Training and Consultancy

Our expert team of consultants and associates has worked with a variety of clients to support them with their engagement of disabled and neurodivergent people in STEM. Whether you’re a large corporate company or a small special school, we’re ready to work with you.

Our Services

  • Our disabled-led training sessions provide you and your team with cutting edge best practice in accessible and inclusive STEM. 

    Included in our flagship Making STEM Accessible training are sessions specifically designed to support teachers working with SEND students, STEM organisations aiming to deliver accessible STEM engagement, and STEM managers looking to better support their disabled and neurodivergent staff.

    We can also develop bespoke training sessions which are designed to meet the specific needs of your organisation. 

    All of our training sessions support participants to:

    • Understand the fundamental barriers facing disabled and neurodivergent people in STEM, and the ways they can be reduced or removed.

    • Apply their understanding to relevant case studies and examples, developing their access and inclusion problem-solving skills.

    • Feel confident that they have the skills, tools and support needed to make their work more accessible and inclusive.

    “Hugely informative, thought-provoking session, super host - thank you all.” 

    • Training attendee

    Training overview:

    • Making STEM Accessible
      (90 mins, online)
      This is our foundational training session, which explores the fundamental barriers facing disabled and neurodivergent young people in STEM, and how we can reduce or remove those barriers to make our work more accessible and inclusive. Using real-life examples, and guided by the expertise and lived experience of our disabled and neurodivergent trainers, we can adapt this session to the specific needs of your organisation.

    • Making STEM Accessible for Managers

      (90 mins, half-day, full-day - online or in-person)

      This session starts with use of language and the legal requirements for all managers, and moves into best practice in line managing disabled and neurodivergent employees in STEM engagement. Participants will leave the session feeling empowered and confident in having supportive conversations, providing adjustments and creating inclusive environments where everyone can thrive.

    • Making STEM Accessible for SEND Students
      (90 mins, half-day, full-day - online or in-person)
      This session provides specific guidance for practical, hands-on STEM for SEND students working at different levels. Teachers will leave the session feeling empowered and confident in delivering accessible, inclusive STEM sessions with their students.

    • Making STEM Engagement Accessible
      (90 mins, half-day, full-day - online or in-person)

      This session covers the audience experience from start to finish, exploring best practice in STEM engagement with disabled and neurodivergent visitors and community members. We also explore how to support disabled and neurodivergent colleagues, and how to take care of yourself as a disabled employee.. Participants will leave the session feeling empowered to support and advocate for themselves, each other, and your audiences.

    • STEM Engagement Development
      Our team can help with the development and delivery of inclusive STEM engagement. This includes developing on-site or in-school outreach programming and resources, supporting school visits to places of work, and the curation and development of STEM exhibits and festivals.

    • Audits
      We can evaluate programmes to assess their suitability for disabled and neurodivergent participants, as well as auditing information shared on websites, exhibition signs, and resources shared with young people to ensure they are inclusive and accessible.

    • Audience development
      Through our extensive database, we offer organisations support to identify and engage with local schools, community groups or STEM businesses.

    • Bid writing support
      Support for universities, schools and STEM organisations to write applications for grants, whether as a named partner or an independent advisor.

    Consultancy projects can be a single meeting to help consolidate your plans, or a tailored project over a number of weeks or months. They can be remote or include site visits, we can also support with the facilitation of workshops or away days for your team.

  • Our team can organise, co-create, or contribute to conferences and events including as:

    • Keynote speakers

    • Workshop facilitators

    • Exhibition and information stands

    Or can work with you to ensure your conference, event or exhibition stand is accessible to disabled and neurodivergent young people.

If you would like to find out more about any of our training or consultancy offers, the first step is to complete a project initiation form. 

If you have any questions. please contact Hannah, our Communities & Partnerships Programme Manager, at hannah@lightyearfoundation.org.

If you’re not sure whether our offer is right for you let us know, if we can’t help you ourselves we may well have a contact who can.

Who we work with

Our consultancy and training offers can be tailored to meet your needs, including:

  • Schools

  • Higher Education

  • STEM Business and Industry

  • STEM Engagement

  • Community Groups

Past and current clients:

“I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the Making STEM Engagement Accessible training you delivered – it was honestly exceptional and you brought so much energy and enthusiasm. It was so thorough and delivered in a way that really engaged staff from all different backgrounds, including those with lived experience and our line managers. It opened up so many important conversations and made for such a valuable, insightful day.”

  • Laura Ollis, Director of People and Culture, Wonderseekers

“Our partnership with Lightyear Foundation and Lime Academy Hornbeam has been invaluable to the development of our programme. From project inception through to completion, our experience has been incredibly positive. Hannah and their colleagues have supported us to reflect constructively on the proposed programmes, ensuring the student voice remains at the centre of development.”

  • Elizabeth King, Education Programme Manager, North London Waste Authority

“The Lightyear Foundation team have been fantastic to work with, and have really helped me feel confident stepping into my first special school visit. The team came to my site early on to give suggestions for how to make the students welcome – there were lots of simple changes I hadn’t thought of that really made a difference on the day. And my staff have already reported that the changes and materials we made for the students would be helpful in other aspects of our work. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Lightyear and the special schools in their network.”

  • Jack Monaghan, Science Engagement and Enrichment Manager, Wellcome Genome Campus.