Disability Access Forum

Bradford District Museums and Galleries have established an “Access Forum”. This is a group of people who bring the perspective of disabled, d/Deaf and neurodivergent lived experience to the Museums.

You can find out more by emailing Pen directly: Penelope.foreman@bradford.gov.uk

What does “disability” refer to in this context?

We invite anyone who is disabled, d/Deaf, or neurodivergent to take part in the Access Forum. However, we recognise that those terms may not feel like the right ones to many people, and that disability is a complicated concept with many different definitions.

Individuals may identify with or prefer different terms to describe their lived experiences, and some people may not identify with the term “disabled.” Though the Access Forum is designed to bring disabled voices into the Museums, we recognise that there is no one way of experiencing disability, and that “disability” as a term can cover a vast range of experiences and identities. We know that people prefer a variety of different ways to talk about themselves – or may prefer no label at all.

To make it clear that we are looking for a broad range of experiences, we are using the definition developed by Pen Foreman during their work with Historic England.

The term ‘disabled people’ in this project covers people:
• With a diagnosis of a disability or chronic illness
• With a diagnosed learning disability
• Who are d/Deaf, Culturally Deaf, deafblind, deafened or have hearing loss
• Who are blind, partially sighted, have low vision or have sight loss
• With a diagnosis of a mental health condition
• Who are neurodivergent
• Who are currently in the process of diagnosis or investigation of any of the above
• Who identify as disabled
• Who are classified as disabled under the terms of the Equality Act 2010

Terms of Reference

1. The Panel will be made up of members that have lived experience of disability, d/Deafness or neurodivergence. Access Panel members are not expected to share any details of their disability, d/Deafness or neurodivergence with the group unless they wish to do so.
2. The Access Panel will be guided by a Code of Conduct that outlines the safeguarding principles at meetings. This Code will also make meeting structure and procedures clear, so there are no “unwritten rules”.
3. There is no “leader” of the Panel– only a chair of sessions who makes sure that behaviour expectations are met and discussion points flow. No voice is more valuable or prioritised, all are equally valid.
4. Lived experience is valued as expertise, and we make sure people are paid for that expertise. We pay travel expenses as well as offering a set fee for each meeting.
5. The Access Panel and the Museums’ approach to accessibility are grounded in the Social Model of Disability. We work from the position that people are disabled by barriers put in place by a society that does not invest money or empathy in making accommodations and adaptations. We reject the individualised, commonly known as “medical model” that individual people are a problem to be fixed.
6. Members of the Panel will be offered the option of completing an Access Passport or Access Rider to complete when they join, so that their access needs can be met. There is the understanding that needs change and that they are contextual.
7. The Access Panel will have some dedicated funding to put actions into place based on recommendations it makes, and BDMG will actively seek funding opportunities to increase this available funding.
8. The Access Panel will meet at a physical location that has good accessibility, in recognition that “fully accessible” does not exist. If an in-person meeting is not possible, an online meeting will be scheduled. Hybrid meetings will not take place.
9. Meetings will take place on a schedule agreed by the group members.
10. Meeting actions will be shared at BDMG management meetings so awareness of the group and its work is high across the Museum Service.
11. The Access Panel will advise on accessibility and inclusion across BDMG, but they will also work beyond this. The Panel will give their perspective and expertise on other areas of the Museums including events, exhibitions, comms planning, interpretation, and community engagement. We value disabled voices across everything we do.
12. The Terms of Reference will be reviewed annually.
13. The Access Panel works on a model of continual reflection, taking into account feedback and discussion and adapting ways of working.
14. Membership of the Access Panel will be limited to 15 people in order to make sure all can have the opportunity to share their voice in sessions and meetings do not become too long.
15. BDMG recognises that people will not be able to attend every meeting, and that sometimes people will need to give very short notice of non-attendance due to fluctuating energy, health conditions, or other personal reasons. There will be ways to take part in discussions even if you cannot attend the “live” meeting.
16. All reports made by the Access Panel will also be produced in large print, audio, Braille and Easy Read formats.