ACCESSIBILITY PLAN

Our school is a single story building in three parts, with the main school comprising of an upper and lower building linked by a covered walkway. Consideration has been given into making the environment as accessible as possible to children, young people and service users with mobility difficulties, enabling them to access the environment as independently as possible.

Disabled toilets are available and all hygiene /changing areas have appropriate hoist facilities to enable safe and dignified transfers. Seven of our eleven classrooms have ceiling hoists to enable postural management programmes to run smoothly alongside education. Children and young people are assessed by the Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy teams to ensure all pupils have appropriate equipment to access education. There is a lift access to the gym on the lower floor.

The main playground is accessible for school transport to drop off and pick up pupils. We also have parking for three school vehicles plus one disabled space on the school car park for visitors or parents. Automatic doors have been fitted to the entrance of the school to ensure safe and easy movement of pupils, particularly those who are wheelchair users. All required policies and guidance are in place. These are based closely on LCC model policies and guidance, with appropriate modifications to account for our individual school circumstances.

Information is available to our whole school community via the school website, newsletters, fliers, phone calls and face to face meetings. Consideration is always given to individual family needs when sharing information. For families for whom English is an additional language information can be made available in other language formats. For parents whose first language is not English the school will provide an interpreter to attend meetings.

As a Total Communication School, information is provided to children and young people in a range of ways and at an individual level through, for example, objects of reference, smells, sounds, signing, photographs, symbols, communication aids and the spoken word catering for the individual pupil’s needs. The visual environment in each of the classrooms is adapted accordingly to meet the needs of individual pupils following advice from our MSI specialist teacher. Our whole school environment has been set up to ensure all children can be as independent as possible throughout the school day. Consistent daily routines and a Total Communication environment are embedded throughout classes ensuring all children and young people are supported to understand what is happening now and what will happen next. A range of strategies and resources are used to support children’s access to resources and learning and each individual child/young person’s level of need is considered when planning for the curriculum and daily routines.

A range of specialised equipment is available throughout school. Following multi-agency assessments, seating/standing frames/ postural management equipment/assistive technology/Augmented or Alternative Communication aids are prescribed for individual children and class staff trained in appropriate use to aid learning and access to education. Class groups are generally grouped by age and considerations are made in terms of the physical environment to meet their needs. Specialist equipment is provided for pupils with physical/medical needs who require it, eg. adjustable height tables, specialist seating, standing frames, walking aids, personal care equipment etc. School staff are advised by Occupational and Physiotherapists on the provision of any specialist equipment. The school has two minibuses, each with tail-lifts and a specialist car suitable for wheelchairs. This enables weekly educational visits for all pupils. The minibuses also enable our pupils to access the community for sporting activities and extended curriculum activities, including residential visits.