Physical Access
Facilitator: Sian Jones
Please note: facilitators comments given in italics; solutions suggested by students are given in bold.
Question 1: How have you found physical access to your institutions?
OAS Student 5: The weight of the main door at SOAS is very heavy.
Sian Jones: The doors in question will be adjusted so that they will remain open except during evacuations.
Students 2 & 4: Have had no particular problems.
SOAS Student 1: Has noticed that the swing doors can be difficult for users with limited mobility.
Birkbeck Student & IoE Student & SOAS Student: All students believed that buildings have sufficient ramped access – no problems encountered – none of the students had major problems with mobility.
Question 2: Emergency egress
Birkbeck Student 2: Does not know how the egress process works.
Birkbeck Student 4: Feels nervous about not knowing the egress procedure as using the stairs can be difficult.
Sian Jones: At SOAS there are refuges on each floor, these refuges are always in very safe areas. Refuge points all have intercoms to security and are cleared at the same time as everyone else. Information about this needs to be got to students.
Birkbeck Student 2: Suggests that Birkbeck has a similar process as SOAS.
Birkbeck student: was unaware of the evacuation procedures – no memory of this being addressed during induction – PEEP not appropriate and never discussed. When the concept of refuge points for wheelchair users was explained, the student suggested that it might be better to install a fire-proof emergency evacuation lift instead (had heard of these being used in hospitals).
Birkbeck Student & IoE Student: Neither had ever heard alarms tested – no idea what they would sound like.
IoE Student: no real problems, fairly accessible. Difficulty finding the lift in the library. Ground floor, is there access to get in other than up stairs, lack of signage to say how building can be accessed from the front
Birkbeck Student: SOAS main entrance can become crowded, becomes an ‘obstacle course’. Never sure which doors are open at top of stairs. Entrance area seems crowded, lack of space by doors. Problem of people sitting on stairs.
Birkbeck Student : Reception staff can be rude (SOAS only)
Birkbeck Student : BBK smaller buildings have a lack of access, can be difficult to get in and around.
Birkbeck Student: Lift in the BBK library – have to hold button down for lift to move which may be difficult for some students with disabilities. Short loan collection area very narrow and some barriers may make it difficult for wheelchair users.
Birkbeck Student : Senate house library, lack of signage. Barriers seem to stop wheelchair users.
Sian Jones: Has anyone used / discussed a personal egress plan?
All students: No (but no wheelchair users or obvious mobility impairments, so possibly none would need a PEEP).
Birkbeck Student 4: Information about egress is not out there for students and it seems that tutors may not even know.
Birkbeck Student: Lack of awareness of meeting points, alarm sounds etc (although these students did not have any need for personal evacuation plans they were generally aware of them but not specifically)
Birkbeck Student: No idea about refuge points
Birkbeck Student: Patchy information on this area including evacuation chairs, no information given in induction pack.
Question 3: How do you find moving around the buildings?
SOAS Student 1: Teaching space is not always appropriate to students needs and rooms are often too crowded. This can make access for wheelchair users almost impossible. Student reps brought this issue up without much success.
SOAS Students 1 & 5: Vernon square has many unused rooms. And we would be happy to study there.
Birkbeck Student 4: Rooms have been changed to accommodate my disability.
Birkbeck Student : Older buildings can not be accessed at all for some disabled students (e.g. Keynes library extremely difficult to get to) BBK shop is down stairs, need to get lift then walk to other side of building. Bar area is down steps.
Birkbeck Student : Most classrooms are accessible. Classrooms are often laid out in an inaccessible manner (chairs and desks too close to each other etc)
IoE Student: Post graduate rooms are not very user friendly
Birkbeck Student: No clear procedure on how to deal with rooms that are inaccessible, some students may approach lecturer others may come to disability office. Disability Office system of liaising with departments (mediation between the 2 parties is effective)
IoE Student: London Knowledge lab not very accessible
Signage / navigation (exterior):
Birkbeck Student 2: Lecture theatres with bench seating are very problematic, some students need to be able to leave the lecture and, because of these benches, can often get nudged into the middle of a row. This makes leaving very difficult. Placing some chairs at the back of the lecture theatre would solve this.
