The Regis School
ACCESSIBILITY PLAN 2015-2018
A child with a disability has the right to live a full and decent life with dignity and independence, and to play an active part in the community” Article 23 UNCRC
The Regis School acknowledges its duty under the Equality Act 2010 for schools to have an accessibility plan
1. Context
1.1 The purpose of the plan is:
· to ensure the school considers the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school’s curriculum
· To consider how the physical environment can be improved for the purpose of increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can take advantage of education, facilities and services provided by the school
· To improve delivery to disabled pupils information which is readily available to non-disabled pupils
1.2 The school will use its best endeavors and make reasonable adjustments in accordance with the 2010 Equality Act, to ensure improvements are made within a reasonable timescale and in consultation with parents/carers and pupils to ensure all pupils can access the curriculum and all aspects of school life.
1.3 Disability, as defined by the equality Act 2010 is where a pupils has “a physical or mental impairment that has a long term and substantial adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day to day activities. Physical and mental impairments including sensory impairments such as those effecting sight or hearing”. (Reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils, Equality and human rights commission, 2015)
1.4 The Regis School is a level 2 UNICEF Rights Respecting School and as such we put the rights of all children at the heart of all we do. Article 23 of the UNCRC states, “a child with a disability has the right to live a full and active life, and to play an active part in the community. Governments must do all they can to provide support for disabled children”. The school actively promotes positive promotion of people with disabilities and holds an annual Paralympic sports day, invites in inspirational speakers with disabilities, employs staff with disabilities and ensures the curriculum includes examples of people with disabilities.
1.5 The plan is supported by the following policies:
· Equality and Diversity policy
· Safeguarding and child protection policy
· SEN policy
· Supporting pupils with medical needs policy
· Curriculum policy
1.6 The plan is available on the school website. The school will be happy to provide all key documents to parents/carers in a form that meets their need, if so requested and it is reasonable to do so. All documents can be made available in large print format on request.
1.7 The plan will be reviewed every three years and sooner in response to legislative change.
1.8 The plan will focus on:
· The physical environment
· The curriculum
· Written information
1.9 The school will continue to provide training for staff in how to best support and engage students with SEN and disabilities. All staff are made aware of pupils with disabilities via our SIMs database.
1.10 The Regis School works closely with partner organisations such as CAMHS, Social Care and Early Help to ensure pupils with disabilities are holistically supported
1.11 If a pupil/parent or carer has a concern or complaint we would advise them to talk to their child’s HOH or the SENCO in the first instance. The schools complaints policy is available for parents on the school website.
2. Aims and objectives
2.1 Our aims are to:
· Increase access to the curriculum for pupils with a disability
· Improve and maintain access to the physical environment
· Improve the delivery of written information to pupils
2.2 The following table sets out how the school will achieve these aims.
Increase access to the curriculum for pupils with a disability / Each students with a disability or SEN has the opportunity to co-write an access plan with school staff, parents/carers. This ensures they have their voice heard and additional support, strategies and/or auxiliary aids can be identified and if reasonable, supplied / To ensure all students with a disability can access the curriculum by empowering them to have a voice in the best way for them to do this / To review access plans *x a year / A Coleman (SENCO) / Autumn term 2
There is full disclosure of information between all schools at times of transition. The SENCO or HOH supports guided choices meetings in Y9 to provide extra support for pupils with a disability / Good communication and early identification ensures an appropriate curriculum pathway can be planned for pupils with disabilities / To ensure the SENCO is scheduled into all guided choices meetings for pupils with disabilities / A Coleman / Autumn Term 1
Pupils with ongoing medical needs can be supported on “Blended learning” packages ensuring consistent access to education whether at home, in hospital or at school / Every pupil can access education, even if they are unable to be physically in the building / Blended learning is a new initiative and therefore the impact needs to be monitored over the next 12 months / N Harvey Mason
(Blended Learning Manager) / Summer Term 2
Timetables will be written to best support the needs of disabled pupils / Reasonable adjustments will be made to ensure every pupil can follow an appropriate pathway through the curriculum / Pupils on bespoke timetables will be monitored regularly, usually through the PSP process / A Coleman
(SENCO)
HOH / Summer Term 2
All pupils have access to a full range of pastoral support, including health manager, school counselor, Heads of House, Inclusion mentors and form tutor / To ensure pupils with disabilities have the same opportunities for pastoral support as their peers to ensure their personal wellbeing / HOH to “check in” with pupils with disabilities 1x per term to ensure they feel supported / HOH / Autumn term 2
Improve and maintain access to the physical environment / The main school building was built in 2010 and at that time met all the planning and statutory regulations around accessible use.
