Accessibility Plan
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
Burwell Village College Primary School has high expectations for all pupils.
Our school aims to treat all its pupils fairly and with respect. This involves providing access and opportunities for all pupils without discrimination of any kind. All activities are available to all pupils to ensure quality of opportunity.
All staff ensure that pupils are included, challenged and supported to achieve.
This 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.
Our school’s complaints procedure covers the accessibility plan. If you have any concerns relating to accessibility in school, the complaints procedure sets out the process for raising these concerns.
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 they have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ adverse effect on their ability to undertake normal day to day activities.
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’. The definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight or hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and cancer.
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.
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
|
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
· 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 |
· Ensure all staff are confident and competent in using differentiation to enable all pupils to engage with the curriculum
· Ensure that individual pupil needs are identified and planned for · Ensure that all teaching and learning materials, environments, etc. represent and celebrate the rich diversity of our society
|
Staff training and CPD:
o Differentiation o Use of manipulatives o Effective use of TAs o SEND strategy (waves of support) o Identification of disabilities o Strategies to support pupils with disabilities o PE for pupils with disabilities o Epipen, asthma, diabetes, etc. · Monitoring · Mentoring/coaching · Curriculum review · Data analysis with a focus on SEND · Parent voice · Pupil voice · Teacher Voice · Governor visits · Purchase & allocation of supporting resources, including technology |
Head SENDCo/Maths & English Leads Head
SENDCo
SENDCo SENDCo
SLT Head/Deputy Subject Leads SENDCo Teachers
SLT Chair of Governors SENDCo |
July 2022
Ongoing Ongoing July 2021 End of each half term Dec 2021
Dec 2021
April 2022 |
All pupils are able to access and fully engage with their learning
All pupils with disabilities are identified and provision is in place to meet their individual needs
SLT is fully aware of the provision in place across the school and how effective it is
The SENDCo knows the attainment and progress of SEND pupils and adapts provision accordingly
Parents, pupils, teachers and governors agree that the curriculum is fully accessible to pupils with a disability |
| Improve and maintain access to the physical environment | The environment is adapted to the needs of pupils as required. This includes:
· Ramps · Elevators · Corridor width · Disabled parking bays · Disabled toilets and changing facilities · Classroom for all year groups on ground floor · Wheelchair accessibility throughout school |
Ensure that there is a plan for the ‘disability-friendly’ classroom | · Investigate requirements for classroom wheelchair access-
o Spacing between tables o Spacing between doors, sinks, cupboards & tables, etc. · Draw up a plan for how a classroom would be organized in order to cater for pupils in wheelchairs |
Premises Manager
Premises Manager & Head/Deputy Head |
Sep 2021
Sep 2021 |
Pupils in wheelchairs will be able fully and safely engage in their learning in the classroom with the rest of their peers |
| 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:
· School website · Internal signage · Printed as well as email communication · Access to school office staff · Twice-yearly parents’ evenings · Regular meetings with SENDCo for parents/carers of pupils on SEND register |
· Ensure that large print, braille and other alternative forms of communication are available on request | · Investigate companies who can supply alternative formats for written communication, along with lead times and costs
· Investigate available technology, including symbol software, as alternative formats for communication |
July 2021 | School Business Manager | People with disabilities will be able to access all school communication |
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 governing board.
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