Purple Reach

Home
United Kingdom
Norwich
Purple Reach

Directions Website

Purple Reach is a Norfolk based disability consultancy that believes in the social model of disability.

Purple Reach is a disability consultancy service working with businesses and the community to make the world more inclusive and to enable disabled people to achieve their potential. We are here to work with businesses and third sector organisations to help them better their understanding of disability. Purple Reach is here to help you through services including: Consultancy, Training, Mystery Shopping and Access Auditing.

10/10/2026

Today is World Mental Health Day.

Mental health can affect how somebody manages their working day, communicates or works within a particular environment. However, people may be reluctant to ask for an adjustment because they are unsure how the conversation will be received.

There isn’t one standard adjustment that will suit everyone. Flexible working, a quieter place to work, clearer communication or changes to how tasks are managed may help, depending on the person and their role.

A good starting point is to make it clear that staff can raise what they need and that those conversations will be taken seriously.

Image: A graphic with a light purple background, featuring overlapping side-profile silhouettes of two faces in black and yellow. White text to the right of the side-profile image reads “World Mental Health Day,”

08/10/2026

Today is World Sight Day.

Accessibility for people who are blind or partially sighted isn’t limited to the physical environment. It also applies to the information people need to use a service, complete their work or find their way around.

This could mean making sure documents work with screen readers, using suitable colour contrast, adding useful alt text to images and providing signs that are clear and easy to read.

It is also worth remembering that not everybody with sight loss will need the same thing. Asking what format or adjustment somebody prefers is much more useful than making assumptions.

When was the last time your organisation checked how accessible its information is?

Image description: An an older man is having his eyes examined by an optometrist. The optometrist is using specialist eye-testing equipment. A purple banner across the bottom reads “World Sight Day”.

07/10/2026

It’s Dyslexia Awareness Week.

Dyslexia is often reduced to difficulties with reading or spelling, but it can also affect working memory, organisation and how somebody processes information.

At work, barriers can appear in fairly ordinary places: a form with unclear instructions, a text-heavy training document, an unexpected request to read something aloud or a task that has to be completed under unnecessary time pressure.

The adjustments that help will depend on the individual. It could mean providing information in another format, using assistive technology, allowing more time or making written instructions clearer.

The best place to begin is by asking the person what helps them work effectively rather than deciding on their behalf.

Swipe through for a few things organisations can consider.

Image description: A seven-slide carousel with a purple background and white text, branded with the Purple Reach logo. The carousel is titled “Dyslexia at work” and explains that dyslexia can affect people differently. It suggests making workplace tasks more accessible through clearly structured written information, offering information in different formats, allowing enough time and reviewing forms, training materials and internal processes. The final slide explains that accessibility means recognising that people process information differently and giving everyone a fair opportunity to take part.

06/10/2026

Today is World Cerebral Palsy Day, and this year’s theme is Unique and United.

Cerebral palsy affects everyone differently. Each person has their own experiences, skills, ambitions and ideas about what they would like to see change.

For one person, that change might be better access to education, work or sport. For somebody else, it could be more accessible healthcare, technology, transport or representation in the media.

Being united doesn’t mean everybody’s experience is the same. It means making space for different voices and coming together to call for a world where people with cerebral palsy have the same opportunities to take part, contribute and be heard.

What change would you like to see for people with cerebral palsy?

Image: white background with a green ribbon representing world cerebral palsy day.

02/10/2026

How confident would your team feel if a disabled customer, employee or visitor asked for an adjustment?

They might want to help but worry about saying or doing the wrong thing. They may not know what they could offer, who they need to ask or whether an existing process needs to be changed.

Purple Reach provides disability, equality and accessibility training to help teams understand the barriers disabled people can experience and respond from a place of greater understanding.

Our training is shaped by professional knowledge and lived experience, with a focus on the situations people may actually encounter at work.

Visit www.purplereach.co.uk to find out more.

Image: Photograph of 2 women, one has long blonde hair and the other has short dark hair, is wearing glasses and has a scarf, there is also the side profile of a man wearing glasses and they are all looking at something on a table top, just in shot is also another person's hand. underneath the image in a purple panel is the text words "could your team benefit from disability awareness training?"

01/10/2026

Today is International Day of Older Persons.

As we get older, things such as our mobility, sight, hearing or memory can change. That shouldn’t mean being left out of workplaces, services or community life.

Often, ordinary changes can make somewhere easier to use. Things such as clear signs, somewhere to sit while waiting, information that doesn’t rely on tiny print and places where staff can communicate in a different way can all make a difference.

Designing services with older people in mind doesn’t only help one age group. It can also make things easier for other people too.

Image: photo of an elderly lady sitting down speaking to a nurse. The lady also has her hand resting on top of the nurse's hand. Just at the bottom of the photo is the text "International Day of Older Persons"

30/09/2026

We’ve talked about quite a few different things on our page this September.

Urological conditions, mental health, lymphoma, dementia, heart conditions, and accessible communication have all featured.

They might seem like very different subjects.

But there’s a common thread running through all of them.

People experience barriers in different ways.

And what makes something accessible for one person won’t necessarily make it accessible for somebody else.

That’s why accessibility isn’t something you can really tick off a list and say, “Done.”

It’s something we need to keep thinking about, asking about and learning about.

And if September has made you notice something within your own organisation that could be more accessible, that’s a pretty good place to start.

Image: purple background. In the centre is the text "September at Purple Reach". Just above the text is the Purple reach logo.

29/09/2026

Today is World Heart Day

Not every health condition is immediately obvious.

Someone living with a heart condition might be dealing with fatigue, breathlessness, medication side effects or other symptoms that the people around them know nothing about.

And those symptoms won’t necessarily be the same every day.

At work, that might mean somebody needs additional breaks, different hours or adjustments to how they carry out their role.

You don’t need to know somebody’s entire medical history to support them.

What matters is being willing to listen to what they tell you they need and having a workplace where they feel able to have that conversation.

Image: photo of a medical professional wearing blue medical gloves. The person is holding a red heart shape up in front of them. Just underneath the heart is the text "word heart day"

26/09/2026

It’s the European Day of Languages today

And while today celebrates language and linguistic diversity, it’s also a good opportunity to think about how we communicate.

Because accessible communication isn’t only about translating something into another language.

Sometimes it means removing the jargon.

Sometimes it’s an Easy Read version.

It could be captions, audio, Braille or information presented in a completely different way.

The question we should really be asking is:
Can the person this information is intended for actually access and understand it?

If the answer is no, there’s still a barrier there.

Image: graphic of a globe that has different flags from Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the UK positioned around the globe. Above the globe are the words "European day of languages".

25/09/2026

One thing we don’t talk about enough when it comes to accessibility is confidence.

Staff can be so worried about saying or doing the wrong thing that they avoid the conversation altogether.

And that doesn’t really help anybody.

You don’t need your team to have all the answers.

But giving them a better understanding of disability, accessible communication and reasonable adjustments can make those conversations much easier.

That’s what our training at Purple Reach is there to help with.

It gives teams the opportunity to learn, ask questions and build their understanding without feeling like they should already know everything.

If your team could benefit from disability, equality and accessibility training, send us a message.

Image: image of a man with a beard smiling at the camera. The man is inside an oval shaped frame and is against a light grey background. The man is wearing a headset with a microphone and is wearing a shirt and tie. To the left of the image in a purple rectangle text box are the words "Training to help your business become more accessible and inclusive"

Address

Norwich

Website

http://www.purplereach.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Purple Reach posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Norwich Spinal Health
252 Heigham Street

Want your practice to be the top-listed clinic in Norwich?