CultureDale's Access Guides project has been developing straightforward visual guides for cultural venues across Calderdale, including Bankfield Museum and Shibden Hall. These guides enable people with access concerns - either physical or neurodivergent - to easily research a venue's accessibility before visiting, with all the information in one handy place.

The next step of this project is to help local businesses and organisations to develop their own access guides using our training. This will help to improve the pre-visit accessibility of your venue, whilst also acting as marketing material: having all your access information in one easy-to-find place can make people with access needs more confident and comfortable with visiting your venue, and help attract more potential customers.

This training will show you how to make an access guide that helps people know what to expect at your venue.

You'll learn to make a guide that uses plain English, images and icons, and is designed to:

• Help people know what to expect on their visit (particularly in terms of the sensory environment and audience expectations in cultural venues)
• Enable people to get familiar with your venue before coming to visit(this is especially useful for neurodivergent folks, people with learning disabilities, people with anxiety etc, but also for first-time visitors)
• Provide clear, consistent, honest information about accessibility at each venue
• Let people know about other important facilities at each venue (for example, multifaith spaces, quiet spaces and baby changing / feeding spaces)

The first training session will be on 9 May at 10am-2pm at Princess Buildings, Halifax. Book your space via Ticketsource below!

You will learn:

‍- Why access guides are useful

- What information to include

- How to write easy-to-read copy and choose pictures

- How to put your content into an easy-to-use Word template

- How to check that your finished guide is accessible

- How to get your guide to your visitors

‍You will need:

‍- A laptop- Microsoft Word (2016 or later - note that some features may not be available in the browser-based version of Word for Microsoft 365, though the course materials can still be used with it)

The resources you'll get afterwards will also cover using Adobe Acrobat, but this is not required to take part in the training session.

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After the training you'll receive:

‍- An easy-to-use Word template & set of icons

- A how-to guide to remind you of what you have learned

- Examples of guides we've already made (to inspire you)

‍About the trainers:

‍Kate Fox - Copywriter and Access Consultant

Kate is a freelance access consultant who can support all shapes and sizes of arts, culture and heritage projects venues and organisations. Combining their lived experience with a professional background as an access manager, Kate works with organisations and individuals to make creative and cultural spaces accessible for Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people.

Dom Harbot - Visual Designer and Access Consultant

Dom is a freelance designer and illustrator specialising in accessible visual design. Dom also has extensive experience in grassroots live events, museums, arts and cultural projects and accessibility. Drawing on their lived experience of disability, Dom has developed methods and materials that visually connect with a project's identity while making information accessible to as many people as possible.