Crawley Green Infant School
Accessibility Plan
Introduction
We are committed to providing an accessible environment which values and includes all pupils, staff, parents and visitors regardless of their education, physical, social, spiritual, emotional and cultural needs.
This accessibility plan is drawn up in compliance with current legislation and requirements as set out in the SEN and Disability Act 2014. SEND COP, Children and Families Act 2014 and SEN +D regulations 2014 (including 2014-2015 amendments).
Crawley Green Infant School has a responsibility;
The proposals of the governing body of the school is to increase access of provision for all pupils, parents, staff and visitors in the following three areas;
It is a requirement that the school’s accessibility plan is resourced, implemented and reviewed and revised as necessary. Attached is a set of action plans showing how the school will address the priorities identified in the plan.
Definition of disability (DDA 1995):
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.
We are able to identify pupils who are disabled according to the definition of disability from the Disability Discrimination Act and hold their names on a register of disabled pupils.
Advance information is sought from feeder establishments and parents of incoming pupils to ensure that the needs of any disabled pupils are met from entry into school.
Educational outcomes for all groups of pupils, including SEN and disabled pupils, are analysed each year.
Crawley Green Infant School’s vision ‘Valuing the individual and celebrating achievement’ expresses our vision for each and every one of our pupils.
Crawley Green’s commitment to equal opportunities is driven by the National Curriculum Inclusion statement.
The school:
School information:
Level access into school is available in Year R and Year 1 as well as through the family room. There are several short flights of stairs inside school but staff support is available to aid access for disabled pupils. Professional advice was previously sought regarding the viability of stair lifts but they were not considered either suitable or cost-effective.
Monitoring of school attendance shows that although disabled pupils do sometimes have more authorised medical appointments, their attendance is generally not significantly worse than other pupils.
A high level of playground supervision ensures the inclusion of all pupils in a wide variety of playground activities. A lunchtime play leader is employed to organise and supervise games which may include all pupils; a training course for play activities was attended by the midday supervisors, the play leader and the senior lunchtime supervisor.
Pupils with medical/physical needs receive the support they need to enable them to take part in all activities, including school trips. Disabled pupils have equal access to extra-curricular activities.
Care plans are in place for relevant pupils and staff are appropriately trained, e.g. in the use of epi-pens.
There is the equivalent of at least one teaching assistant per class in all year groups who can support any pupils who may have a specific need.
We have a nurture room ‘Elmer’s Room’, which is used mainly by our two behaviour support assistants in supporting vulnerable pupils in a variety of ways.
Appropriate professionals are consulted to ensure equality of access for disabled pupils; they include:
The school has set the following priorities for the development of information and data to support the school’s accessibility plan:
Views of those consulted during the development of the plan
There is already close liaison between our feeder establishments and Crawley Green Infant School to ensure that the needs of any disabled pupils are met from the time they are admitted here. Detailed information and additional transition arrangements take place with regard to receiving schools.
We also invite the parents of any incoming disabled pupils to meet with relevant staff members so that their views are known.
Disabled pupils and their parents are able to express their views in regular meetings with teachers.
Our family worker team is available to support the needs and requirements of all pupils, including those who are disabled.
The school has set the following priorities;
The main priorities in the school’s plan
Increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school curriculum
School Liaison Meetings involving a range of professionals, including Learning Support Service, Educational Psychology Service and Behaviour Support Service, track pupils closely and give advice regarding pupils with a high level of need.
Barriers in learning for disabled pupils are identified and ongoing support from specialist services, e.g. Social Communication Difficulties team, is provided.
Special schools’ outreach teams share good practice and advise the school regarding current key issues involving pupils in school
We seek advice from professionals to improve access to the curriculum for disabled pupils, e.g. PE for physically impaired, has been used.
Support is given from the SEN Support Team for under fives, including transition planning and liaison with other professionals.
Support from specialist services, e.g. learning support, is given for transition to junior school at age 7.
The needs of disabled pupils’ co-ordinate with SDP priorities, i.e. Assessing Pupils’ Progress, Assessment for Learning, working to improve school attendance.
We have high expectations of all pupils, including those with disabilities; appropriate targets are set, progress is monitored and results of monitoring acted upon.
The use of learning support staff connects disabled pupils to the curriculum, supporting the development of independence and promoting social interaction.
Classroom organisation, pupil grouping and use of peer support all provide for the needs of disabled pupils.
Timetabling takes into account pupils working at different levels, both inside and outside the classroom, to meet specific learning outcomes.
Support for staff on inclusive classroom practice and specific disability issues is provided.
There is ongoing liaison with feeder establishments and detailed information is given to junior schools on transition.
Collaboration with a wide variety of agencies, e.g. behaviour support, occupational therapy, is ongoing.
Consideration is given to issues outside curriculum time and support provided where needed:
The school’s family worker team provides support for both the child and the family.
The school has set the following overall priorities for increasing curriculum access:
Improving the physical environment of the school to increase the extent to which disabled pupils can take advantage of education and associated services
Information regarding incoming pupils is sought at an early stage and appropriate steps are taken to provide for their physical needs.
The school has set the following priorities for physical improvements to increase access:
Actions | Actioned by | Resources Costs | Timescale |
New carpets will be provided where needed | Headteacher | Not yet known | Ongoing |
Corridors are routinely checked to ensure they remain clear and easily accessable. | Headteacher Site Agent | None | Ongoing |
In addition to the provision of a textphone, school will email information to parents | Headteacher/ LA adviser | Cost of schools com texts
| Ongoing |
To continue declaring the school as an equal opportunities employer in all advertisements and to ensure that all recruitment processes are inclusive | Headteacher | None | Ongoing |
The school will create disabled parking spaces if needed | Headteacher Site agent | Paint for signage | As necessary |
Information about all children with disabilities to be kept in individual classrooms and made available to all staff including supply teachers | Headteacher Class teachers | None | Ongoing |
The school has set the following priority for providing information for disabled pupils:
Management, co-ordination and implementation
The governing body has overall responsibility for the plan and sets priorities relating to its responsibilities.
The plan will be reviewed and revised at the full governor’s meeting; reports will be given to full governing body meetings and measures taken will be evaluated.
The school has set the following priorities for making its plan available: