Accessibility Plan Approved: November 2020, local Education Consultative Committee Next review due: November 2023 - Astrea St Ivo

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Accessibility Plan Approved: November 2020, local Education Consultative Committee Next review due: November 2023 - Astrea St Ivo
Accessibility Plan
       Approved: November 2020, local Education Consultative Committee
                      Next review due: November 2023
Introduction
It is our intention to remove, as far as we can, those barriers which make it hard for children and
adults with a disability to take part in the day to day life of our academy and benefit from the
educational experiences and services we provide.

We aim to ensure that our academy is a welcoming place that understands and responds effectively
to children and adults with disabilities and we recognise the importance of a review and planning
procedure associated with continuous development and improvement.

The Equality Act 2010 defines disability as a ‘physical or mental impairment which has a long-term
and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’

This definition provides a relatively low threshold and includes more children than many realise:
‘long-term’ is defined as ‘a year or more’ and ‘substantial’ is defined as ‘more than minor or trivial’.
This definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight or hearing, and long-term
health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and cancer. Some specified medical conditions,
HIV, multiple sclerosis and cancer are all considered as disabilities, regardless of their effect. Children
and young people with such conditions do not necessarily have SEN, but there is a significant overlap
between disabled children and young people and those with SEN.

The Equality Act 2010 sets out the legal obligations that schools, early years providers, post-16
institutions, local authorities and others have towards disabled children and young people:
      They must not directly or indirectly discriminate against, harass or victimise disabled children
         and young people
      They must not discriminate for a reason arising in consequence of a child or young person’s
         disability
      They must make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and
         services, to ensure that disabled children and young people are not at a substantial
         disadvantage compared with their peers.
      This duty is anticipatory – it requires thought to be given in advance to what disabled
         children and young people might require and what adjustments might need to be made to
         prevent that disadvantage.
      Schools are allowed to treat disabled children / young people more favourably than non-
         disabled children / young people, and in some cases are required to do so, by making
         reasonable adjustments and making changes to practices to ensure, as far as is reasonably
         possible, that a disabled person can benefit from what the school’s offer to the same extent
         that a person without that disability can i.e. to put them on a more level footing with
         children / young people without disabilities
      Public bodies, including further education institutions, local authorities, maintained schools,
         maintained nursery schools, academies and free schools are covered by the public sector
         equality duty and, when carrying out their functions, must have regard to the need to
         eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and foster good relations between
disabled and non-disabled children and young people. Public bodies also have specific duties
        under the public sector equality duty and must publish information to demonstrate their
        compliance with this general duty and must prepare and publish objectives to achieve the
        core aims of the general duty. Objectives must be specific and measurable.

The duties cover discrimination in the provision of services and the provision of education, including
admissions and exclusions. All providers must make reasonable adjustments to procedures, criteria
and practices and by the provision of auxiliary aids and services.

Schools, trusts and proprietors must also publish information about the arrangements for the
admission of disabled children, the steps taken to prevent disabled children being treated less
favourably than others, the facilities provided to assist access of disabled children, and their
accessibility plans.

The Responsible Body
The responsible body (for St Ivo Academy this is Astrea Academy Trust) must prepare—
     an accessibility plan;
     further such plans at such times as may be prescribed.
An accessibility plan is a plan for, over a prescribed period—
     increasing the extent to which disabled children / young people can participate in the
        school’s curriculum;
     improving the physical environment of the school for the purpose of increasing the extent to
        which disabled children / young people are able to take advantage of education and
        associated services provided or offered by the school; and
     improving the delivery to disabled children / young people—
                 (i)      within a reasonable time, and
                 (ii)     in ways which are determined after taking account of their disabilities and
                          any preferences expressed by them or their parents,
        of information which is provided in writing for children / young people who are not disabled.
     an accessibility plan must be in writing.
     during the period to which the plan relates, the responsible body must keep its accessibility
        plan under review and, if necessary, revise it.
     it is the duty of the responsible body to implement its accessibility plan.

Schools have had a duty to produce an accessibility plan since September 2002.

The Statutory Policies for Schools (Sept 2014) states that it is a requirement that maintained
schools, academies, free schools, independent schools, sixth-form colleges, further education
colleges and Pupil Referral Units must review their accessibility plan every three years. It also states
that approval should be by the governing body however, they are free to delegate the approval right
to a committee of the governing body, an individual governor or the head teacher.

