Accessibility plan.

Introduction.

We are committed to providing an accessible environment which values and includes all pupils, staff, parents and visitors regardless of their education, physical, social, spiritual, emotional and cultural needs.

This accessibility plan is drawn up in compliance with current legislation and requirements as set out in the SEN and Disability Act 2014. SEND COP, Children and Families Act 2014 and SEN +D regulations 2014 (including 2014-2015 amendments).

Crawley Green Infant School has a responsibility;

• Not to treat disabled pupils less favourably for a reason related to their disability.
• To make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils, so that they are not at a substantial disadvantage.
• To plan to increase access to education for disabled pupils.
• To challenge negative attitudes about disability and to develop a culture of awareness, tolerance and inclusion.

The proposals of the governing body of the school is to increase access of provision for all pupils, parents, staff and visitors in the following three areas;

• Increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can access the school curriculum.
• Improving the environment of the school to increase the extent to which disabled pupils, staff and visitors can access facilities (including adding specialist facilities if necessary).
• To Improve and to make reasonable adjustments to the delivery of written information to pupils, staff, parents and visitors with disabilities.

It is a requirement that the school’s accessibility plan is resourced, implemented and reviewed and revised as necessary. Attached is a set of action plans showing how the school will address the priorities identified in the plan.

Definition of disability (DDA 1995):

A person has a disability 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 carry out normal day-to-day activities.

• Physical impairment includes sensory impairment.
• Mental impairment includes mental illness or mental health problems, learning difficulties, and hidden conditions including autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), speech and language impairment, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and medical conditions such as diabetes or epilepsy.
• Substantial and long-term. Long-term is more than a year, whilst substantial means more than minor or trivial. By taking these two definitions into account more people than is commonly thought can come under the definition of disabled.
• Normal day-to-day activities affected could be mobility, continence, speech, hearing or eyesight, memory or ability to concentrate, learn or understand.
• Pupils with behaviour needs will be classed as having a disability if it is related to an underlying physical or mental impairment or mental illness, which amounts to a disability as defined by the Act.
• If a pupil’s behaviour does not have a medical diagnosis but lasts for more than a year and is more than trivial or minor then they may be considered disabled under the DDA.

We are able to identify pupils who are disabled according to the definition of disability from the Disability Discrimination Act and hold their names on a register of disabled pupils.

Advance information is sought from feeder establishments and parents of incoming pupils to ensure that the needs of any disabled pupils are met from entry into school.

Educational outcomes for all groups of pupils, including SEN and disabled pupils, are analysed each year.

Crawley Green Infant School’s vision ‘Valuing the individual and celebrating achievement’ expresses our vision for each and every one of our pupils.

Crawley Green’s commitment to equal opportunities is driven by the National Curriculum Inclusion statement.

The school:

• Sets suitable learning challenges.
• Responds to pupils’ diverse needs.
• Overcomes potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.

School information:

Level access into school is available in Year R and Year 2 as well as through the family room. Ramp access is available to the main office through the main front door and to classroom via Year 2. There are several short flights of stairs inside school but staff support is available to aid access for disabled pupils. Professional advice was previously sought regarding the viability of stair lifts but they were not considered either suitable or cost-effective.

Monitoring of school attendance shows that although disabled pupils do sometimes have more authorised medical appointments, their attendance is generally not significantly worse than other pupils.

A high level of playground supervision ensures the inclusion of all pupils in a wide variety of playground activities. A lunchtime play leader is employed to organise and supervise games which may include all pupils; a training course for play activities was attended by the midday supervisors, the play leader and the senior lunchtime supervisor.

Pupils with medical/physical needs receive the support they need to enable them to take part in all activities, including school trips. Disabled pupils have equal access to extra-curricular activities.

Care plans are in place for relevant pupils and staff are appropriately trained, e.g. in the use of epi-pens.

There is the equivalent of at least one teaching assistant per class in all year groups who can support any pupils who may have a specific need.

We have a nurture room ‘Elmer’s Room’, which is used mainly by our two behaviour support assistants in supporting vulnerable pupils in a variety of ways.

Appropriate professionals are consulted to ensure equality of access for disabled pupils; they include:

• Lady Zia Wernher’s outreach team for advice regarding access to PE and the physical environment of school/classroom.
• Advisory teachers for visually and hearing impaired pupils.
• Social communication team.
• Occupational therapists.
• Learning support team.
• Educational psychologist.
• Diabetic nurse.
• Speech and language therapists.
• School nurse for pupils with care plans.
• Behaviour support adviser.
• The Lighthouse behaviour support provision.
• Multi-professional School Liaison Meetings held to provide support for SEN and disabled pupils and monitor progress.

