AccessibleUK

About

AccessibleUK are trained Accessibility Consultants (Centre for Accessible Environments) working across the UK.

Gillian Scotford (director) knows firsthand the importance of providing good accessibility and the difference that this makes. Previously working as a healthcare professional and being the mother of two disabled children, she was inspired by the challenges that she faced in life, to become a professional Access Consultant.

Gillian Scotford has been helping make changes to accessibility in the UK since 2012. She founded the Accessible Derbyshire website, which showcased Accessible Tourism in the Peak District and Derbyshire. This renowned and well-respected website was mentioned in the 2019 Glover Report as best practise.

Gillian is a Founder member of the England Inclusive Tourism Action Group, established in 2015, alongside other nationwide leaders in Accessible Tourism including VisitEngland. She is proud to have helped write guidelines for ‘Top 10 Tips on inclusive tourism’ ‘Welcoming autistic people, A guide for tourism venues’ and ‘Dementia- friendly tourism’, as well as what makes an ‘Accessibility Champion'. 

Since 2017, Gillian has delivered Changing Places Toilets training across the country and AccessibleUK is now one of the chosen providers who are delivering training on behalf of Muscular Dystrophy UK for the government funded initiative to build hundreds of Changing Places Toilets around the country.

Gillian spoke at the Brussels Destinations for All World Summit on Accessible Tourism in 2018 about her motivations and success stories.

AccessibleUK provides disability awareness training, Accessibility Champion training, accessibility audits, consultancy business advice and design appraisal.

AccessibleUK have an in-house, disability awareness trained media team who provide professional photography, videography, and 360-degree virtual tours along with drone footage of any size venue/ destination. Other services include mystery shopping, mentoring schemes, public speaking, sensory story creation and Accessibility Guide production. 

AccessibleUK and Kakou Technologies have created Access MiniGuide, from realising the need to have a quick and simple tick box access guide. The ‘Do It Yourself’ Access MiniGuide can easily be carried out and displayed by small businesses, who often do not have the time, energy and understanding of accessibility to complete full Accessibility Guides. This acts as a stepping stone before completing the VisitEngland Accessibility Guide. The Access MiniGuide website allows users to search for the accessibility facilities/ features they are looking for in a particular destination, via a map or list and find exactly what their party is looking for. The Access MiniGuide for each venue/ event displays information in a simple format without having to scroll through reems of written information, as was displayed in old access statements.

AccessibleUK analyses accessibility from a pan disability approach, considering sight loss, hearing loss, mobility impairments, Dementia, Autism and learning difficulties. As experts in Accessible Tourism, AccessibleUK have worked alongside partners at VisitEngland, Forestry England, English Heritage, National Trust, and National Parks amongst many others. Gillian Scotford has trained hundreds of Accessibility Champions who have gone on to achieve amazing results and act as role models in their sector, some even becoming award winners!

AccessibleUK have a wealth of experience in creating Accessible Destinations: creating Accessible Castleton (2023) and creating Accessible Bolsover (2023), and working alongside VisitEngland on the North York Moors Accessibility Project (2022), which all combined a unique mix of the services offered to suit that destination and project specification.

AccessibleUK can provide bespoke services for you – no matter how small or large your organisation is.

AccessibleUK are proud to support clients through their entire accessibility journey.

Get in touch to find out how AccessibleUK can support you!