Other relevant legislation, regulations & guidance;
Children & Families Act (2014)
The Special Educational Needs & Disability Regulations (2014)
The SEND Code of Practice (revised April 2015)
Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions (2014)
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2013)
Reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils (2012)
Disability Discrimination Order (2006)
The Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice: Protecting the vulnerable (2005)
The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 2 & 3
DfES “Accessible Schools: Planning to increase access to schools for disabled pupils”
Health Standards (England) Regulations 2003

The School’s Context
We are an academy for children / young people who age from 11 to 19 years. The school comprises 6
main buildings covering a large site, mostly of one and two storey construction, with one section of
Main Block having three stories.

In the years 2020-2021 we had 1795 on roll and have XXXXX children / young people identified as
having a disability under the given definition.

The School’s Aims

The aims of the academy align with the Astrea Academy Trust ethos to “inspire beyond measure” and
are underpinned by five core Value Partners, which are equally applicable to students and staff:
     Responsibility and leadership
     Enjoyment and innovation
     Aspiration and development
     Collaboration and inclusion
     Honesty and integrity

Formulating our Accessibility Plan
The priorities for the Accessibility Plan for our school were identified by a planning group who
consisted of:
     Principal
     SENDCO
     Assistant Principal with oversight of inclusion

Process
Our accessibility plan has been developed as follows:
   1) Access audit and review of current activities completed
   2) Actions to eliminate barriers identified (with short-term, medium term and long term
        targets).
   3) Goals and targets set which can be measured & include time frames.
   4) Consultation with school staff, governors and other bodies.
   5) Evaluated the plan every 3 years (with ongoing review and revision as necessary).

In addition to this we will:
     continually review the environment of the school, the way we plan, prepare and deliver
         curriculum and the information we provide for children / young people so that we can
         improve the access for both individuals and groups;
     work to provide an atmosphere where all children / young people feel safe and valued;
     promote understanding of disability and work to show positive models of people with a
         disability. We will avoid stereotypes and use language which emphasises the person rather
         than the disability.
     examine those parts of our active and extra-curricular activities which may have limited
         access for children / young people with a disability and see if it is possible to provide learning
         experiences which promote similar development of knowledge and understanding.

Other School Policies & Documentation
The Accessibility Plan should be read in conjunction with the following policies, strategies and
documents:
    Curriculum
    Equality
   Health & Safety
       Educational visits
       Inclusion
       Special Educational Needs Policy and the school’s SEN Information Report.
       Behaviour
       Academy Improvement and Development Plan

Access Audit, October 2020

Lead member of staff: Mr David West (SENDCO)

Section 1 The school can deliver the curriculum to all children / young people. Give details of items
developed, current practise and things to be developed.

Statement                      Fully    Partly    Not        Plan Prompt
Teachers and assistants        X                             The majority of staff have taught
have training to teach and                                   children with a variety of disabilities in
support disabled children /                                  the past. If any new child come to St Ivo
young people. Staff are                                      Academy with a disability, multi agency
confident about meeting                                      working would ensure that knowledge
the needs of children /                                      would be obtained.
young people with a
disability.
All school staff and the       X                             Staff are given training using INSET or
governors have access to                                     meetings when appropriate or when
training on disability                                       new updates/ information needs
equality and inclusion.                                      sharing. Training also available via
                                                             Educare.

We take advice to ensure                X                    We regularly review classrooms for their
our classrooms are                                           access and resources to ensure they are
optimally organised and                                      suitable for disabled persons to access.
resourced for disabled                                       Some classrooms would not be suitable
children / young people.                                     for wheelchair access as they are on the
                                                             second and or third floor, with no lift
                                                             access. If required, room swaps are put
                                                             in place for mobility access.

Positive images of people               X                    Discussed as part of assemblies and
with different abilities are                                 PSHE but limited images around school.
apparent in the classrooms                                   Discuss with staff at various points
and the school generally.                                    throughout the year.

Staff plan alternative ways    X                             All children have full access to a broad
of providing experience                                      and balanced curriculum and
and understanding of parts                                   appropriate support is offered or
of the curriculum. i.e. all                                  sourced if additional to school resources.
children / young people                                      If a student cannot access a specific
are encouraged to take                                       activity, an alternative one will be
part in music, drama and                                     sourced and implemented.
physical activities.                                         Residential visits and school visits are
Alternative forms of                                         available to all children (with
exercise are given in PE                                     appropriate adjustment if required).
and games for disabled
children / young people.

Lessons are responsive to  X           Lessons, where possible, celebrate
diversity. Lessons allow               diversity and allow students to work
children / young people to             individually, in pairs, small groups and
work individually, with a              large groups. Collaborative learning and
partner, in groups and                 independent learning is encouraged and
whole class. There is                  supported through the planning of the
extensive peer support and             five strands.
collaborative learning in              At St Ivo Academy, there is evidence of
support of those with a                both streamed and mixed ability
learning disability.                   teaching, supporting academic progress
                                       and disability.
When planning the              X       Additional support, Teaching Assistants
deployment of additional               and Student Support Assistants are used
adults, there is a                     to support those of the highest need.
consideration of pupils                This is regularly reassessed and altered
with disabilities so that if           as the need arises by the SEND,
needed, they benefit from              Curriculum and Pastoral Teams.
high staffing ratios and
smaller group activities in
order to ensure their
inclusion and raise
attainment.

