible Cycling Club | Provides opportunities for disabled people, and people who are unable to use a conventional bike to cycle in east Dorset |
Housing
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Broxbourne Borough Council housing strategy | Outlining the approach to provide suitable accommodation and support for vulnerable people in consultation with stakeholder groups |
| Harmony House, Doncaster | Adapted for children and young disabled people to enable them to experience independent living in a safe and secure home from home setting |
| Forest Linkline | A 24 hour monitoring service for vulnerable people provided by the Forest of Dean Council |
| Northamptonshire Community Housing Network | Helps disabled people find a home that is right for them |
| Sensory Needs Clinic, Bracknell | A resource centre full of equipment, aids and adaptations to help residents continue living independent lives |
| Staying Put, Aylesbury | Support for disabled people to remain living in their own home with a few adaptations, such as an access ramp, stair lift or level access shower, using a Disabled Facilities Grant of up to £30,000 |
Information and access
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Accessibility of Brent Civic Centre | Improvements made by London Borough of Brent Council in response to disabled people’s feedback |
| Accessible eating places in Norwich (added January 2015) | Criteria for restaurants to receive a disability merit award from the Norwich Access Group and Norwich City Council |
| Bracknell Forest Council’s Access Group | Represents a wide range of disability groups to provide users’ points of view on disability and access issues and ways to improve services and facilities |
| Brent Disability Information Gateway | Empowering disabled people in Brent aged 18 to 60 to access information and advice |
| Children and young people with special education needs (SEN) | A single place for information for disabled children and those with special education needs in Gloucestershire |
| Corporate Disability Access Forum | A forum for Cheshire West and Chester Council to work with local organisations to improve access for disabled people |
| Disability Signpost Service | A mobile information service in Basingstoke that aims to make information easily accessible to disabled people, their friends and family |
| DisabledGo | Gives people in Plymouth information about the accessibility of venues and services in the city |
| Evacuation programme in Wirral | Information on how to safely evacuate disabled people in the event of an emergency |
| Fire safety for people with hearing, sight and mobility difficulties | Practical advice from the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service |
| Getting about | Gives information about accessible transport across Poole and Bournemouth, including large print timetables |
| Harlesden town centre regeneration project | Shaped by the views of disabled people, enabling much better access to public spaces and the town centre |
| Safe Places in Aylsebury | Provides safe havens for vulnerable people, such as local shops and restaurants, where they can go and get help from someone they trust on the phone or in person |
| Plymouth Council easy read website ‘Open to All’ | Information written specifically for people with learning difficulties |
| Safe Places scheme in Poole | Encourages shops and organisations to offer a safe haven for people with learning disabilities should they feel in danger, lost or unwell |
| Safe Places in South Gloucestershire | A scheme for adults with a learning difficulty or vulnerable people to get help when they are out and about |
| Sign language videos from South Somerset Council | British Sign Language (BSL) videos providing information for the Deaf community about local services |
| Smartcard scheme: e+ card Bracknell | Enables residents to access many services through a single card, including libraries, leisure facilities and buses |
| Winchester Area Access for All | Encourages local organisations to improve access for people with physical or sensory impairments |
| West Berkshire Access Guide (added January 2015) | Information about the accessibility of facilities and services in West Berkshire towns |
Social participation, friends and family
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Active Dorset | A 3 year programme to provide opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity for disabled people aged 14 years and over |
| Band without Boundaries | An opportunity for disabled people in Kent to learn and perform music |
| Brent libraries | Staff and disabled service users together looked at physical accessibility, staff training and whether collections and services met the needs and interests of disabled users |
| Brent Food Growing and Allotments Strategy | Intended to provide a range of food growing opportunities accessible to all parts of the community, including disabled people, and to promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle |
| Calvert Trust | The Calvert Trust helps disabled people overcome difficulties they can face accessing adventurous activities like canoeing, horse riding, sailing and abseiling |
| Countryside access at Durlston Country Park National Nature Reserve | Site for wildlife and geology, which provides a friendly, accessible environment for visitors and the widest possible access to trails, habitats, events and buildings |
| Cycle Circuit, Middlesborough | Adapted bikes to suit a variety of needs |
| DaDaFest (added January 2015) | An innovative disability arts organisation in Liverpool, delivering an annual festival and other arts events to promote high quality disability and deaf arts and opportunities for disabled and Deaf people to access the arts, including training |
