Accessibility Plan

Contents

Policy Statement

At Minerva Primary School we are committed to ensuring equal treatment for all, including those with any form of disability. By ‘all’ we mean anyone involved in the school community including employees, pupils, parents, carers and governors.

We will reduce and eliminate the barriers to accessing the curriculum and will ensure full participation in the school community for pupils, and prospective pupils, with a disability. We will reduce and eliminate barriers to adults with a disability, be they staff, parents, carers, governors and all prospective individuals to ensure their full participation in the life of the school.

We aim to develop a culture of inclusion and diversity in which people feel confident about disclosing their disabilities in the certain knowledge that they will receive a positive and supportive response which facilitates their full participation in the full range of activities offered by our school.

We seek to foster a positive response to disability among all members in our school community and to eliminate bullying, harassment or the less favourable treatment of people with disabilities wherever and whenever it is likely to occur.

The school recognises and values parents’ knowledge of their child’s disability and its effect on their ability to carry out normal activities, and respects the parents’ and child’s right to confidentiality.

The school provides all pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum, differentiated and adjusted to meet the needs of individual pupils and their preferred learning styles, and endorses the key principles in the National Curriculum 2014 Framework:

Promoting the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the at the school and of society.
Preparing pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

Although this plan is a requirement for pupils, the school also has duty to staff and visitors, who will benefit from any amendments, in particular in relation to the building access.

Reference to other relevant policies

This policy should be read in conjunction with:

SEND Policy
Health & Safety Policy

Statutory Context

The SEN and Disability Act 2001 extended the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) to cover education. The Trust has had three key duties towards disabled pupils, under Part 4 of the DDA:

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.

This plan sets out the proposals of the Proprietor/Governing Body of the school to increase access to education for disabled pupils in the three areas required by the planning duties in the DDA:

increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school curriculum;
improving the environment of the school to increase the extent to which disabled pupils can take advantage of education and associated services;
improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information, which is provided in writing for pupils who are not disabled.

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

School Context

Minerva is a mainstream school for children aged 2-11years. The school compromises of one main building plus an annexe; both are single storey. Originally built as an infant school the buildings have been extended and adapted over the last fifty years. There are different levels within the school with steps to different parts of the building. Access for those using a wheelchair is often difficult and certain parts of the building are currently in accessible. Access to the EYFS section of the building has been improved following the building project in 2020-21.

Current Practice

We aim to ask about any disability or health condition in early communications with new parents and carers as part of our school admission procedure.

Many entrances to the school are either flat or ramped and have wide doors. There are disabled toilet facilities available, fitted with a handrail. The school has internal emergency signage and escape routes are clearly marked.

The nursery and all classrooms from Key Stage 1 upwards have ramped access. Ramped access to the EYFS classroom is available via the main school entrance.

We support pupils with both physical disabilities and learning needs to access areas of the curriculum they find difficult. Where PE is a challenge for physically impaired pupils, we seek expert advice for identified individual needs.

We consult with experts when new situations regarding pupils with disabilities are experienced.

Our key aims are to provide:

Full access to the curriculum;
Full access to the physical environment;
Full access to information.

