On 27 October 2021, The Shaw Trust announced its annual list of the top 100 most influential disabled individuals, organisations and groups in the UK. Disabled Students UK is thrilled to be one of the first organisations to be recognised. We applaud the decision to include disabled-led organisations as well as individuals on the list this year, highlighting the power of the disabled community. We are delighted to be featured under the Community Action category.  We are delighted to be featured alongside incredible friends, colleagues and supporters, including Frances Ryan, Chris Fry and many others. This is a fantastic testament to the passion, enthusiasm, and dedication our volunteers and community have put in. 

Amelia McLoughlan, Disabled Students UK Network Director, comments: 

“We celebrate the recognition of our organisation, the biggest collective of disabled students in Higher Education, highlighting the value of our collective strength and expertise and only further demonstrates what we can achieve when we work together.”

Over the last year, Disabled Students UK has had many key achievements, including: 

• Becoming a non – profit Community Interest Company; 
• Our report on the impact of the pandemic being mentioned in parliament. An update of which is due to come out in the coming weeks;
• Expanding our reach to over 2000 stakeholders;
• Leading training for Student Union Staff on Tackling Disability Issues and supporting Disabled Students

Disabled Students UK is made up of almost 500 current and former disabled students from 60 different universities. Only 23 percent of disabled students received the disability support they needed at university last year. We use disabled-led expertise to create structures of accountability in regards to accessibility in Higher Education. We do this through empowering disabled students, spreading disabled students’ insights into accessibility and informing policy.

We hope to capitalise on the strengths of this year and build on the successes of our community in the coming year through: 

• Launching our Access Insights initiative providing a picture of accessibility at each university
• Introducing our new podcast to amplify the voice of disabled students and give a platform to raise the issues that are important to them.
• Strengthening our peer support network to further empower disabled students.

We  want to take a moment also to celebrate the fellow disabled students and recent graduates who have been named on the Disability Power 100 list, including: 

• Anna Ruth Cockerham
• Georgia Vine 
• Siena Castellon 
• Olivia Gallagher 
• Pippa Stacey
• Abbie Breakwell

About Disability Power 100 List: An annual publication of the 100 most influential disabled people in the UK. Since its inception, the publication has gone from strength to strength. Over the years, it has allowed Shaw Trust to encourage businesses, employers and other organisations to reflect on opportunities available for disabled people. The list plays a vital role in providing much-needed encouragement to the young and talented leaders of tomorrow, allowing them to see that aspiration and ambition can be fulfilled regardless of disability or impairment. A fifth of the UK’s population has a disability; however, there is very little recognition of successful and influential disabled people or disabled-led organisations. Shaw Trust wants to change the public perception of disability, to recognise strong, successful, influential people and groups. The full Disability Power List 100 can be found on www.disabilitypower100.com. 

Disabled Students UK: Disabled Students UK is a community interest company and the biggest disabled student-led organisation working to increase accessibility in Higher Education and improve disabled students’ experiences. Find out more about Disabled Students UK: https://linktr.ee/DisabledStudentsUK