Accessibility Plan
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Contents
- Aims
- Legislation and guidance
- Action plan
- Monitoring arrangements
- Links with other policies
Appendix 1: Accessibility audit
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1. Aims
Schools are required under the Equality Act 2010 to have an accessibility plan. The purpose of the plan is to:
- Increase the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the curriculum
- Improve the physical environment of the school to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided
- Improve the availability of accessible information to disabled pupils
Beulah Junior School Inclusion Statement
Our school treats all its pupils and families fairly and with respect. This involves providing access and opportunities for all pupils without discrimination of any kind. Beulah Juniors is proud to be an inclusive school – welcoming of many different cultures, language speakers, religions and differing needs. Every child and family is an integral and important part of our community, and will be treated as such.
Our Core values ‘Success, Unity, Pride, Enjoyment and Respect’, promote this ideal and remind us daily of the environment in which we want to live, learn and play; enjoying all experiences to the full and achieving to the best of our abilities – whatever they may be.
The plan will be made available online on the school website, and paper copies are available upon request.
Our school is also committed to ensuring staff are trained in equality issues with reference to the Equality Act 2010, including understanding disability issues.
The school supports any available partnerships to develop and implement the plan, including Croydon LA
Our school’s complaints procedure covers the accessibility plan. If you have any concerns relating to accessibility in school, this procedure sets out the process for raising these concerns.
We have included a range of stakeholders in the development of this accessibility plan.
2. Legislation and guidance
This document meets the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 and the Department for Education (DfE) guidance for schools on the Equality Act 2010.
The Equality Act 2010 defines an individual as disabled if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ adverse effect on his or her ability to undertake normal day to day activities.
Definitions may include people with:
- Cerebral Palsy Sickle Cell Anaemia
- Muscular Dystrophy Severe dyslexia
- ASD Obesity or eating disorders
- ADHD Cancer
- Downs Syndrome Mental health difficulties
- Cystic Fibrosis Incontinence
- Multiple sclerosis HIV
- Hearing or visual impairments Epilepsy
- Diabetes
Under the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice, ‘long-term’ is defined as ‘a year or more’ and ‘substantial’ is defined as ‘more than minor or trivial’
Schools are required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for pupils with disabilities under the Equality Act 2010, to alleviate any substantial disadvantage that a disabled pupil faces in comparison with non-disabled pupils. This can include, for example, the provision of an auxiliary aid or adjustments to premises.
On the 1st October 2010, the Equality Act replaced all existing equality legislation (Race Relations Act, Discrimination Act and Sex Discrimination Act) and provides a single, consolidated source of discrimination law. Within this framework, schools have a duty to carry out accessibility planning for disabled pupils. Schools must implement plans which are aimed at:
· Increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the curriculum
· Improving the physical environment of schools to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided
· Improving the availability of accessible information to disabled pupils
Aims of Plan
· To ensure we are carrying out our statutory duties for access planning
· To ensure equality of opportunity for all learners with a disability
· To provide clarity for definitions of disabilities
· To provide a framework/structure for accessibility planning, resourcing, monitoring and reviewing
· To provide parents/carers and all of those in the school community with clear guidelines and expectations of accessibility planning.
To show how Beulah Junior School intends, over time, to increase the accessibility of our school for disabled pupils and other disabled members of our school community.
Current situation
Beulah Junior School is set within fairly small grounds, some of which are shared with the Infant School (now Peagasus Academy). The building is over 100 years old and is on 2 floors. The canteen is housed in a separate block. Previous initiatives to improve accessibility to the school building have yielded the following improvements:
- Re-locating the main office to an accessible location (initially moving it from upstairs and then to a sight at the front of the building, with access ramps)
- Adding a disabled toilet facility downstairs
- Providing ramps to the main door used by pupils
- Providing ramps to the canteen
- Improving signage to the main office
- Purchasing an ‘evac chair’
- Making the adventure play space more accessible by removing wooden edging and bark chip replacing with green soft surface.
- Considering how key spaces upstairs which are not accessible can be made more so (eg planning for library and music use downstairs – still in our current plan)
- Ensuring all eligible pupils are assisted by the correct access arrangement during SATS week (still in our current plan)
The prospect of having a lift to provide increased accessibility to the upstairs has been considered but not implemented. This is due to there not being an appropriate space in the building to locate this.
3. Action plan
This action plan sets out the aims of our accessibility plan in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.
