We are pleased to see the Government accepted the evidence from Arriving at Thriving: Learning from disabled students to ensure access for all, a report by Policy Connect and the Higher Education Commission, saying that too often disabled people lack access to technologies that would benefit them.

The report is cited in a section of the Strategy regarding ‘Driving innovation in assistive technology’.[1] 

Arriving at Thriving sets out lessons for the Government and university leaders, developed from the experiences of disabled people in Higher Education. It was released last year following a six-month inquiry, chaired by Lord David Blunkett; Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Vice Chancellor of the University of Derby; and Lord Philip Norton, Chair of the Higher Education Commission. The inquiry listened closely to students, with evidence gathered from over 500 disabled students, from senior figures at a number of higher education providers, and charity representatives across the country. We are very grateful to the sponsors of this report: Jisc, UPP and ACCA.

We welcome the recognition in the Strategy of Policy Connect and the Higher Education Commission's findings in Arriving at Thriving, and encourage all partners delivering services to harness this time of great change to ensure that accessibility is built in to all teaching and learning from the outset. A key principle for achieving this is to listen to disabled students about what they need, and to embed this feedback into processes of change.

[1] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1006098/National-Disability-Strategy_web-accesible-pdf.pdf Page 74/75