UK Disability History Month 2025
Here you can find details of all the events, activities and initiatives taking place as part of UK Disability History Month 2025 at Queen Mary.
Many of the events taking place as part of UK Disability History Month 2025 are open to both our staff and students, so please take a look and join us!
The programme will be updated throughout the month, as more events are confirmed, so please check back regularly to keep up to date.
If you are running an event that isn't listed here, we'd love to be able to support and to maximise the reach and impact of your activity! Please email hr-equality@qmul.ac.uk with the details so that we can include it.
Disability and Neurodiversity - 'From conversation to commitment': Queen Mary's work to make Disability Inclusion more than words
Date: Thursday 20 November 2025
Time: 11.15am-12.15pm
Location: MS Teams - Find out more and register
As part of Queen Mary Professional Services Conference 2025, please join Dr Natasha Blitvic (Staff Disability Network Co-chair) and the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Team as we take a Deep Dive into Disability and Neurodiversity Inclusion; this session will include an overview of support available for disabled colleagues and their managers, and features an in depth discussion on the topic with special guests Jonathan Morgan (Chief Governance Officer and University Secretary) and Priti Patel (PS Service Development Programme Director).
This session assumes no prior knowledge (or lived experience of disability) and aims to showcase recent progress from our Culture & Inclusion Enabling Plan as the University takes further steps on our journey to become the most inclusive of our kind.
Workshop: Developing Inclusive Education for Neurodivergent Learners
Date: Thursday 20 November 2025
Time: 10.00am-11.30am
Location: MS Teams - Book your place
How can we design education inclusively? How can educators better support neurodivergent learners?
In this interactive workshop we will discuss barriers that learners who learn differently face and we offer strategies and tools that can support educators being more inclusive in the design and delivery of their teaching and student support.
If you are unable to make the session on 20 November, the next one is planned for Wednesday 18 February 2026, 2.30pm-4.00pm and you can already book your place.
Please note that before attending this workshop you have to take the online module: Introduction to neurodiversity.
After completing this workshop, you will be better able to:
- Address the barriers for neurodivergent learners in the classroom;
- Reflect on inclusive practice in the design, delivery, and assessment of your modules;
- Apply strategies and tools to support neurodivergent learners
Queen Mary Academy also offer bespoke workshops on neurodiversity to schools and teams - please contact qmacademy@qmul.ac.uk to enquire.
UK Disability History Month flag raising event
![[Image description: a “Straight Diagonal” version of the Disability Pride Flag: A muted black flag with a diagonal band from the top left to bottom right corner, made up of five parallel stripes in red, gold, white, blue, and green Description ends]](/disability-history-month/media/disability-history-month/images/Disability-Pride-Flag-image.jpg)
Date: Wednesday 26 November 2025
Time: 12.30pm - 1.00pm
Location: Outside the Queens' Building, Mile End
You are warmly invited to a flag raising ceremony marking UK Disability History Month 2025. The Disability Pride flag will be flown as a visible symbol of Queen Mary’s commitment to championing our disabled community.
The Disability Pride flag was first created by in 2019 by Ann Magill, who later redesigned it in 2021. This was to make the flag more accessible in a number of ways, including by avoiding any strobe or flicker effects when viewing the flag on a screen and scrolling. Revised, more muted colours were also used and rearranged to reduce eye strain, with each stripe given a different level of brightness, so that they can be more easily distinguishable by people with colour blindness.
The flag's symbolism (based upon the original description by its creator) is:
- Having All Six "Standard" Flag Colors: signifying that the Disability Community is pan-national, spanning borders between states and nations
- The Black Field: Mourning and rage for victims of ableist violence and abuse
- The Diagonal Band: "Cutting across" the walls and barriers that separate disabled people from society; also light and creativity cutting through the darkness
- The White Stripe: Invisible and Undiagnosed Disabilities
- The Red Stripe: Physical Disabilities
- The Gold Stripe: Neurodivergence
- The Blue Stripe: Mental Health Disabilities
- The Green Stripe: Sensory Disabilities
Disability History Month: SANDS x PGRSoc: Highlighting Disabled and Neurodivergent PGRs
Date: Thursday 4 December 2025
Time: 11.00am-2.00pm
Location: iQ East Court (Scape) 3.01 & Online - Anyone wishing to attend (including online) should complete this short form.
Join SANDS and PGRSoc to hear from some great neurodivergent and disabled PGR (research) students. This event features an inclusive, accessible, and series of talks, each from a different disabled and/or neurodivergent PGR, talking about their research or experiences of research, including a break for social networking over coffee (and cakes!) and plenty of time for discussion and questions between talks.
Everyone is very welcome to attend, including all staff and students at Queen Mary.
Find out more about Queen Mary Students' Union UK Disability History Month events taking place.
Lunch & Learn - Creating digital content at Queen Mary
Date: Monday 8 December 2025
Time: 1.00pm-2.00pm
Location: MS Teams webinar event - Register to attend
Join Joe Saxon, Digital Content Manager and Chair of the Content Accessibility Champion Network, for a practical Lunch and Learn session all about accessibility at Queen Mary.
