Disabilities and Additional Needs

Welcome to the Diocese of Exeter disability and additional needs page. Here you should find lots of useful information and resources.

Contact 

Please do get in touch with Claire Reynolds, our Disability and Additional Needs Advisor (voluntary) via email or phone: 07858 313677. Claire is happy to speak with you whatever questions or queries you may have about disability, additional needs, accessibility and inclusion. Equally, if you are aware of organisations not listed here, please do get in touch with her.

Have you got questions about changes to a church building to make it more accessible? Contact Nigel Pratt via email or phone: 01392 294944.

Have you identified a person in your congregation with a disability or additional need(s), and has a calling to ministry? Please contact Hannah Mears, our Vocations Development Officer, via email and visit our vocations page to find out more.

Resources

Count Everyone In exists to encourage, advise, and support churches to welcome and be accessible for adults with disabilities and additional needs. They have a wealth of resources as well as offering good quality training.

Urban Saints offer training for those looking to make children’s and youth work more accessible, with their “All Inclusive?” training sessions. These sessions were developed in house by their additional needs ministry director Mark Arnold.

The Additional Needs Alliance helps churches to include, support, and create places of belonging for and spiritually grow children, young people and young adults with additional needs or disabilities.

Through the Roof is a Christian charity that seeks to change the lives of disabled people around the world, and looks to make churches more accessible through its network of “Roofbreakers”. We would encourage you to join in with this network. They have collated a useful list of possible sources for funding if you are planning to make disability related improvements to a church building.

Devon Deaf Church are Deaf Christians that work together to provide worship, bible study and fellowship for Sign Language users across Devon.

The Torch Trust: exists to enable people with sight loss to discover Christian faith and lead fulfilling Christian lives. The Torch Trust provides Christian resources and activities for blind and partially sighted people worldwide.

Barrier-free Belonging: The Church of England has its own web page dedicated to enabling worship for all. Click here to find out more. On this web page you’ll find loads of useful resources, and if your church is looking to carry out a barrier free audit, do have a look at “A Place to Belong”

Livability: More Than Welcome is a resource from Livability to guide your church in how to deepen relationships with people with disabilities and build a church where everyone belongs. Based on the idea of a journey – the resource will help your church go through three important stages, from a place of welcome, to inclusion, to participation.

AccessAble: An independent organisation working collaboratively with churches and dioceses to offer surveyor-led accessibility assessments to churches and parish buildings.  Depending on your needs, they can produce a Detailed Access guide or an Accessibility Improvement report. Click here to find out more.

Neurodivergent Clergy Hub
The Hub is a group for neurodivergent clergy across the Exeter diocese, sharing experiences of ministry, knowledge, ideas, and other helpful resources.

The hub is led by Revd. Deborah Leighton Plom and Revd. Scott Angell, both neurodivergent themselves. Neurodivergence includes autism, ADHD, ADD, dyslexia, OCD, dyspraxia, cognitive processing differences, sensory differences, or any other neurodivergent condition. The group is committed to a positive, strength-affirming approach – please note you don’t need a medical diagnosis to join!

For more information you can contact: Deborah on 07938 895890, or email Deborah or Scott on 01404 623035, or email Scott.

News

The Bishop of Exeter recently visited St Giles Church, Kilmington for a monthly service for those with additional needs and their carers. Click here to see a photo from the service. 

If you would like to sign up to receive the free resources and find out more about how your church can get involved with Disability Awareness Sunday, click here.