Accessibility
Guidance
![Shot of a mixed group of businesspeople sat on different rows of seats attending a class. Some are watching an out of shot person attentively, while others are writing information on their notebooks, laptops, and tablets.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/AdobeStock_445420860-1200x480.jpeg)
How your organisation could benefit from training staff in disability awareness
Providing disability awareness training for staff is as vital to any successful public-facing business as its management or marketing teams, yet for some reason, whether from ignorance or laziness, very few organisations will put in the required effort to reap the rewards that come from training staff in how to
Read More...![A young caucasian boy (around 6 or 7) on a plastic motorbike smiles and looks into the distance, presumably at a parent, in a children's playground. Behind him are slides, tube slides and other interactive playground features.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/pexels-polesietoys-5997589-1200x480.jpg)
The right to play: creating accessible playgrounds for all children
When we consider the thought of what accessibility in the built environment looks like, it would be fair to say that inclusive children’s play areas do not normally come to mind first. Typically, accessibility in the mind of the average person is thought about in contexts of more menial and
Read More...![A little boy with down syndrome wearing glasses focuses intently on a mobile phone, scrolling on the screen.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/shutterstock_2469299661-1200x480.jpg)
How to create accessible and inclusive social media content
On a global scale, social media is the dominant means of communication. Practically everyone everywhere makes use of it, whether to keep up with friends and family, entertain ourselves, read news articles/opinion pieces, or even find jobs. For disabled people (particularly those who face challenges navigating the physical world), social media
Read More...![An inspector holding a pen and clipboard writes down something while an inspector holding an electronic tablet from behind observes. Both are stood by a windowsill from within a building.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/shutterstock_2278207811-1200x480.jpg)
Why architects need accessibility consultants for New Build design projects
It is generally understood that there are five different phases for New Build construction projects. Across these five stages, accessibility consultants play a key role in the delivery of at least three of them to ensure that site owners and architects (the Project Management Team) are meeting their legal obligations
Read More...![An image of showing the exterior of a large, modern red-bricked building, the Swan Theatre, on a sunny day. The building hosts the Royal Shakespeare Company. In the foreground of the image, geese can be seen paddling on the River in front of the building.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/shutterstock_1079252090-1200x480.jpg)
How to make your theatre inclusive and disability-friendly
The live event market is currently booming, making a huge resurgence within the wider entertainment industry. With the pandemic becoming something of a distant memory, the general public is becoming much more comfortable in crowded spaces again, with live performances and concerts generating billions of pounds a year. The joy of
Read More...![An image of a black tote bag on a table with the English Heritage logo on it. Surrounding the tote bag are various items relating to accessibility, including ear defenders, bean bags and squeezable rings.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/04a9a47e-67a0-4a8b-b2bd-7d7f4c570414-1200x480.jpeg)
How providing tote bags with small objects can increase accessibility on your premises
Adopted widely from education and play settings to workspaces, sensory bags are an inclusive, inexpensive method of signifying to visitors that your premises actively consider accessibility and comfort. The tools and resources available within the bag can ease or lessen situations of sensory overload, as well as aid in the
Read More...![A middle aged Maltese man in a pink polo shirt and light-blue checkered suit jacket sits on a sofa in an auditorium. He is holding a microphone and holding his hand out as he says something to an off-screen interviewer.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_0512-1200x480.jpg)
Steven Mifsud MBE interviewed at MENA Construction Summit
Answering questions on-stage, Steven spoke at the MENA Construction Summit this week on multiple topics effecting the future of the construction industry, ranging from Saudisation, to diversifying the workforce, to improving the local school curriculum. Accessibility and inclusion play key roles in how attraction providers can contribute to the sustainable
Read More...![Two female children smile as a rollercoaster sends them flying down the track. One of them is posing for the camera holding her hands up high.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/shutterstock_1487350391-1200x480.jpg)
Developing Accessible and Inclusive Theme Parks
From improving the emotional well-being of disabled people to generating more wholly positive perceptions of accessibility in the public consciousness, creating accessible and sustainable leisure facilities not only creates positive social awareness of disability issues (particularly among non-disabled children) but also allows disabled people from all walks of life the
Read More...![A photograph of Cheshire Oaks retail outlet on a sunny afternoon. A few cloud dot the otherwise blue sky as shoppers walk along the promenade. To the right of the image are Dune and Clogau stores.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/McArthur-Glen-1-scaled.jpg)
Designing inclusive retail and shopping spaces for accessibility
It is no secret that the rise of E-commerce, quickly accelerated by changes in people’s spending habits and the realities of our world economy, has resulted in physical retail spaces suffering losses in both consumer and business interest. However, while shopping for our favourite brands has never been easier for
Read More...![A banner with text reading "Accessible Interpretation of Wildlife" alongside two photographs. One shows a bald eagle stood on a wooden pole, the other a duplicate of the eagle as a tactile, white statue.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WhatsApp-Image-2023-09-14-at-08.35.36-1200x480.jpeg)
Tactile Objects and Models are the Future of Accessibility
Most disabled people from lived experience understand what segregation and exclusion feels like. But ask the average disabled person what accessibility means to them, you are pretty much guaranteed to get a different answer every time. To a wheelchair user, it might mean facilities offering automatic doors, wheelchair ramps, and
Read More...![A young Caucasian man who is a wheelchair user eats on the terrace of a restaurant with a Caucasian male friend. The friend assists by cutting his food up with a knife and fork.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AdobeStock_561471138-1200x480.jpeg)