Birkbeck Student: Hard to find your way around the campus – not always obvious which is the main college building when approaching from the street – all the different buildings / sites / libraries can be difficult to locate. Several information points around the Bloomsbury area which display clear maps of the college buildings would be very helpful. Also, the orientation information provided at induction would be more useful if it was specifically tailored to the student’s needs – e.g. highlighting/ colour-coding the buildings which a History student would be most likely to frequent.
Birkbeck Student: Signage inside buildings was felt to be quite good.
IoE Student: would find it helpful if tutors displayed signs on their office doors which told them what time they would be available, so that students could ‘drop-in’ to the office and see them. It is sometimes more convenient just to call in, rather than have to get an appointment by email.
SOAS student: Can be a ‘nightmare’ to find the right room – room signs need to be big and well-located e.g. by all the lifts / staircases, in the main entrance / foyer areas.
Question 4: How have you found the lighting?
Birkbeck Student 4: Lighting has been changed to accommodate my needs in lectures but sometimes strip lighting can be very bad. I wouldn’t go to the common room because of the poor lighting, this leads to exclusion from peers.
All students: Agree that better lighting would benefit all students.
Birkbeck Student: Lecturers have no idea how to manage lighting, technology is available but they are not sure how to use it. Same with A-V equipment.
Birkbeck Student: Problems with ‘buzzy lights’, would like some dedicated areas that do not have this lighting
Birkbeck Student: Signage has improved, when room numbering system first changed it was difficult to find way around college.
Question 5: What do you think of the signage? Is it there? Is it clear and apparent?
SOAS Student 1: Student office is not well signposted.
Sian Jones: There is a project underway to improve signage, this includes making door signs more useful (tactile with Braille etc).
SOAS Student 5: The layout of the building is very confusing but you get used to it eventually.
SOAS Student 1: All rooms and halls look the same and it is easy to get lost.
Question 6: How have you found the toilet facilities?
Students 1 and 5: In general the toilets are very bad and often blocked or broken.
Sian Jones: Disabled toilets at SOAS are on the radar scheme, disabled users have a key which is useable on disabled toilets across the country.
SOAS Student 1: This is a fantastic idea. Are there any nappy changing facilities? These are not signposted and staff don’t know where they are.
Birkbeck student: Remodelling of building, gents disabled toilets are narrow, handrails hang over the toilet etc.
Question 7: Do you use parking?
Birkbeck Student 4: Does have a disabled badge but chooses not to drive.
Birkbeck Student 2: Can drive and may be driving in to university in coming years but does not feel that parking for disabled users would be relevant for her.
Birkbeck students: No comments on parking, not relevant to students.
Question 8: Are there sufficient quiet places
SOAS Student 1, 2 & 5: The chaplaincy at Russell Square. It would be good to have somewhere where you can be quiet, presently there are only the first aid and sick rooms which can be used. However these rooms do have first aid beds that students can use.
Birkbeck Student 2: The senior common room at Birkbeck only gives access to students at lunch and dinner. This should be addressed, particularly in the case of disabled students as there is no other common room.
Question 9: Can you identify any other problems?
Birkbeck Student & SOAS Student: Exterior noise can be very distracting – especially when it is too hot to close the windows – noise from outside is irritating and makes it hard to concentrate, especially in exams.
IoE Student: Room bookings for lessons are disorganized – lots of last minute changes to classrooms – tutors frequently don’t know where they are supposed to be going, and valuable lesson time is wasted in moving back and forth in search of a room.
SOAS Student: Lots of heavy building works carried out within the and in the immediate vicinity – noise is very disruptive – would be preferable to restrict the noisy work to evenings and weekends in order to minimize the effect on students.
GENERAL SUMMARY
- General lack of awareness of emergency evacuation procedures
- Exterior location maps and interior room signage could be improved in some cases
- Problems relating to building works and exterior noise should be minimized where possible
Please click onto link on left to view Action points
