Accessibility Plan

School Ethos.

To provide the best possible education for the children in our care, within a happy, caring, Christian environment where all may grow in knowledge, self-confidence and respect for others. We want this small school to be a learning community for everyone.

Introduction

The governors of Bildeston Primary and Whatfield CEVC Primary Schools are committed to improving access to education and the educational standards achieved by pupils who are disabled. This plan seeks to address the statutory requirements of the Equality Act 2010, and to support our ethos by continuing to improve all aspects of the physical environment of the school site and other resources so that all disabled pupils can take full advantage of the education and associated opportunities provided by the School.

This plan identifies the Governors’ aims in fulfilling this commitment and the action points needed to achieve these aims.

 

Definition (Equality Act 2010)

“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”

The term “disabled” applies to students, staff, Governors, parents and visitors.

Whatfield School acts to:

• Promote equality of opportunity between disabled persons and other persons.
• Identify who are disabled.
• Monitor policies and practice and make “reasonable adjustments” to ensure disabled people are not disadvantaged.
• Eliminate harassment of disabled persons that is related to their disability.
• Promote positive attitudes towards disabled persons.
• Increase disabled people’s participation in the curriculum.
• Improve the environment for disabled people.
• Monitor disabled learners progress, attainment, attendance and exclusions for any differential outcomes.
• Encourage participation by disabled persons in public life.
• Take steps to take account of disabled persons’ disabilities, even where that involves treating disabled persons more favourably than other persons.
• Publish a disability equality scheme and accessibility plan demonstrating how it intends to fulfil its general and specific duties.
• Involve disabled people in the development of the scheme.
• Annually review and report on the scheme and revise it every three years.

 

Whatfield CEVC P School site - Current Situation

Whatfield School is a very small rural primary school, serving the local and surrounding villages. Being single storey, Whatfield CEVCP School does have reasonable access for all adults and children. It is accessible for wheelchairs. In addition it has toilet facilities suitable for disabled persons who need to use a wheelchair. It does not have a sound field system or shower facilities. The village hall, which is rented for school use, is also accessible, and has a disabled toilet as well as a hearing loop in place. Presently all pupils, disabled or not, take part in all the activities of the school, and the school has a strong equalities ethos.

Aims

Our school’s accessibility plan aims to:

• Increase the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the curriculum

• Improve the physical environment of schools to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided

• Improve the availability of accessible information to disabled pupils.

We recognise the need to provide adequate resources for implementing plans and will regularly review them. Priorities in this plan may change to accommodate the changing needs of individuals. This plan has been drawn up after consultation with governors, as well as discussions with disabled visitors, staff and parents of disabled children.

Links with Other Agencies

• Excellent liaison already exists between Whatfield CEVCP School and local early years providers. This liaison involves staff visits, discussions about children, home visits, and parents meetings, all of which help to minimise disruption caused by transfer.
• Staff at Whatfield School ensure that they share any special programmes already in place for children with special educational needs with the transfer school, thus enabling a smooth transition to take place.
• Children who transfer to other schools have detailed records passed on to the receiving school.
• Help is provided by outside agencies as appropriate (e.g. speech therapists, occupational therapists, Advisory Teachers for Learning Support and Hearing and Visual Impairment as well as Educational Psychologists).

Recent school developments

• 2005/6 -extensive additions to the school including disabled toilet, access ramp added to library fire exit
• 2010/11 -replacement blinds KS 1/2 to improve visibility of interactive whiteboards
• 2011/12 -replacement lighting in classrooms to lessen glare, and replacement interactive whiteboard projectors for visual clarity
• 2012/3 - improvements to the EYFS area so whole area is easily accessible for wheelchair use. Re-allocation of cupboard spaces to make a separate staff toilet, thus ensuring a discrete disabled toilet.
• 2014 – Accessible entrance porch built
• 2015 - A visit from Thomas Wolsey School staff confirmed that the school was accessible as far as possible for new entrants

Associated Documents

• Building and School Development Plans, Equality policy, SEND policy.

  Date of Review

• March 2022