The National Gallery is an historic art gallery in Trafalgar Square in London, with millions of visitors per year. The gallery opened at its current location in 1831, and houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.
In 2017 the National Gallery approached the Centre for Accessible Environments to carry out a public areas access audit of the following areas:
- galleries
- two cafes
- a restaurant
- education and conference facilities
- staff and back of-house areas
The audit was used to plan a strategic schedule of works and supported the work of the National Gallery’s own Access Working Group and Disability Equality Scheme. Following the audit, the Centre for Accessible Environments were commissioned to deliver training to staff on Access Auditing and the Equality Act 2010 to empower them to support the wider strategy, and ensure a holistic approach to inclusion.
The training was well received, staff feedback said that the training had improved their “understanding of how accessibility affects us all.”