Home > NASDN SubGroups Overview > RIDE Higher
RIDE Higher
Driving a Journey Towards Greater Equity
Realising the Inclusion of Disabled Employees in Higher Education (RIDE Higher) is a free, open resource hub for disabled staff in higher education and for everyone who wants to champion disability inclusion.
Whatever your role, you’re welcome here.
Our Story
About the Group
RIDE Higher is a NADSN initiative to change the higher education landscape so that disabled staff are seen, valued, and can thrive.
We do this by carrying out robust research into the experiences of disabled people working in higher education. We disseminate these findings to influence changes in higher education to policies and practice.
“The National Disabled Staff Survey (2025) revealed that 44% of disabled HE staff had thought about leaving their university due to a lack of disability inclusion, and 20% thought about this all of the time.
This is not acceptable, and it is high time that this changed. We hope that RIDE Higher can offer a mechanism and a platform to support shifting this landscape for disabled staff in HE. We invite everyone to join the RIDE.”
– Dr. Melanie Best, Lead of RIDE Higher
Who is RIDE Higher For?
We welcome you to join us on this journey:
Disabled staff
Non-disabled staff
Estates workers and EDI leads
Universities and institutions
Deans, directors, vice-chancellors, and everything in between
Individuals and organisations committed to advancing disability inclusion
Join The Network
What RIDE Higher Offers
RIDE Higher provides insight to support real change, including evidence-based recommendations and research on disability inclusion, including the National Disabled Staff Survey.
Why This Matters
Disabled staff remain underrepresented and underserved across HE.
Only 52.8% of disabled adults were in work in 2025 (Q2) compared to 82.5% of non-disabled adults. (DWP, 2025)
Disabled staff lack representation in senior HE positions. Whilst 6.7% of non-professorial academic staff share a disability, only 4.1% of professors share this identity, and only 4.7% of academic senior managers share a disability. (Advance HE, 2023)
29.7% of disabled academics were earning £50,000+, compared to 37.5% of non-disabled academics, with a 3.5% pay gap for those in the professional services. (Advance HE, 2023)
Disabled students have worse outcomes in HE than non-disabled students, are more likely to drop-out of courses, tend to have lower degree results and have worse employment outcomes.
24% of working age adults have a disability but disabled staff only represent 7.2% of higher education employees. (DWP, 2024)
44% of disabled HE staff thought about leaving their university due to lack of disability inclusion.
How It Works
RIDE Higher empowers institutions to:
Identify priorities for improving inclusion
Learn from others across the sector
The Bigger Picture
Inclusion isn’t just about compliance; it’s about outcomes.
When institutions get it right, it leads to:
Improved staff morale, retention, and productivity
Fewer conflicts, complaints, and absences
Greater belonging for disabled students through better role models and staff representation
We know that inclusion is not a final destination–it’s a learning journey. As we advocate for systemic change, RIDE Higher is committed to evolving and understands the importance of flexibility, reflection, and the need to adapt.
Leadership
Supported by a wider Steering Committee and Working Group representing over 30 universities.
Experiences of Disabled Staff
National Disability Staff Survey
This focuses on the experiences of disabled staff in the UK tertiary education sector. The survey aim is to identify, address, and improve disability inclusion, with a 2024-2025 pilot aimed at understanding lived experiences.
The first National Disabled Staff Survey exposes the deep structural barriers faced by disabled staff in higher education.
Susan Wilbraham, Ruth Gilligan, and Jackie Carter draw on the voices of the sector to explain more within this WonkHE Blog post.
Join The Subgroup
Get in Touch. Get Involved.
There’s no formal sign-up required—just a shared commitment to doing better.
By engaging with RIDE Higher, you and your institution can gain valuable insights, resources, and a platform to drive meaningful change in disability inclusion.
If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us at inforidehigher@jiscmail.ac.uk.