| Dementia-friendly sensory garden, Betchworth | Mole Valley District Council worked with a local artist and school pupils to design and create ‘Vitamin G’, a dementia-friendly sensory garden at a nursing home |
| Dementia friends board game | Developed by the Forest of Dean Council to help provide information to people with dementia |
| Disability Beach Festivals | Dorset County Council organises and manages 2 beach festivals each year for disabled children from special schools and for disabled adults |
| DisabledGo, Bracknell | Free online access guide, developed in partnership, with information about over 500 venues including shops, restaurants, hotels, pubs, leisure centres, libraries, parks and countryside |
| DisabledGo, Cheshire West and Chester | A guide to accessible shopping, leisure and entertainment facilities in the area |
| DisabledGo, Northampton | Guide to make the most of what the town has to offer and encourage the community to get involved to influence the delivery of services |
| Garden Project, Charlton Centre, Wantage | Offers people with learning disabilities from South Oxfordshire the opportunity to develop skills and enjoy gardening |
| Heritage Flame Lighting Ceremony | A celebration of the Paralympics at Stoke Mandeville Stadium and Aylesbury Waterside Theatre |
| Improving Deaf and disabled people’s access to live music | Attitude is Everything works in partnership with audiences, artists and the music industry |
| Inclusive play areas in Aylesbury | 30 play areas built or refurbished within residential areas across Aylesbury Vale, designed so children with or without disabilities can play together in 1 space rather than having segregated play areas |
| Inclusive play areas in Newcastle | Raising awareness about what facilities are on offer at parks and play areas and providing more accessible equipment |
| Inclusive sport in Mole Valley | Project aiming to introduce 5 new sports every year over 3 years to disabled residents and their families in the district |
| Lake District easy walking routes (added January 2015) | ‘Miles without stiles’: 42 routes across the National Park suitable for people with limited mobility |
| Mens Shed | A workshop with tools and equipment for older men in Stratford upon Avon to meet and learn new skills |
| Pony Access (added January 2015) | Using ponies to make any terrain accessible to wheelchairs |
| Runways End | An outdoor activity centre designed to be accessible and inclusive for disabled people in the local community, run by Rushmoor Borough Council, Hampshire County Council and the scouts |
| Sandcastle Waterpark | Accessible facilities at the UK’s largest indoor waterpark in Blackpool |
| Sports development in Buckinghamshire | Working with local disability sports clubs to provide advice and help develop sporting programmes |
| Sport for disabled people in Swindon (added January 2015) | Opportunities for people with physical and learning disabilities to take part in, and enjoy, sport and physical activity at the level of their choice |
| Thames Valley Adventure Playground | A place for children and adults with all types of special need to play and share experiences in a safe and stimulating environment in Taplow near Maidenhead |
| Walled Garden at Upton Country Park, Poole | Redeveloped and is accessible all year round for disabled people |
Transport and mobility
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Accessible transport in South East Dorset | This includes a special ‘BAT’ bus service for people unable to use public transport |
| Access Plymouth | Help for people who have difficulty getting around because of disability or old age |
| Community Transport, Forest of Dean | A door to door service for people who do not have access to transport, including young people, the elderly, disabled and vulnerable passengers |
| Community Transport, South Norfolk | Car and bus schemes providing better access to the area for disabled and older people, to help increase employment opportunities, lower rural isolation and maintain independence |
| Fair4All Taxis & Minicabs Scheme | A private minicab hire service in Aylesbury which meets the needs of wheelchair and disabled users |
| Getting about | Gives information about accessible transport across Poole and Bournemouth, including large print timetables |
| Norwich Door to Door (added January 2015) | Provides accessible transport for disabled people of all ages |
| Oxfordshire Transport and Access Group (OXTRAG) | A user-led organisation supported by Oxfordshire County Council that campaigns on transport, highways and access issues that hinder disabled people from living independent lives |
| South Staffordshire Connect (added January 2015) | A bookable bus service for residents who live away from regular bus routes or find it difficult to use a standard bus |
| Taxi and minibus drivers disability awareness guidance | Produced by Stockport Council and Disability Stockport |
| Travel Buddies | Provides help using buses and trains for people with learning disabilities in Gloucestershire |
| Travel training | Helps adults with learning difficulties to travel safely on their own in South Gloucestershire |
| Warmley Wheelers, Gloucester | Specially adapted loan bicycles for people with disabilities |
| UBUS | A community transport scheme in Stratford upon Avon tailored to meet the needs of individuals, including those with mobility impairments |
More about the Accessible Britain Challenge
Read more information about creating inclusive communities for disabled people. This includes information about the government’s disability strategy and complying with the Equality Act 2010.
Get advice on helping disabled people become full and active participants in their community from toolkits produced by government and other organisations.