Staff recognise and allow    X         Staff are made aware by the SEND or
for the mental effort /                Pastoral Team of students with
additional time required by            additional needs and/or disabilities with
some disabled children /               strategies and support ideas given to
young people, e.g. using lip           allow access for all. Specific rest breaks
reading, processing time               are offered if needed, and assessed on
for children / young people            an individual basis. Access arrangements
on the ASD Spectrum.                   are provided for exams following
                                       national guidance.
When renewing computer             X   Computer and ICT equipment is used
hardware and software,                 through the Academy. This can be
machines and materials                 adapted to support those with additional
are chosen to support                  needs, for example through the
children / young people                provision of larger monitors on
with a disability, e.g.                adjustable arms.
vocalising brailling, touch            The SEND team involve the Sensory
screen, assistive                      Support Team if individuals come to the
technology.                            school and require additional support
                                       here and those suggestions are actioned.
Provision of laptops is        X       The SEND Team have a robust system of
considered to aid                      assessing and offering laptop/tablet
recording and / or                     devices to use within class for those that
communication.                         demonstrate a need. This is regularly
                                       reviewed.
School visits are subject to   X       All school trips are open to all members
a regular review to ensure             to the school community and every
increased levels of access             attempt is made to ensure that those
or alternative experience.                                  with an additional need or disability can
                                                            gain access to the trip and if not,
                                                            alternative arrangements would be
                                                            sought.
The school links with other    X                            As part of Astrea Academy Trust, St Ivo
schools to share good                                       Academy works very closely with our
practice.                                                   family of schools, and staff at Astrea
                                                            Central.
                                                            We also operate an outward looking
                                                            organisation that explores good practice
                                                            in other schools.
Staff seek to remove all       X                            Subject areas plan and deliver lessons
barriers to learning and                                    with ‘access for all’ in mind, delivering
participation. When                                         high quality lessons for all throughout
curriculum units are                                        the curriculum.
developed the originators
always ask if there could
be a disability dimension.

Access Arrangements are        X                            The SEND department assess students
used when appropriate to                                    that present with additional needs,
support children / young                                    though staff referral, professional
people with accessing                                       diagnoses and using assessment data
assessments.                                                such as CAT’s and NGRT’s.

The school signpost            X                            St Ivo Academy share information via
children, young people and                                  the website, parentmail and posters
families to further support.                                around school to publish local support
                                                            for individuals and families. We work
                                                            closely in partnership with the Local
                                                            Authority, Locality Team and charitable
                                                            organisations.

A LECC member takes            X                            There is a specific member of the LECC
particular interest in, and                                 that has a responsibility for inclusion and
responsibility for                                          SEND.
promoting disability
awareness and inclusion.

Section 2: The school is designed to meet the needs of all children / young people.

Statement                      Fully    Partly    Not       Plan Prompt
The size and layout of                  X                   Each of the 6 blocks has step free access
areas allow access for all                                  to at least one floor. There is a lift in the
children / young people,                                    Science block.
including wheelchair users.                                 Where necessary, we make room
                                                            changes to accommodate mobility
                                                            issues.
                                                            If a wheelchair bound student or staff
                                                            member began attending St Ivo
                                                            Academy, a lift would be sought if the
                                                            need arose in order to access the main
hall.
There is a costed plan          X       Condition surveys are carried out on a
which shows priorities for              regular basis and used to inform
major and minor works.                  business case bidding to Astrea Central.

The school has procedures       X       All specialist areas are maintained to
to ensure the rigorous                  ensure teaching and learning can
maintenance of specialist               continue.
equipment and facilities.

Emergency and evacuation            X   Emergency Evacuation plans and
systems set up to inform                systems are clear and explained to all
all pupils including children           students and staff. Staff have emergency
/ young people with SEN,                evacuation and critical incident plans in
including alarms with both              their lanyards and these are displayed
visual and auditory                     throughout the site in each room.
components.                             Not all alarms currently have visual
                                        components.