The school has set the following priorities for the development of information and data to support the school’s accessibility plan:

• Disabled pupils in school will be identified and included on a register.
• The needs of disabled pupils will continue to be met discreetly so that attention is not drawn to them unnecessarily; they will receive the support they need to enable them to join in with all activities.
• School absence will continue to be closely monitored to ensure that disabled pupils do not have higher levels of absence than other pupils.
• The school’s anti-bullying policy will continue to be followed to ensure that disabled pupils are not bullied.
• The policy regarding the administration of medicines will continue to ensure that disabled pupils receive any required medication/treatment efficiently and unobtrusively.
• Care plans, when in place, will continue to be followed and updated when necessary.
• Good liaison with early years’ establishments and junior/primary schools will continue to ensure effective transition for all.

Views of those consulted during the development of the plan.

There is already close liaison between our feeder establishments and Crawley Green Infant School to ensure that the needs of any disabled pupils are met from the time they are admitted here. Detailed information and additional transition arrangements take place with regard to receiving schools.

We also invite the parents of any incoming disabled pupils to meet with relevant staff members so that their views are known.

Disabled pupils and their parents are able to express their views in regular meetings with teachers.

Our pastoral team is available to support the needs and requirements of all pupils, including those who are disabled.

The school has set the following priorities;

• The views and professional opinions of staff from feeder establishments will continue to be sought.
• The views of disabled pupils and their parents/carers will continue to be sought in order to inform the plan.
• The views of other disabled people, e.g. parents, will be taken into consideration.
• The priorities of the local authority (via their accessibility strategy) will be considered.

The main priorities in the school’s plan.

Increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school curriculum.

School Liaison Meetings involving a range of professionals, including Learning Support Service, Educational Psychology Service and Behaviour Support Service, track pupils closely and give advice regarding pupils with a high level of need.

Barriers in learning for disabled pupils are identified and ongoing support from specialist services, e.g. Social Communication Difficulties team, is provided.

Special schools’ outreach teams share good practice and advise the school regarding current key issues involving pupils in school

We seek advice from professionals to improve access to the curriculum for disabled pupils, e.g. PE for physically impaired, has been used.

Support is given from the SEN Support Team for under fives, including transition planning and liaison with other professionals.

Support from specialist services, e.g. learning support, is given for transition to junior school at age 7.

The needs of disabled pupils’ co-ordinate with SDP priorities, i.e. Assessing Pupils’ Progress, Assessment for Learning, working to improve school attendance.

We have high expectations of all pupils, including those with disabilities; appropriate targets are set, progress is monitored and results of monitoring acted upon.

The use of learning support staff connects disabled pupils to the curriculum, supporting the development of independence and promoting social interaction.

Classroom organisation, pupil grouping and use of peer support all provide for the needs of disabled pupils.

Timetabling takes into account pupils working at different levels, both inside and outside the classroom, to meet specific learning outcomes.

Support for staff on inclusive classroom practice and specific disability issues is provided.

There is ongoing liaison with feeder establishments and detailed information is given to junior schools on transition.

Collaboration with a wide variety of agencies, e.g. behaviour support, occupational therapy, is ongoing.

Consideration is given to issues outside curriculum time and support provided where needed:

• Playtimes and lunchtimes.
• Movement around school.
• Special events, e.g. sports occasions, visiting theatre groups.
• Extra-curricular activities.
• Educational visits outside school.

The school’s pastoral team provides support for both the child and the family.

The school has set the following overall priorities for increasing curriculum access:

• Updated policies and schemes of work will provide for the needs of disabled pupils.
• Staff training needs related to disability will be identified and appropriate training provided.
• Self-esteem of disabled pupils will be increased by availability of disabled role models, representation of disabled people in books and teaching materials and inclusion of disability issues in curriculum.
• The needs of parents and siblings of disabled pupils will be supported.

Improving the physical environment of the school to increase the extent to which disabled pupils can take advantage of education and associated services

Information regarding incoming pupils is sought at an early stage and appropriate steps are taken to provide for their physical needs.

 

The school has set the following priorities for physical improvements to increase access:

 

The school has set the following priority for providing information for disabled pupils:

• Verbal feedback regarding marking will be given to relevant pupils. Enlarged text/print is used for pupils where necessary or other reasonable adjustments are made.
• All classes already use visual timetables for pupils who need it, using picture/symbol language.
• The school website offers to translate in a range of languages and the school offers any information on the website in paper form and can offer enlarged print if necessary.

 

Management, co-ordination and implementation.

The governing body has overall responsibility for the plan and sets priorities relating to its responsibilities.

The plan will be reviewed and revised at the full governor’s meeting; reports will be given to full governing body meetings and measures taken will be evaluated.

The school has set the following priorities for making its plan available:

• Hard copies will be available from the school office and family room and will be uploaded onto the school website.
• The Ariel 14 point typeface will be used to improve access for those with a visual impairment.
• It will be written clearly and will be as jargon-free as possible.