Disability Equality Scheme

  Five Ways Primary School                                                                    

 

  Disability Equality Scheme and Accessibility Plan

 

  Introduction

 

  The SEN and Disability Act (2001) extended the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) to cover education. Since  

  September 2002, the Governing Body has had three key duties towards disabled pupils under Part 4 of the   

  DDA:

 

  This Accessibility Plan sets out the proposals of the Governing Body of Five Ways Primary School to increase 

  access to education for disabled pupils in the three key areas required by the duties in the DDA.

 

 

  In addition, the Disability Equality Duty (2006) requires all schools to:

 

 

 

  This duty requires schools to:

 

   It is requirement that the schools' accessibilty plan is resourced, implemented, reviewd and revised as      

   necessary. Attached is an action plan showing how the school will address the priorities identified in the plan.

 

  1A:  The purpose and direction of the School’s plan: vision and values

  Research evidence shows that pupils, who enjoy coming to school, and feel that they are loved and valued, 

  make better progress in their learning than otherwise.  The happiness, welfare, care and academic progress of 

  the children are at the centre of all we do.

          

  Visitors to the school comment on children's:

 

  Five Ways Primary School aims to create and maintain a safe, comfortable and stimulating learning 

  environment  which encourages high achievement for both pupils and staff. To plan and implement a well   

  structured curriculum which fulfils all statutory requirements and which is matched to the learning needs of each 

  pupil. To plan and utilize all opportunities which broaden pupils’ interests, enhance individual achievements and  

  develop each pupil’s personal attitudes and social skills.

 

  Our commitment to equality is driven by the National Curriculum Inclusion statement

 

  In order to achieve these aims, all members of our community including those with a disability must be able to 

  access provision when they attend School.

 

  The values of respect and responsibility underpin our aims. All members of our community have a duty to

  respect the rights of others and to take responsibility for removing barriers to learning for disabled pupils.

 

  1B:   Information from pupil data and school audit

 

  The DDA defines a disabled person as someone who has:

 

  “a physical or mental impairment which has substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to 

   carry out normal day-to-day activities.”

 

  The definition includes a wide range of impairments, including hidden impairments such as dyslexia, autism, 

  speech and language impairments, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  A fuller idea of what

  disability means in our school

  can be seen in the section Definition of Disability Is Tom Disabled?  Appendix A.

 

  To achieve a welcoming school for everyone it is important that all users of our school have a chance to voice 

  their thoughts. Five Ways school carried out an audit of staff, governor’s pupils and parents in order to ascertain  

  the make-up of the disabled school population and to collate a range of views from all users of our school. This  

  has and will help us to focus on removing the barriers that disabled people may feel they have to overcome in 

  order to take part in all that the school offers. Appendix B

 

  A list of pupils who have a disability that fits the description given in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 has 

  been created to include all pupils with SEN and pupils with known medical conditions. Other children who staff 

  may consider to have a disability are also included.  Appendix  C .

  Staff have the opportunity to disclose any disability to the Headteacher in confidence. New staff have this 

  opportunity on application.

 

  Development of data showing disabilities of governors, parents, guardians and other users of the school will be 

  ongoing.

 

  1C:  Views of those consulted during the development of the plan

  To achieve a welcoming school for everyone it is important that all users of our school have a chance to voice 

  their thoughts. The views below relate to the annual questionnaire sent out to parents. See Appendix D

 

  Question 11, 16 and 17

  Pupils are happy to come to school and feel they are treated with respect and courtesy by the teachers. Pupils 

 with special needs were pleased with arrangements made for them and were pleased by the provision made by

 the school for their welfare.

 

  Question 3, 5, and 12

  Parents were pleased with the high standards achieved by their children and that they were made to feel 

  welcome in the school. Parents felt they are well informed about their child’s progress and have a clear

  understanding of what is taught. Parents committed on the exemplary standards of behaviour and ‘community’ 

  feel of the school.

 

  Question 25

  Highlighted areas for improvement included a greater range of clubs for children, whiteboards in every 

  classroom and the promotion of healthy lifestyles. We are working towards becoming a ‘Healthy School’.

 

  Views Received on the School Audit Questionnaire Appendix E

 

  “Brilliant that the school is taking such a serious approach to disability in the school environment.”

 

  “My child has been extremely well supported by all the staff and all his peers at Five Ways. He copes very well 

  and continues to develop his social skills with this valuable support.” (From a parent whose child has Autism)

 

  “I have always found the school to be very helpful to my child and make him feel included in all school activities.”  

  (From a parent whose child has ADHD)

 

  An area of concern was the lack of disabled parking space. 

 

 Stakeholders Views

 

 Parent Partnership view:

  It would be very difficult to think of one thing that parents say about what schools do – other than listen to the 

  parents who are the experts on their own child and will often know what strategies will work, or not.  We do get

  parents who tell us about things that schools have done, without reference to the pupil or parents, with the best

  intentions but which have turned out not to be successful and the parents say – “I could have told them that

  wouldn’t work – we tried that x years ago” So “involve pupil and parent at earliest stages”.