Aim | Current good practice
Include established practice and practice under development
|
Objectives
State short, medium and long-term objectives |
Actions to be taken | Person responsible | Date to complete actions by | Success criteria |
Increase access to the curriculum for pupils with a disability | Our school offers a differentiated curriculum for all pupils, personalised for individuals where necessary
We use resources tailored to the needs of pupils who require support to access the curriculum. Curriculum resources include examples of people with disabilities. Curriculum progress is tracked for all pupils, including those with a disability. Targets are set effectively and are appropriate for pupils with additional needs. The curriculum is reviewed to ensure it meets the needs of all pupils. Instruments can be taken to classes where disabled pupils are unable to access the music room ICT resources can be used downstairs where disabled pupils are able to access the music room |
Improve ICT provision downstairs so that this can be accessed by disabled pupils if required.
Train ‘disability’ librarians to bring ‘access boxes’ of books downstairs to make this accessible to any pupil who may be temporarily unable to access upstairs or to any disabled pupil who may arrive Create plans for any child with suspected SEMH/ADHD/ASD, alongside reviewing existing EHCP plans Annually review Y6 cohort to identify any pupils with additional needs who may be entitled to extra time for SATs. Make relevant applications and keep records. |
Ensure a laptop is available if needed for a pupils to access down stairs. Review ICT teacher’s timetable in the event of a pupil needing this provision to provide 30 mins focused teaching weekly downstairs
Librarians know how to make a selection of books in collaboration with a pupil and how to safely bring these down stairs Plan created where needed Pupils are screened for eligibility. Applications made and records are kept |
AT
YY KP CB |
AUT 17
SPR 18 Ongoing MAR 18 |
Provision for ICT downstairs is available if needed
Provision for library selection to be available downstairs is available if needed Plans are in place which effectively enable pupils to access the curriculum to their potential SATs access arrangements are provided |
Improve and maintain access to the physical environment | The environment is adapted to the needs of pupils as required.
This includes: · Ramps to school office and into school building · Wide corridors · Disabled toilet downstairs |
Look at access to classrooms via back entrance.
Could this be improved? Ensure plumbing in disabled toilet is addressed as there have been some issues with the taps Ensure appropriate access is facilitated Consider whether access in and out of the building at the end of the day can be improved (current congestion could be a potential hazard for anyone with mobility issues |
Review access at the rear of the building.
Review plumbing and lock on door Lock fitted which both able-bodied and disabled persons may use independently Monitor access and the end of the day and action any plausible improvements |
VL
DM VL/DM |
SUM 2018
SPR 2018 SPR 2018 |
Improved access or sign posting to appropriate disabled access is actioned
Disabled toilet is fully functional and checked regularly Access in and out of school at the end of the day is improved |
Improve the delivery of information to pupils with a disability | Our school uses a range of communication methods to ensure information is accessible. This includes:
· Clear signs around school · Large print resources where required · Pictorial or symbolic representations (eg visual timetables) · We have a teacher who is able to sign if necessary |
Ensure visual timetables are used in all classrooms.
Improve signage inside the school building? Look into how to provide braille/pictorial letters should this be necessary |
Meet all CTs and ensure they have a visual timetable and a class monitor for this
Contact LA or appropriate disability group to explore how information can be provided in different formats of required. Teacher trained in sign language to be ready to sign if needed |
All CTs
KP to oversee |
SPR 2018
SUM 2018 |
All pupils have access to a visual timetable to ensure they know the structure of their day
School knows how to access these provisions if needed. |
Improve medical provision in school for those children with medical disabilities (eg diabetes) | Our school makes it possible for children with medical needs to administer medication safely at approved times during the day. | Annually – ensure all office staff are trained in and aware of procedures for any child needing to administer medicines and how records will be kept of this. Display in office.
Ensure IHPs are completed for any pupils with medical needs |
Office staff to ensure complete actions. Visual display of children affected is placed where all staff members have access to see it. (staff room and lunchtime medical room) | AUT 2017 | Medical conditions are managed effectively and staff awareness is raised |
4. Monitoring arrangements
This document will be reviewed every 3 years, but may be reviewed and updated more frequently if necessary.
It will be approved by The Beulah Junior School Governing Body
5. Links with other policies
This accessibility plan is linked to the following policies and documents:
- Risk assessment policy
- Health and safety policy
- Equality information and objectives (public sector equality duty) statement for publication
- Special educational needs (SEN) information report
- Supporting pupils with medical conditions policy
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