Universities across England and Wales often speak confidently about inclusion and belonging. Yet many disabled students still encounter barriers that should have been anticipated and removed long before they frustrated or denied someone’s ability to engage on equal terms with the short-lived opportunities that comprise the full student experience of university life.

The Equality Act 2010 already places a clear duty on universities to make reasonable adjustments and to plan ahead for disabled students’ needs. But recent cases and campaigns suggest that the current system is not delivering the level of accessibility or accountability that disabled people deserve.

A Landmark Judgment: University of Bristol v Abrahart

The Abrahart ruling (2024) brought national sector-specific attention to the issue. The court reaffirmed that universities must take proactive steps to identify and remove barriers for disabled students, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission described the judgment as a “landmark case” that reinforces the need for early, meaningful action.

The message is clear: universities must not wait for a student to struggle or complain. They must anticipate foreseeable barriers and act before harm occurs.

Physical Accessibility: Still Too Often Overlooked

There is growing and welcome attention on sensory and processing differences, including autism and ADHD. AUDE’s most recent estates‑sector guidance focuses heavily on neurodiversity and sensory environments — a positive development, but one that reflects a wider trend.

Students with physical impairments are increasingly reporting a perception that:

• budgets are being directed towards sensory‑friendly design
• staff training is centred on neurodiversity
• physical accessibility issues are left unresolved for months or years

This shift in focus should not come at the expense of meeting the needs of students with mobility impairments. Step‑free routes, working lifts, accessible toilets, safe viewing areas at sports pitches, and inclusive social spaces remain basic, non‑negotiable requirements for equal participation.

A university cannot claim to be inclusive if its buildings, sports facilities, and social spaces remain inaccessible.

Sport, Social Life, and the Barriers Nobody Talks About

Participation in sport and student societies is a major part of university life. Yet disabled students often find:

• no safe, step‑free viewing areas at sports pitches
• inaccessible venues chosen for society events
• limited disability awareness among student organisers

These barriers are rarely intentional, but the unintentional discriminatory consequences are significant. And the Abrahart case reinforces that universities must consider the whole student experience — not just academic adjustments.

The Hidden Burden on Disabled Students

Many disabled students already manage complex daily routines involving personal care, medical appointments, and fatigue. When universities fail to act promptly on reasonable adjustment requests, the burden shifts onto the student to chase, escalate, and advocate for themselves.

This administrative load is itself a barrier — and one that the Equality Act requires institutions to prevent.

A Growing Call for Stronger Law: The Accessibility Act Campaign

Disability Rights UK is now calling for a new Accessibility Act to sit alongside the Equality Act. The aim is to create clearer, stronger, and more enforceable obligations around accessible buildings, digital services, and public spaces — including universities.

For students, this could mean:

• guaranteed minimum accessibility standards
• clearer accountability when adjustments aren’t made
• stronger rights to challenge inaccessible services
• a shift from reactive adjustments to proactive design

The Abrahart ruling shows what can happen when systems fail. Might a new Accessibility Act provide a more effective legal framework to prevent those failures in the first place?

A Moment for Change

Disabled students deserve universities that understand their duties and act on them. The combination of the Abrahart judgment and the growing call for an Accessibility Act should serve as a wake‑up call for the sector.

Higher education has the opportunity (as well as a duty) to lead by example. But that will only happen when institutions move beyond reactive ‘problem‑parking’ and embrace the anticipatory, evolving nature of the spirit of the Equality Act (and associated case law) that encourages reasonable and proportionate, pro-active problem solving through positive action.

Current trends, demands and pressures on resources must not be allowed to frustrate and deny equality of opportunity and access to facilities that all disabled students deserve. Timely investment in engagement with trained access auditors and consultants, rather than tick-box exercises generating overwhelming volumes of description and data, might just help to identify low-cost, flexible solutions and improvements for a genuinely accessible campus environment and a more inclusive student experience for all disabled students.

Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like an initial conversation about this topic.