We are really excited to launch the Your Accessibility Guide portal.

Listening to the lived experience and expertise of disabled people is at the heart of everything AccessAble does. For almost 25 years everything we do, from the information we collect to the design of our website has been decided through engagement and co-production.

Over the past few years, we have seen increasing numbers of disabled people contacting us to say they are facing a postcode lottery when it comes to accessibility information.

At the same time, we have had significant numbers of businesses and venues across the UK asking to join our service, particularly SMEs.

The challenge was finding a solution that would be cost effective for SMEs, could be deployed nationally and would crucially maintain the highest quality.

The Your Accessibility Guide portal is our answer.

The development of the portal has been entirely self-funded by AccessAble. Our goal is to tackle the postcode lottery facing disabled people and to help businesses and venues, regardless of size or location, provide the accessibility information disabled people have told us they need.

A business can visit the portal to find out why having a Detailed Access Guide is so important, what the process involves and the likely cost.

A big part of this new approach is the offer of Guided Assessment.

What has set AccessAble apart, over the past quarter century, is our team of experienced surveyors. Every venue on www.AccessAble.co.uk has been assessed by a member of our surveying team, they represent 50% of our workforce. To accurately assess accessibility requires comprehensive training and a survey tool that directly reflects the needs of disabled people.

AccessAble has spent almost 25 years developing this tool to ensure its information is trusted and relevant to as many disabled people as possible.

Over the last year, AccessAble has explored how video technology could enable the expertise of our surveyors to be utilised in a different way, with a particular focus on micro businesses and SMEs.

After a significant research and development investment, and comprehensive trials, AccessAble will offer a Guided Assessment option for small to medium sized venues.

AccessAble has been clear about the dangers of self-assessment throughout its history and our commitment to specialist assessment is unwavering. The crucial thing about the Guided Assessment approach is that the assessment is still carried out by the AccessAble surveyor.

The person taking the video call at a venue is in effect the eyes and hands of the surveyor, they show the surveyor around the venue, but the surveyor still makes the assessment and collects all the details. There are some aspects that cannot be determined on a video call and as a result these are not collected.

Large venues cannot be assessed via Guided Assessment due to their size and complexity. As a result, these venues will only be offered the option of an On Site Assessment.

We are thrilled to announce that VisitEngland be promoting the portal as their recommended route for tourism and hospitality businesses to provide quality assured accessibility information. We also look forward to working with the newly formed Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) in England, wherever possible.

If you are a disabled person or carer and would like to suggest somewhere to be included, you can contact us at [email protected].

Be sure to follow our socials over the coming weeks to understand how you can get involved.

 

 

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