Personal Evacuation Plans           X   PEPs are being put in place this year for
(PEPs) in place to provide              those individuals highlighted by
people with any form of                 pastoral and SEND team. These are
disability, who cannot be               regularly updated as required by new
adequately protected by                 diagnoses and changes in circumstance
the standard fire safety                of individuals.
provisions within a                     Specific students with PEPs may not
premises, with a similar                meet with the majority students in the
level of safety from the                evacuation area, if their needs require a
effects of fire as all other            dedicated space, but this will be
occupants.                              communicated via radio contact with
                                        member of SLT with responsibility for
                                        critical incidents.
With regards to                     X   Medical conditions and personal
‘Supporting pupils at                   hygiene considerations are dealt with
school with medical                     by the medical officer and other first
conditions (2014)’, there a             aid trained staff.
policy in place for the                 Medicines are held in a lockable safe
effective and safe                      locational and administered in
administration of                       conjunction with clear instructions from
medication.                             prescriptions and following national
                                        guidance.
Personal hygiene and                    We do not currently have any students
medical issues are dealt                or staff requiring intimate care, where
with full attention to the              this to be the case advice would be
safety and dignity of all               taken from Astrea Central colleagues.
concerned i.e. children /
young people taking
medication, those with
limited toileting training.
Pathways of travel around           X   Disabled parking bays are available close
the school site and parking             to the entrance of the school.
arrangements are safe.                  Pathways around the school are
Disabled parking spots are              monitored continually and repairs
available.                                                   completed as and when needed.
                                                             Path edges and steps are marked with
                                                             yellow paint and or metal caps to
                                                             highlight changes in level.
                                                             Ramps are available in most areas of
                                                             school.
                                                             As above, some areas of some blocks are
                                                             not easily accessible to wheelchair users
                                                             and room swaps would then be made.

There is a positive attitude    X                            All recruitment panels have at least one
to the recruitment and                                       member of safer recruitment trained
employment of staff with a                                   staff. There are a number of current staff
disability and a good                                        with disabilities.
knowledge about the
levels of support they are
entitled to.

Furniture and equipment is X                                 Equipment is selected with access in
selected, adjusted and                                       mind and furniture is available for all. If
located appropriately.                                       additional equipment is needed for a
Steps are taken to reduce                                    particular student or staff member,
the background noise for                                     steps are taken to procure this and
HI children / young people                                   adjust it to suit the individual.
and advice sought from                                       The Sensory Support Team is often
other agencies to take                                       involved in assessing the needs of HI or
appropriate measures in                                      VI students. Suggestions are taken on
the classroom.                                               board and actioned.

The décor and / or signage              X                    Clear signage is present around the
is not confusing or                                          school.
disorientating for children                                  The school would consider replacing
/ young people with a                                        door signs with tactile and/or braille
visual impairment, autism                                    signs so easily read by visually impaired
or epilepsy. Colour                                          students and staff if the need arose, on a
schemes provide colour &                                     rolling programme.
tonal contrast for VI
children / young people.
Labels and signs are
presented pictorially and
in written word if needed
for people with a disability.

Section 3: The school delivers materials in other formats.

Statement                       Fully   Partly    Not        Plan Prompt
Information is provided in                                   Following guidance from the SEND
simple language, symbols,                                    and/or Sensory Support Team the
large print, on audiotape                                    academy provides support material in
or in braille for children /                                 various forms, such as enlarged texts,
young people and                                             exams and access materials in class. This
prospective pupils who                                       would be tailored to the specific needs
may have difficulty with          of an individual with the expertise from
forms of printed                  the Teaching Assistants trained in these
information.                      specific areas. If further needs arose, we
                                  would be able to gain support from
                                  relevant agencies and support to provide
                                  for those individuals.
Information is presented      X   Teachers plan lessons with detailed
to groups in a way which is       knowledge of their classes, and present
user friendly or people           information in a way that can be access
with disabilities e.g.            by all. This can be around colour, size
reading aloud, overhead           and even printing relevant resources as
projections and describing        and when needed.
diagrams.

ICT facilities are used to    X   Various ICT programmes are available to
produce written                   use in school and at home to all
information in different          students. Specific programmes such as
formats as appropriate.           DocsPlus are available for those that
                                  need it and this will be directed by the
                                  SEND team.
Staff are familiar with       X   Staff are aware of using technology to
technology and practices          support those with disabilities. There is
developed to assist people        relevant expertise in the Academy for
with disabilities.                staff to ask or be trained if the need
                                  arises.
External agencies have            The SEND team work closely with
raised staff awareness i.e.       outside agencies to help support those
VI, HI, ASCETS,                   with additional needs such as the
occupational /                    Sensory Support Team and other Health
physiotherapists, speech          and Care workers to support additional
and language therapists,          needs.
school nurses, Health
visitors…

There is an effective         X   The Astrea complaints policy is clearly
process to deal with both         available on both the academy and trust
complaints and positive           websites.
suggestions from the              Email is used to keep an open dialogue
parents of children / young       with parents and carers.
people with a disability.
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