Disabled Students' Community

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This community organises on behalf of students at Leeds Beckett who identify as being disabled.

To join this community you must first self-identify as disabled.

Join our vibrant community dedicated to empowering disabled students at Leeds Beckett! Working alongside our Student Community Organisers and other student leaders, we are committed to making a positive impact and advocating for change to improve the lives of disabled students.

We believe in the social model of disability; that disability is caused by the way society is organised through barriers and discrimination, not because of our individual impairments. By joining our community, you become part of a movement that strives to remove obstacles limiting the choices and opportunities available to disabled students.

Collaboration is key to our community. We stand in solidarity with other marginalised groups, recognising the importance of intersectionality. We promote inclusivity and diversity, championing the rights and voices of students of all backgrounds, including but not limited to faith, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and race.

We prioritise the safety and well-being of our members, fostering an environment that is free from threat and intimidation. As such, we do not tolerate racist, anti-Semitic, islamophobic, fascist, sexist, xenophobic, ableist, LGBT-phobic or ageist views expressed within any of our spaces.

Why should I join?

We're delighted to offer you free membership to any student community you identify with, giving you access to exciting opportunities to get involved in change-making activity as well as providing you with valuable information and resources to support your journey at Leeds Beckett.

By joining, you'll also gain entry to a private online community forum where you can connect with fellow students in your community to discuss shared experiences and agree on priority campaigns.

Throughout the year, there will be numerous opportunities for you to participate in both online and on-campus activities. We encourage you to have your voice heard and get involved. If you have any ideas for activities you'd like to see or specific feedback regarding your experience as a disabled student, don't hesitate to get in touch with our Student Community Organisers by emailing lbsu-community-organisers@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.

I need help joining!

To become a part of a Student Community, you need to first update your details to identify yourself as a member of that particular community. Here's how you can do it:

  1. Follow this link to update your details.
  2. On that webpage, select the community or communities that you identify with and want to join.
  3. After making your selections, click the 'update' button.
  4. Now, go back to the page of the specific Community you wish to join (this page).
  5. On this page, you will find a 'join' button. Click on it.
  6. Once you click the 'join' button, you will see an option to 'add to basket'. Click on it.
  7. Your membership will be added to a virtual 'basket'.
  8. Navigate to the top of the page and click on the 'basket' button in the navigation bar.
  9. You will be taken to your basket, where you can review the community or communities you have selected to join.
  10. When you are ready, click on the 'check-out' button to complete your membership.

If you encounter any difficulties or have any questions regarding joining a community, please feel free to reach out to us at studentvoice@leedsbeckett.ac.uk. We will be more than happy to assist you.

The following priorities outline our guiding vision for making disabled students' lives better.

We recognise that priorities evolve with time and new ideas emerge. We embrace this dynamic nature and encourage active participation, welcoming fresh perspectives, new priorities, and celebrating achievements as they happen.

Engagement
  • We will work to strengthen engagement with the Community, through visible and accessible activities, to forge and open and inclusive community for disabled students to network and seek support from their peers.

 

Accessibility

  • We will lobby the University to further their work around campus accessibility, building upon the launch of AccessAble.

  • We will lobby the University to make lectures more accessible, taking steps to improve the layout of lesson plans, room lighting and use Lecture Capture.

  • We will campaign for the introduction of 'access hours' at events to support students with mental health concerns or who struggle in social environments.

  • We will campaign for better access to sports for disabled students including awareness of the needs of disabled students when accessing gyms and sporting facilities and the provision of specialist kit for disabled athletes, which can be prohibitively expensive.

 

Support

  • We will lobby the University for improve support services to aid the retention of disabled students and reduce the numbers who drop out of University.

  • We will develop strong lines of communication between the Community and the Leeds Beckett Disability Advice team to ensure that the needs of disabled students are fed back to the University quickly and efficiently.

  • We will lobby for Reasonable Adjustment Plans to be implemented earlier in a students' academic career to ensure they have the best student experience from acceptance through to graduation.

  • We will support the campaign for cross-campus lecture capture to ensure that all students have access to recordings of their lectures regardless of whether they have declared a disability.

  • We will seek to work with the Leeds Beckett Careers Team to improve the support available to disabled students and lobby for an extension of this support to ten years post-graduation.

  • We will work to ensure that disabled students feel confident in the transition from further education to higher education and education to the workplace by lobbying the University to offer more support and advice on approaches to interviews, writing CVs and cover letters and disclosing a disability to an employer, and the introduction of workshops to help gain valuable skills.

  • We will undertake research into financial challenges for disabled students and lobby the University to mitigate the costs of dyslexia testing and essential computer hardware.

  • We will actively promote the 'Safe Spaces' on campus and explore the potential for creating more opportunities for de-stress, sensory and quiet spaces with the University.

 

Awareness & Education

  • We will develop opportunities for students and staff to learn about different disabilities and participate in events designed to raise awareness of the challenges faced by disabled students due to the way society is organised.

  • We will work constructively with the University for the improved understanding of lecturers and tutors of their students' individual needs to ensure disabled students can learn in an inclusive environment.

  • We will look into supporting the transition from further to higher education; including being visible at open days and lobbying the University to provide further guidance to Schools and Colleges that support and encourage disabled students to apply to University.

Mental Health

  • We will work with the SU to provide mental health first aid training to staff, officers and reps who wish to undertake it.

  • We will explore the opportunities to collaborate with and organisation such as Ben or Samaritans for 24-hours crisis support and promote specialist helplines that meet the needs of our diverse membership.

  • We will develop activity to support Mental Health Awareness Month, working collaboratively with the University, student societies and community groups to highlight and raise awareness of mental health and reduce the stigma surrounding it, with specific efforts around men's mental health.

 

 
Equality Mental Health Hub