How cafés, pubs and restaurants can better serve disabled patrons
One of our team’s favourite subjects for blogs, (like this one), is using our combined knowledge of accessibility to make recommendations to business owners about how they can become more inclusive to current and (potentially future) disabled customers. Whether that’s by speaking about issues we regularly identify when we do
Read More...![An accessible parking bay with the international symbol of access (person in a wheelchair) painted on the tarmac in yellow.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pexels-jakub-pabis-11074302-1200x480.jpg)
Why the parking area is the first indicator of your sites’ accessibility
As the point of entry for the majority of public facilities, the accessibility of a site’s parking area has the capacity to shape the perception of an entire facility in the eyes of disabled visitors. In this blog, we will explain some of the ways you can make your car
Read More...![A photograph of the front cover of the Access Guide which Direct Access produced for Cannock Chase. The cover has a dark green colour scheme with a mixture of yellow and white text. It reads "Cannock Chase access guide. Welcome to the Access Guide for Cannock Chase". Underneath this text is the Cannock Chase logo. A photograph on the cover shows a young white woman with downs syndrome riding a bike with stabilisers joyfully. Next to her getting in close for a photo is a white male companion who is off his bike and holding it with one hand. He is also smiling happily. Behind them is a bike trail through some woods.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Access-Guide-Cover-1200x480.jpg)
The benefit to providing accessibility and sensory guides for site visitors
Whether you are a site owner providing an attraction to the public or are the custodian of a heritage site/museum, Accessibility and Sensory Guides are fast-becoming a standard of the overall visitor experience in public recreation, entertainment, and educational settings. Working very much in the same way as a traditional
Read More...![A Refuge Point sign on a grey wall with the international symbol of access printed on it next to an emergency two-way intercom within a non-specific building interior. In the background, a floor to ceiling window reveals a church and several houses being battered by the rain on a cloudy day.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/IMG_0895-1200x480.jpg)
The Direct Access Guide to Accessible Wayfinding
When we hear the phrase “wayfinding”, what most frequently comes to mind is the application and availability of signage in a particular environment, which is normally used to signify elements of a space that requires visitor attention, or offer directional guidance in complex environments, such as shopping centres, hospitals, museums,
Read More...![A photograph of the exterior of the Science and Industry museum in Manchester.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Science-Museum-1-scaled-1-1200x480.webp)
A guide to curating inclusive exhibitions and museums
When we think about accessibility in the context of most built environments, the first thing that comes to mind for most people is whether wheelchair users can directly access the building via ramps, sufficiently wide doors, and elevators. But accessibility is, as we all know, is much more than mobility
Read More...![A modern living room space with artificial plants decorating a space which includes a coffee table and red armchairs.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pexels-rachel-claire-4846101-1200x480.jpg)
How inclusive and accessible design leads to future-proof housing developments
What is Inclusive Design? In construction, inclusive design is a sustainable, inclusive, and cost-effective design practice, yet is also massively underutilised. For firms that do use inclusive design when approaching new builds, it presents an opportunity for site owners to create built environments that are massively beneficial to every individual
Read More...![Part of a spacious office with a long aisle and row of desks with business supplies and green plants standing by walls and on workstations.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/AdobeStock_568743494-1200x480.jpeg)
The health, environmental, and social benefits of Biophilic design
Biophilic design (from the Greek, ‘philia’ meaning ‘love of life’) is an environmental design choice which is being adopted by architects and decorators around the world for modern office spaces and desk-based work environments. Office spaces, though largely safe and unassuming compared to workplaces of past centuries still provide potential
Read More...![A black wheelchair user wearing a white vest and armband carries a basketball in the palm of his left hand and holds on to his wheelchair with his right. He is on a basketball court on a sunny day.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/shutterstock_2247087249-1200x480.jpg)
Why the Models of Disability matter when creating inclusive environments
As access consultants at Direct Access, we often get asked this question and when we do, we tend to give a rather dry and professional answer explaining legal requirements and building regulations. Whilst it is true that these legal boxes need to be ticked, it is hardly an inspirational, encouraging,
Read More...![A mixed group of work colleagues discuss work around an office table. One of them, a male wheelchair user, points to his female colleagues monitor to point something out.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/pexels-kampus-production-6248983-1200x480.jpg)
How business owners stand to benefit from accessibility and inclusion
When we think of the built environments that make up our society, whether that’s bus stations, libraries, hospitals, supermarkets, or hotels, thought is rarely ever given to the potential of these spaces were they to be rebuilt, readjusted, and made inclusive. Indeed, when we think of accessibility and inclusion in
Read More...![Hand of an unrecognizable person dragging a suitcase, wearing on the wrist a lanyard of sunflowers, symbol of people with invisible or hidden disabilities.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/AdobeStock_576074074-1200x480.jpeg)
The difference between disability awareness and understanding
Much is often said about disability awareness, whether it’s businesses and organizations earnestly involving themselves in the various disability awareness days that happen each year, to huge corporations painting an image of inclusivity simply because they offer images of diversity in their branding – it is clear that in today’s
Read More...![The Direct Access logo.](https://directaccessgp.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/White-Logo-Transparent-Background-1-1024x198.png)
United Kingdom
Suite GB,
Pepper House,
Market Street,
Nantwich,
Cheshire,
CW5 5DQ.
Ireland
77 Camden Street Lower,
Dublin,
D02 XE80.
Inclusive Guides
Explore our free guides on accessibility and inclusion, crafted by our experts. Click Here.