The Being and Belonging project was a staff-student partnership project that involved six student interns working together with Centre for Teaching and Learning staff over 10 weeks in summer 2024.
Through the project, 220 Oxford students shared their experiences via focus groups, 1:1 interviews and a survey, making this the largest dedicated study of disabled students’ views at the University to date.
View project Executive Report (behind SSO)
View Student Stories resource (behind SSO)
How is the University planning to address the project’s findings?
The project identified many areas of excellent practice and positive experiences, alongside four key areas of improvement for both the Disability Advisory Service (DAS) and the wider University:
- disability awareness of staff
- consistency of implementation of inclusive practices and reasonable adjustments
- communication with students from and about disability services
- disability support tailored to the needs of postgraduate research and international students.
The University warmly welcomes the interns’ findings. Disabled student support is a long-held institutional priority and the project report has been considered and discussed at length by both Student Life Committee and Education Committee. The recommendations are informing the University’s commitments and strategic interventions within its Access and Participation Plan (APP), ensuring that these candid voices shape the implementation of the Plan and continue to contribute meaningfully to improve disabled students’ experiences in the years to come.
The Access Fund Management Board has approved funding for five new posts to support the APP commitments to disabled students: A Senior Project and Evaluation Manager in DAS to support the review of the Common Framework for Supporting Disabled Students and the DAS service model; and a Disability Inclusion Officer in each Division to support departments and faculties to embed inclusive practices and systematically anticipate disabled students’ needs. These posts will be recruited in 2025-26 and will foster productive partnerships between DAS and the wider institution, ensuring a cohesive and joined up approach to this important work.
Activity will focus on the following key areas:
- Review implementation of the Common Framework for Supporting Disabled Students through the network of disability leads in colleges and departments, including consultation with students
- Evaluate the DAS service model, which aims to enable students to access standard reasonable adjustments in a more timely and efficient way, so Disability Advisors can prioritise bespoke discussions with those students with the most individualised requirements
- Diversification of mental health and counselling services, including defining and launching a Mental Health Advisor Service pilot to provide specialist support for students with serious mental health difficulties, guidance and consultancy for welfare teams, leads and contacts, and a dedicated point of liaison and care coordination with external primary and secondary care NHS services.