 

 

 

  Make School Make Sense.   (Sept 2006)

  NAS This report identified the views of parents of children diagnosed as having autism spectrum disorders and  

  those of the children themselves. It provided insight to their opinions on the education they received and would  

  have liked to have received. Parents overwhelming chose increased teacher training as the change that would

  make most impact on their child’s learning. Particular concern was expressed by parents in relation to alleged 

  bullying of their child. Despite additional attention being placed on early intervention, 45% of parents stated that it

  took more than a year for their child to being receiving additional support. Many felt the delay had had a negative 

  impact on their child’s behaviour or mental health. Only half the children who have speech and language therapy

  specified in their statement actually received this, with parents reporting that social skills programmes were also

  often undelivered. 44% of parents felt that there was insufficient support to allow their child to take part in

  extended school activities such as breakfast club or after school clubs. Almost half of parents were concerned

  that the school environment was not adequately accessible, with particular concerns for those who had special  

  sensitivity to sensory stimuli. Parents identified adjustments made by schools that had helped to reduce barriers

  to success at school. These included:

 

   Five Ways School uses all of the above strategies to increase positive attitudes towards disability.

 

  SENCO-Forum 21.11.06

  The best thing schools could do would be to listen to the child and have the courage to take notice of what they 

  say. Lip service is paid to this. If what the child says does not fit with school/LEA/Government policy and targets,

  then it is ignored.

 

 

  2A:  Increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate 

          In the curriculum

 

  Five Ways is a forward-looking, highly professional organisation, which takes seriously the education of the 

  children of Heath Hayes. The quality of teaching and learning throughout the school is of a very high standard,

  with levels of attainment rising from year to year. The teaching throughout the school centres around a well-

  planned and highly structured progression of learning objectives. Staffing organisation is based upon curriculum

  strengths, professional expertise and stated individual preferences. Pupils are taught in ability groups throughout

  the school, and discipline is good with undesirable behaviour kept to a minimum.

 

  High standards of professional performance and appearance are expected from the staff. The staff form an 

  extremely professional and committed team who work hard in the interests of the education of all pupils

 

   Differentiated tasks are prepared for identified pupils and continued partnership with the many outside agencies

   has meant that the school can plan and adapt the curriculum to suit the requirements of all pupils. Specialist

  resources are purchased for pupils as their requirements are identified, for example, a box has been provided

  for a pupil in year two to encourage a good sitting position, as recommended by the Physical Disability Team

  and a non slip mat to place under work sheets. The school has a significant number of support staff and this

  allows for the provision of SEN and Intervention Group work. The pupils themselves are involved in target setting

  and IEP writing.

 

 

2B:   Improving the physical environment of the school.

 

Parts of our school offer good access to disabled users but there are areas for improvement. After carrying out a survey of the school community, a disabled grandparent of children who attend Five Ways School met with SENCO and SEN Governor to help identify possible issues around the school.

 

The physical environment of the school caters for the needs of all however, wheelchair access is limited in the KS 2building and one of the mobile units. An induction loop is fitted into one classroom. The KS1 building has disabled toilet facilities and shower facilities, however some of the internal door ways were quite tight and some doors would be difficult to open by someone in a wheelchair. There is no disabled parking space provided. Awareness was raised about obstacles in the corridors e.g. paper drawers and boxes. Many of the external exits have steps although some doorways have ramps. One mobile is only accessible by steps. The slopes down to KS2 are also quite steep and care would need to be taken when using these. Year 3 and the KS2 hall are only accessible by external doors as internally these areas can only be reached by steps. KS2 building has no disabled toilets but one of the staff toilets is large enough to accommodate a wheelchair and only requires to have a handrail installed.

 

 

Recommendations:

 

Any further projects to develop the school buildings will take account of the needs of disabled pupils/staff and users of the school as are practicable within stakeholder requirements and budgetary constraints. Five Ways is not designated as a Pathway School by the Local Authority, however, a local school in the vicinity is a Pathway school. Five Ways proactively seeks information regarding admissions of disabled pupils at its earliest opportunity and seeks to identify any particular work that needs to be carried out to directly benefit that pupil.

 

2C:  Improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information that is provided in writing for pupils who are not disabled.

 

 As part of the Schools Dyslexia Friendly Status adjustments have been made to ensure better access to written materials:

 

 

Currently we do not have any parents who have requested information in an alternative format but we are aware of alternative formats such as read aloud software, Braille and large print. We are aiming to make all text easy to read, aiming at a readability level of no more than 12 on the Flesch Kincaid level using tools in MS word. School sends out information letters to parents every Friday which are available on the school’s website. All parents are offered the opportunity to speak to teachers to discuss pupils’ progress or any concerns they may wish to discuss not only at consultation evenings but in person or by telephone whenever the need arises.

 

Pupil information, such as worksheets, is provided in an appropriate format taking into account impairments and preferences expressed by the pupils themselves, their parents or specialist services working in conjunction with teachers.

 

3A: Management, Co-ordination and implementation

 

The Disability Equality Scheme and Accessibility Plan will be formally adopted by the Full Governing Body.

 

 The Action Plan will be reviewed annually at the Governors team meetings in the Spring Term and then with the Full Governing Body.

 

The Scheme and Plan will be reviewed and a revised scheme published every three years.

 

Evidence for the evaluation will take place through:

 

The DES/AP is fully consistent with the school’s SEN policy and Equal Opportunity Policy. All school policies need to be reviewed to ensure that they comply with DES.

 

 

3B:  Publishing the school’s plan

 

The school makes the accessibility plan available in the following ways: