An inaugural Day of Action for Disability Equality in Education took place on Wednesday, with the day marked in Cambridge by a series of events hosted by CUSU and the Cambridge Universities and College Union (CUCU), as well as a vigil organised by the newly formed Disabled People Against Cuts Cambridgeshire & Essex branch in Market Square.

These events included a ‘Know Your Rights’ drop-in, introducing staff and students to the Equality Act 2010, as well as an ‘Art for Mental Health’ event in collaboration with the ‘Welfare is Political’ series.

The Day of Action, which precedes Disability History Month (22nd November – 22nd December), was initiated by the national UCU Disabled Members’ Standing Committee in order to organise against discrimination and focus attention on the challenges and barriers faced by disabled people in education.

The Day of Action saw CUSU release a report on step-free access in Cambridge colleges, which raised concerns about the extent to which Cambridge’s colleges are compliant with the Equality Act 2010, and highlighted insufficient clarity of provision for those with disabilities.

Emrys Travis, CUSU’s Disabled Students’ Officer, said that the Day of Action’s focus in Cambridge was “mostly on consciousness-raising”, arguing that whilst the CUSU Disabled Students’ campaign has been growing, “the same isn’t necessarily reflected among staff networks”.

They added: “Part of this is because the proportion of tenured academic staff at Cambridge who are disabled is woefully low, part of it I imagine is because of the lack of awareness in society and the university in general about who counts as disabled [and] who can identify into disabled people’s networks and campaigns.”

Joe Sutliff Sanders, an Equality and Diversity officer for CUCU, said that he hoped that Wednesday’s Day of Action would “help better develop a community for disabled students and staff.”

The Day of Action for Disability Equality in Education was the first of its kind and was marked nationally by campaigners, some of whom met in parliament to call for action on key issues affecting staff and students in education, including the need for statutory rights to disability leave and measures to ensure buildings are fully accessible.

UCU national head of equalities, Helen Carr, said: “Too many disabled people still face major barriers to working and studying in our colleges and universities.”

She added, “We urgently need to see tougher rules for employers, and a real commitment from government to tackle these issues so we can make our education institutions more accessible for disabled people.”

On the long-term effects of having a Day of Action for Disability Equality in Education, Travis said they hoped it would demonstrate the “growing active network of disabled students and staff collaborating on making change in the university and beyond” and enable disabled students and staff to “at least begin to feel better equipped to fight for the adjustments they need to keep working and studying here”.