Table 1: Full Access to the Curriculum

Priority	Lead	Strategy / Action	Resources	Timescale	Success Criteria
Effective communication and engagement with parents	Principal / SENDCo	SEND report adapted to make it more accessible to parents. Regular telephone contact for parents who struggle to make meetings or attend the school site.	SENDCO time	Ongoing with yearly update of SEND report published each January.	Parents feel informed about the provision available and support we can offer their child. Parents feel informed about their child’s progress and attainment in school
Training for staff on increasing access for all children	Trust SENDCo	Any new staff receive Positive Handling training; Attachment training Resilience and Wellbeing training free with EP service Autumn Term	Staff time for PDM Additional extra time cost for support staff	Autumn term 2020	Staff feel confident and staff survey gives high rating for training.
Effective use of resources to increase access to the curriculum for all children	Principal / SENDCo	SENDCo to ensure resources and strategies are cited in all assessment reports for CT’s. Review of the use of resources to be undertaken with CT to ensure effectiveness for each pupil.	Small budget for consumable resources e.g. pencil grips, chewlery, sensory / fidget toys	Autumn 2020	Assessment reports evidence resources to be used in class. A range of resources to be accessible and in use in all classrooms. Children are able to choose and name resources they find helpful.
Adaptations to the curriculum to meet the needs of all children	Class teachers	Concrete apparatus available in all classes; visual timetables	Staff awareness training	Ongoing	All children able to access the full curriculum
Appropriate use of specialised equipment to the benefit of individual children	Class teachers / LSAs / SENDCo	Effective sourcing of specialised equipment. Effective training for use of equipment delivered to appropriate staff.	Resources under £500 come out of school budget – it would be wise to have budget for this	Autumn each year	Staff and pupils confident in using specialised equipment
Improve educational experiences for children with significant speech impairment	Class teachers / LSAs	Whole class speech programme in EYFS Word of the day in older classes to increase vocab; key vocabulary identified in knowledge organisers Daily Teacher reading to whole class/groups Paired reading classes where older children support younger children	Application to join NELI project	October 2020
All out of school activities and after school clubs are planned to ensure reasonable adjustments are made to enable participation of all children	All staff / sports coaches	No restriction placed on children eligible to attend	Activities funded by the PE and PPG grants	From September 2020	All children who wish to access after school activities are able to do so

Table 2: Full Access to the Physical Environment

Priority	Lead	Strategy / Action	Resources	Timescale	Success Criteria
Provision of wheelchair accessible toilets	Trust Estates and Contracts Manager	In place
Improve signage to indicate access routes around the school	Office Manager and Caretaker	Review existing signs and update	Printing costs	By October 2020	Routes around the school site clear and accessible
Maintain safe access around exterior of the school	Caretaker	Remove any obstacles	Cost of skip	By October 2020	All obstructions removed
Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPS) are completed for children who are identified as requiring one	SENDCo	Pupils to be identified Support from PIMST requested where needed Plans drawn up and shared with staff and parents PEPS reviewed, at least, yearly.	SENDCo time	Ongoing	PEEPs in place for all pupils who require one Evidence that PEEPs are reviewed at least yearly.

Table 3: Full Access to Information

Priority	Lead	Strategy / Action	Resources	Timescale	Success Criteria
Availability to information for parents in accessible language	Principal	Review all documentation and amend to make more accessible	Principal’s time Printing costs	Ongoing	Parents report that communication is good
Additional regular meetings with parents for children who have an EHCP	SENDCo	Meetings, at least termly set.	Planned time set aside for meetings		Meetings evidenced within the Plan Do Review Paperwork
Identify early those children who are allocated a place at Minerva for the following academic year	EY Area SENDCo / SENDCo	ET area SENDCo and SENDCo to communicate in Spring term regarding pupils identified through MAISEY SENDCo to make contact with feeder settings to identify needs of pupils.	Planned time set aside for possible visits to preschool settings including on site nursery	Ongoing	Children consistently identified and provision in place in readiness for them starting school
Maintain close liaison with external agencies for children who have additional needs	SENDCo	Keep a note of review dates for pupils and ensure these are completed in a timely manner. Attending training with agencies where needed/relevant. Attending EP and SENCO meetings where other agencies are regularly in attendance.	SENDCo, Behaviour lead, safeguarding officer and Principal’s time	Ongoing	School is able to access expertise and resources to meet need
Ensuring information on school website if both accurate and up to date.	Trust SENDCo / SENDCo/ Principal	Yearly review of information on the website. Update at least yearly SEND information and staff information. Ensure the County Local Offer is up to date and correctly linked to school website.	Principal and SENDCo time	Ongoing	School site is “Compliant” with County and website regulations.

History of Recent Policy Changes

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