Disability Inclusivity: Road Testing Charity Bike Build
- Peter and the team at O3e
- Jun 13, 2018
- 3 min read
A couple of months ago we were wondering why, out of the 17000 or so people that have taken part in our Charity Inspired Challenges, so few had identified as being disabled or said they had extra access needs due to a disability or impairment.
The latest government statistics suggest that there are approximately 3.1 million disabled people currently in the UK workforce, and 46.3% of working-age disabled people are now in employment. Interestingly there is another 2 million people of working age who are not in employment and that that figure has been static for more than 2 years, but that's another story.
So where are the other 3.1 million and why are they not attending our events?
Last Month we decided that we would find out how accessible our Charity Bike Build was for disabled people, including people living with a learning disability, visually impaired people, wheelchair users and those with limited mobility.
Through working with disability charity PossAbility People in Brighton, we ran the challenge to ensure that what we were doing, was accessible for all. We also wanted to learn what we could be doing better or more of, to help improve the experience for everyone.
Our plan was not to compromise our activity in any way and to take the learnings from this and introduce them to all our challenges so that everyone can be involved, no matter what your access needs are.
What an amazing few hours for all of us, it was one of the most ‘Human’ experiences I certainly have ever had. Some of the main things that came out of it was that we were already very accessible for people living with impairments and long term health conditions, and that now we need to let potential clients know that we can cater for most access needs.
What we were able to produce were guidelines for anyone organising a team building event to ensure it is as accessible as possible to anyone who would like to take part.
These were some of the main points that come out as a result of this partnership work:
Inclusion Checklist
Ask attendees if they have any extra access or support needs when they book on to the challenges. By letting us know beforehand we can discuss individual requirements.
Be prepared to be able to provide an extra person to support someone if needed.
Be very clear with communication, do not refer to objects by two different names. Fully describe the entire process to someone with a visual impairment so that they understand what is happening.
A blind or visually impaired person may need hand guidance to find the parts, seek permission before guiding hands.
Be prepared to provide a hearing loop and ensure that these are clearly signposted and that activities happen within it for people who are deaf / hard of hearing.
Provide written instructions on tablets with screen readers for those who need it.
Make sure all areas are accessible, you may need to adapt your space and your equipment to make this happen. For example. Ensure that there is enough space to move around for a wheelchair user, or the frames that are holding the bikes are at the right height for everyone
Use a venue that has an accessible toilet and is fully accessible.
Be prepared to need extra time to help explain a method for those that may need it, such as people with a visual impairment or someone who is Deaf and is using a BSL interpreter.
Let potential customers know in advance promotional material or on the website that you can provide extra access support, how your activities are accessible and that you can provide extra time for those that may need it.
So What now for O3e? Well, we intend to make the inclusive style of our event well known and to share our learnings far and wide. Most of it is common sense, it's just we don't all stop to think sometimes. We'll leave you with a cartoon that really resonated with us.....
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