The Arena Skills Centre is less than 10 years old and was also designed to conform to accessible use.
The Arena Sports Centre which is over 15 years old and the swimming pool building (which is over 60 years old) have been assessed and where required adapted to ensure that people with accessibility issues can fully utilize the facilities, for example the fitness suite has gym equipment can be used by both partially sighted and reduced mobility users. / To ensure all the school population and community users of the school’s facilities can fully utilize the equipment/building. / To review the physical environment in relation accessibility use on at least annual basis. / M Betts (Director of Business) / Summer term
Improve the delivery of written information to pupils / All homework is recorded electronically for pupils on the school planner book (for pupils without ICT at home the school is open until 4.50 for independent study) / Every pupil can access homework / The quality of homework being set needs to be monitored by heads of faculty and Team leaders to ensure it is differentiated and accessible for all pupils / A Osborne
(Assistant Principal) / Autumn Term 1
Visually impaired pupils are
informed verbally of relevant information and that information is provided in a reasonable format or equipment is provided to enable pupils to read information / Pupils with a visual
impairment are not disadvantaged against their peers / SENCO to quality assure / A Coleman
(SENCO) / Autumn term 1
Students have access to a range of ICT tools such as Read, Write Ten that support access to written information / ICT is used strategically to support pupils with SEN/disabilities to access written information / SENCO to continue to research new technologies so that best provision, within budget constraints, can be secured for students with disabilities/SEN / A Coleman
(SENCO) / Summer term 2
3. Access audit
FeatureFor example: / Description / Actions to be taken / Person responsible / Date to complete actions by
Number of storeys / 4 floors in the main school building, 2 floors in the Arena Sports Centre, 2 floors in the Arena Skills Centre & single floor in the swimming pool. All floors on all buildings are accessible to pupils with limited mobility i.e. wheel chair, crutches, etc. / Not required
Corridor access / Majority of corridors can be accessed by all the school population, however in a small number of areas, due to security and regulations around fire procedures certain corridor doors are heavier to open for a small population of the limited accessible population. / Reasonable adjustments are put in place to overcome the issue. This is reviewed annually or should there be any significant difference in circumstances. / Mark Betts / Summer term
Lifts / The main school building has three lifts, with one each in the Arena Sports Centre and Arena Skills Centre.
There are also hoists located in the swimming pool accessible changing room & on pool side. In the main school building there are three additional hoists in the three hygiene rooms/accessible changing rooms. / One of the three hoists in the main school building has been decommissioned, as there is not the required at the present time. If/When required it will be recommissioned and used appropriately. / Mark Betts / When required.
Parking bays / There are 284 parking bays of which 13 are accessible.
Entrances / All external entrances to the buildings are designed for wheelchair access, all bar one have either automatic proximity sensors or have low level push button for access, the entrance that has not is suitable for wheelchair use.
Ramps / There is ramp access to all areas of the school where students and staff can use as an alternative to using the steps/stairs, for example at the front of the swimming pool.
Toilets / Within the main school building there are 96 toilets, of which 17 are designed for accessible use (without the need for a key).
In the Arena Sports Centre there are 20 toilets, of which 5 are designed for accessible use (without the need for a key).
In the Arena Skills Centre there are 11, of which 2 are designed for accessible use (without the need for a key).
In the swimming pool there are 7 toilets, of which X are designed for accessible use (without the need for a key).
Reception Area / The School reception area is designed for both accessible use and for staff/students/visitors were impaired hearing, i.e. has proximity sensors for entrance, push button for exit, low level reception desk, hearing loop, etc.
Emergency escape routes / There is an emergency evacuation plan in place, reviewed annually, which includes the provision for any students/staff that are not fully mobile.
All escape routes are suitable for accessibility persons.
Date of origination: November 2015
Date of last review by Governing Body: December 2015
Date of next review: December 2018