A holistic approach to embedding reasonable adjustments in higher education

Harriet Cannon

Disability Advisory Team Manager, University of Leeds

Harriet has been working with disabled students in higher education for 25 years. She has worked in Disability Services at the University of Leeds since 2007, first as a Disability Coordinator, and now as the Disability Team Manager, having previously led on disability support for the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education. Harriet is a Director of the National Association of Disability Practitioners, as well as a Senior Accredited Member. She sits on the Office of the Independent Adjudicator’s Disability Experts Panel, the Advance HE Disabled Student Commitment Partnership Group, the Department for Education’s Higher Education Autism Advisory Group, and she founded the Association of Autism Practitioners in Higher Education. Harriet has a particular interest in inclusive pedagogies, inclusive assessment, and competence standards.

: https://students.leeds.ac.uk/disabledstudents
: harrietcannon
: @HarrietCannon

Shapna Compton

Interim Head of Student Wellbeing Service (Disability & Dyslexia), University of Greenwich

Shapna has worked at the University of Greenwich since 2018 in the Student Wellbeing Service and is the lead for the institution's work around the Disabled Student Commitment.

Having been in the field of education since 2001, Shapna has worked in various capacities including as a governor at two primary schools and at a secondary school leading on SEND and safeguarding. Shapna has also worked as a specialist teacher and assessor for neurodivergence and as Senior Curriculum Manager for Additional Learning Support at a further education college.

Shapna is an advocate for disabled students support and her career trajectory has reflected this.

: shapna-compton-3183b078

Ann Duncan

Deputy Director Student Experience, University of Strathclyde

I remain deeply passionate about the role our work plays in helping students thrive both academically and personally.

My journey spans a range of Student Services leadership roles, and I’ve been a proud AMOSSHE member for over a decade. The organisation has profoundly shaped my professional growth, thinking, and approach— and now, I feel it’s time to give back.

I’ve led several strategic initiatives that have reshaped our student experience provision: from launching an out-of-hours multi-disciplinary support team, to introducing on-campus Rape Crisis support, developing a suicide prevention strategy, and driving work to address gender-based violence. I’m also leading the development of Student Services on our new Bahrain Campus. Central to all of this is my belief in co-production: shaping services with students, for students.

At a national level, I represent AMOSSHE on the Scottish Government’s Equally Safe Core Leadership Group, contribute to the Ministerial Roundtable on Spiking, and sit on the Universities Scotland Student Mental Health Group.

What drives me is impact; making a meaningful difference to a student, a colleague, a team, or the sector. I’m energised by the opportunity to contribute strategically to AMOSSHE’s future, and I bring a wealth of well-rounded leadership experience, a collaborative ethos, and a commitment to inclusivity and innovation.

Abigail Hamer

Legal Principal, Equality and Human Rights Commission

Abigail Hamer is Legal Principal for EHRC (The Equality and Human Rights Commission), specialising in matters concerning children and young people. She works across areas including education law, higher education law and children’s public law, and conducted the Commission’s intervention in the legal case of the University of Bristol v Dr Robert Abrahart, instructing Catherine Casserley. She has previously worked as a children and family solicitor in private practice, in a regulatory capacity for the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, and has also worked in the academic services department of a university.

: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/
: http://www.linkedin.com/in/abi-hamer-a4a78a14b

Sally Lambah

Head of Student Support and Wellbeing, Wrexham University

Sally is an AMOSSHE Executive Member and Head of Student Support and Wellbeing at Wrexham University. 

: https://www.amosshe.org.uk/about/our-team.html

Holly Parrott

Senior Manager of Accessibility, The Open University

Holly is Senior Manager of Accessibility at The Open University and a PhD researcher specialising in accessibility in higher education. Her work focuses on how accessibility operates in practice, bringing together strategy, research, and delivery across large and complex organisations.

She has extensive experience supporting people with disabilities across education, not-for-profits, community organisations, and corporate settings, in senior leadership and chief executive positions. This has shaped a strong understanding of how organisational decisions affect access, and where barriers are created or removed in practice.

Holly regularly contributes to conferences, sector events, and publications, sharing evidence-informed perspectives on accessibility, organisational practice, and the challenges of delivering support at scale. She is particularly interested in questioning assumptions about what works, including the idea that meeting formal standards alone will lead to meaningful access.

Her doctoral research focuses on accessibility strategy in higher education, with particular attention to British Sign Language interpreting. A consistent theme in her work is connecting research with real-world delivery, supporting organisations to develop approaches that are both workable and effective for people with disabilities.

: https://profiles.open.ac.uk/holly-parrott
: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hlparrott/

Jacqueline Rose

Associate Provost (Education), University of St Andrews

Jacqueline is Associate Provost (Education) at the University of St Andrews and is part of a team in the Office of the Vice-Principal, supporting postgraduate students.  Her role includes oversight of supervisor training, advice on policy and quality assurance, and postgraduate curriculum development. She was previously Director of Postgraduate Studies in History and the subject lead for History in the Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities.

Sarah Scott

Assistant Director for Access & Inclusion, University of St Andrews

Sarah is the Assistant Director for Access & Inclusion at the University of St Andrews. Her role oversees the day to day management of the Disability, Money and Access & Inclusion Advisers. She contributes to the development of a wide range of policies that impact inclusive practice and liaises with colleagues across the university to support a student centred approach, from applicant to graduate.