Durham University

Industry: Higher Education

Our Member Durham University leads the way in guiding people with sight loss by creating a Sighted Guide initiative in 2025 to support people with sight loss to navigate the campus.

Durham University leads the way in guiding people with sight loss

Durham University is one of the UK’s leading universities, serving more than 22,000 students and thousands of staff, visitors, volunteers and members of the public. They have been a Member of Business Disability Forum (BDF) since 2023 and achieved Disability Confident Level 3 status in 2024.  

Key to building staff confidence

The university operates within a World Heritage Site, where physical accessibility improvements are often restricted. They launched their Sighted Guide initiative in 2025 to support people with sight loss to navigate the campus. Sighted guiding is a practical life skill where a sighted person learns how to assist someone with vision impairment in navigating obstacles, crossing roads, and moving safely in public spaces.

Based on lived experience of people with sight loss, and underpinned by Guide Dogs UK’s training methods, more than 160 staff and volunteers have already been trained as sighted guides. The programme now serves a wide range of disabled customers who navigate the campus, attractions and services, including students with sight loss, staff members and job applicants, visitors, members of the public accessing museums, libraries, events and sports facilities and volunteers and external partners.

  • Sighted Guide helps reduce anxiety, increases confidence, and ensures that sight loss does not become an unnecessary barrier to fully participating in university life or visiting the campus.
     Student,
    Durham University

The university is now a formal Guide Dogs Training Delivery Partner. Five colleagues from departments across the University have already been trained to deliver Guide Dogs’ awareness and sighted guide sessions.

  • Everyone should be able to access education, workplaces and public spaces with confidence. By becoming a Guide Dogs Training Delivery Partner, Durham University is embedding sighted guide skills across its community, equipping colleagues with the knowledge and confidence to support students and staff with sight loss. We’re proud to support the University in its commitment to creating a more accessible and inclusive environment, and we hope this partnership inspires other organisations to take similar steps.
     Kelle McParland,
    Sighted Guide Training Officer at Guide Dogs

Developing internal trainers

Using a train‑the‑trainer model, the university is also developing their own trainers to deliver sessions so they can meet demand, reduce reliance on external providers, and embed this inclusive practice across customer‑facing teams.

  • This project shows a clear commitment to being a Disability Confident Leader and makes a real difference for our disabled employees, students and visitors at the university, who also has sight loss and uses a guide dog.

    For example, when my guide dog Pedro was unwell and I couldn’t work him, colleagues from my team who had the skills were able to support me. What could have been a very difficult situation was much easier to navigate, and having a clear, respectful back-up plan helped preserve my dignity and reduce stress.
     Angela Johnson,
    EDI Business Partner (Professional Services & Colleges)
  • The success of the Sighted Guide programme highlights what can be achieved when inclusion is championed at every level of the University. Our Sighted Guide Volunteers are playing a vital role in fostering a culture where everyone feels supported, respected and able to thrive. This initiative demonstrates our ongoing commitment to accessibility and exemplifies how we can work together to remove barriers and enhance opportunities for all members of our community.
     Dr Shaid Mahmood MBE,
    Pro Vice Chancellor for Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Skills

Membership benefits

Angela believes that the university’s membership of BDF has played a valuable role in strengthening their approach to accessibility more widely, particularly through access to the Advice Service, which provided informed, practical decision-making, and helped the university to achieve its Disability Confident Level 3 status in 2024, as well as having its policies reviewed.

BDF Business Partner, Keith Harris, helped the university team to understand what Disability Confident status really means for recruitment and retention of staff. “I talked to the team to help them put our recommendations around supporting disabled colleagues into practice,” he explains.

Nearly 100 staff are registered to make use of the resources on BDF’s Knowledge Hub, with many more attending BDF’s free events, which come as part of membership.  

Durham University’s Sighted Guide was a finalist in the Disability Smart Impact Awards Customer Experience category 2026.

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