Disability access awareness is the key to improving accessibility – our new Parish Accessibility Audit Questionnaire simplifies the process
The Rev'd Andy Ackroyd (Madeley, Shrops) is the diocese's Disability Adviser. Here he explains what the Parish Accessibility Audit is and how to get started.
This year, Disability Awareness Sunday is on 27th September (2026). That may seem a long way off, but wouldn’t it be amazing if, on that day, you not only hold a special service – for which we have materials available at the links below – but you are also able to announce the results of your Accessibility Audit?
The diocese’s Disability Adviser, The Rev’d Andy Ackroyd, based in Madeley, and pictured above with his son, Jacob, says, “The bottom line is we talk about inclusion all the time, but it must be a living reality not a dry theory. The Accessibility Audit - a 25-question downloadable questionnaire, is a great place to start.
"It’s hard to make changes, to become more accessible, if you don’t know what’s needed. An Accessibility Audit is the first step for churches looking to improve access for disabled people. We have created a printable Accessibility Audit Questionnaire to make this as straightforward as possible. This year, we have included questions relating to what are common, but often hidden, disabilities such as Learning Disability and Neurodivergence.
“We know research, planning, raising funds and doing the building work takes time and can be disruptive, but the benefits can be long-lasting. We’re none of us getting any younger and many accessibility improvements will benefit us as we age, as well as improving access for people with disabilities more generally.
“With basic improvements in place, our church buildings, services and activities can be accessible for people with a variety of disabilities. The great news is that some of the adjustments are easy to do once you have thought about it, and do not, necessarily, require funding or building works, so could be activated reasonably quickly.”
Being aware is the first step – and that’s what we celebrate on Disability Awareness Sunday!"
Four steps to improving disabled access:
1. Assemble your accessibility project working group.
2. Take the Parish Accessibility Audit using our Questionnaire.
3. Identify improvements the parish may wish to make based on the audit.
3. Review the summary of grants below and contact our Property Team and/or Giving Advisors for advice on finding the grants you need.
Download our Parish Accessibility Audit Questionnaire | Hereford Diocese.
Additional Resources
Grants:
There are several programmes, trusts and foundations which award grants for accessibility improvements to church buildings; we recommend you contact our Property department to have an initial discussion about what help is available and what tools may help you identify appropriate sources of funding.
Our Funding Directory is on our website here.
You can navigate to more information about funding sources via the Property Pages our website here.
Our Lead Parish Giving Advisor, Mark Simmons, can advise on grant-finding tools like the free online search tool Cornerstone, from the Church of England.
Some of the main grants to consider are:
Parish Accessibility Fund:
This is the main grant stream that is exclusively accessibility-focused; it is looking to give grants to churches to improve the experience for those with hidden disabilities (neurodiversity/deafness/etc) as well as those with mobility issues.
Parish Accessibility Fund: resources | The Church of England
There is a link to another accessibility audit template via that link as well as all the information.
Places of Worship Renewal Fund:
This might fund accessibility work because on the key priorities is to “help more people connect with, enjoy and benefit from the historic environment” with an objective to “help places of worship stay active as community spaces”, but their main aim is the repair of places of worship rather than funding improvements and their criteria will target support to places of greatest need.
Places of Worship Renewal Fund | Historic England
Diocesan Net Zero Quick Wins grant
This grant will fund improved lighting schemes so long as they’re for LEDs, which can also be considered a way to improve accessibility.
Minor Repairs and Improvements grant
When available, this grant can be used to fund things like temporary ramps, but again the main focus of that grant is repair of the building itself.
The Historic Churches Trusts
These local trusts might also fund accessibility improvements because they offer grants for necessary improvements, which, plausibly, making churches more accessible would be!
Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust
Shropshire Historic Churches Trust
National Historic Churches Trust
National resources
Barrier Free Belonging | The Church of England
Barrier Free Belonging resources | The Church of England
For legislation and guidance around ramps: Wheelchair Ramps Regulations - UK Building regulations regarding ramps Disabled Access Regulations DDA Compliant Ramps
Resources for Disability Awareness Sunday 2026
Main resource for Disability Awareness Sunday including what you need for a Sunday service.
Same resource as above in Welsh.
DAS 2026 All-age activity ideas.
And do visit Through the Roof's pages for Disability Awareness Sunday, with lots of videos and other resources.