Whether you edit web pages, create documents, or design presentations, this session will help you understand your role in making our digital content as inclusive and accessible as possible.
Get Active x Disability History Month
The Get Active timetable has been expanded to provide a greater number of sessions as part of UK Disability History Month. All of the sessions are open to students and staff and to book on, people can visit the What’s On page or the QMSU Sport App.
There are lifts in the reception to the gym which can be used to access the Sports Hall and the Mind & Body Studio. There are also changing rooms and showers in Qmotion Fitness Centre for people to change before and after the sessions.
To come and view the facility prior to the session, the gym offers free tours, or to schedule a visit please feel free to contact s.pardoe@qmul.ac.uk and she would be happy to show you around.
Wheelchair Basketball: Taster Session
Where: Qmotion Sports Hall (E1 4FZ)
When: Tuesday 2 December
Time: 5.00pm-7.00pm
Boccia Pop-Up
Where: Geography Square (E1 4NS)
When: Thursday 4 December
Time: 1.00pm-2.00pm
Seated Volleyball
Where: Qmotion Sports Hall (E1 4FZ)
When: Friday 5 December
Time: 1.00pm-2.00pm
Chair Yoga
Where: Qmotion Fitness Centre, Mind & Body Studio (E1 4FZ)
When: Friday 5 December
Time: 1.15pm-2.15pm
Disability History Month: Navigating Your Path to Employment
Date: Thursday 11 December
Time: 12.30pm-1.30pm
Location: Book your place on the Careers Hub
Join Careers and Enterprise for an empowering workshop designed to help students with disabilities confidently navigate the journey to employment.
Staff Disability Network - Tea & Talk
Date: Thursday 11 December 2025
Time: 2.00pm-3.00pm
Location: Online via MS Teams. Please see the Staff Disability Network Teams site for more info and for the link to join.
Members of the Queen Mary Staff Disability Network will meet with the Co-Chairs of the network and colleagues from the EDI Team, for an informal Tea & Talk session focusing on recent progress around Reasonable Adjustments for Staff.
Staff can find out more information about joining the network on the Staff Disability Network page.
Staff Disability Network - Coffee drop-in sessions
Join members of the Staff Disability Network for their regular coffee drop-ins. These sessions are held on MS Teams and are not recorded. They are an opportunity to meet and chat with other members of the network in an informal setting. Staff can find out more information about joining on the Staff Disability Network page.
Upcoming coffee drop-in sessions that coincide with UKDHM are:
- Thursday 27 November, 11.00am-11.30am
- Friday 5 December, 11.00am-11.30am
- Thursday 11 December, 11.00am-11.30am
- Friday 19 December, 11.00am-11.30am
Project SEARCH
DFN Project SEARCH is a national charity that enables young adults who have a learning disability or autism spectrum condition to secure meaningful permanent employment, with tailored job coaching to help bridge the gap between education and employment.
In 2025, teams across both the Queen Mary and the Students’ Union have had the pleasure of meeting and working with some of Project SEARCH’s interns. Positions span across departments of retail, administration, portering, catering, IT, and domestics.
Find out more on the Queen Mary Project SEARCH webpage.
Project SEARCH Quiz
Date: Monday 15 December
Time: 11.30am
Location: Online via MS Teams - email Sean Pollock for the link to join
Join in with this interactive 'Do you know your Neuros?' online quiz, created, coordinated and hosted by Project SEARCH interns with support and input from job coaches. An exciting prize is on offer for the winner to receive a free tour and lunch, hosted at the Project SEARCH sister site Clyde and Co, a law firm in Aldgate with city views overlooking iconic London sights.
Do join if you can!
UK Disability History Month Book Display at Mile End Library
Library Services celebrate literature focusing on disability in all its forms throughout the year and UK Disability History Month is no exception.
Throughout the month a selection of books will be on display in the foyer and the Library Services Team will also be adding new titles to their collection, including both e-books and physical copies. Pop in to take a look and also visit our Media Recommendations to access a full reading list, especially curated for the month.
Carer’s Rights Day - Thursday 20 November 2025
UKDHM coincides with Carer’s Rights Day that is taking place on Thursday 20 November and is organised by Carers UK. Also referred to as caregivers, carers are individuals who provide unpaid care and support to family members, friends, or neighbours wo have a physical or mental illness, disability, or frailty. In the UK alone, approximately 6.5 million people fulfil the role of caregivers, making a significant impact on the lives of those they care for and society as a whole.
Many disabled people are themselves carers for others, with 27% of carers who completed Carers UK’s ‘State of Caring’ survey in 2022 saying they had a disability
Carers Rights Day shines a light on the invaluable work undertaken by carers throughout the UK and is an opportunity to help to ensure they receive the recognition, support, and resources they deserve. The theme for 2024 is 'Recognising your rights'.
At Queen Mary the Parents and Carers Network aims to support the working lives of employees with caring responsibilities.
Recordings from UKDHM events in previous years:
Lunch and Learn: Hidden Disabilities and Chronic Illness
This event took place as part of UKDHM 2023. You can watch the recording.
As part of UK Disability History Month, Alex Prestage (Head of EDI , Queen Mary University of London) presented this Lunch and Learn discussing hidden disabilities and chronic illness.