St. Patrick’s R.C. Primary School Accessibility Plan
This policy should be read in conjunction with the school’s Public Sector Equality Duty Plan which outlines our commitment to ensuring equality of opportunity for all at St Patrick’s.
‘St Patrick’s RC Primary School is an inclusive school where we believe that all members of our community are of equal worth. We demonstrate our commitment to this by prioritising the well-being and progress of every child in our school and by striving to ensure that all members of our community are treated with fairness and equality.’
This plan sets out the proposals of the Governing Body of the school to increase access to education for pupils with disabilities in the three areas required by the planning duties in the Equality Act 2010.
- 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 of information to disabled pupils which is provided in writing for pupils who are not disabled.
At St Patrick’s we promote disability and equality and prepare all our children for life in a diverse society. We use the term ‘disabled’ to refer to someone who has:
A physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on the ability to do normal daily activities. (Equality Act 2010)
St. Patrick’s is a single storey building that was built in 1975 and is on a sloping site resulting in the building being situated on 3 levels. There are 8 classrooms within the school which includes a nursery. The gym (dining hall) and community room are on the top level and are accessible via
a set of steps. Year 3 and Nursery are on the lower level and are accessible via a set of steps. All other areas of the school are on the middle level. There is a disabled toilet in the main entrance foyer. There are two playgrounds on opposite sides of the building which are accessible from cloakrooms on the lower level or from the doors in the community room. There is a sloping field, a trim trail, all weather pitch and hard tarmac areas.
Access to the wider school curriculum is provided taking into account the needs of all pupils. Staff liaise with the Educational Visits Coordinator when planning and risk-assessing off-site visits .The needs of all pupils are considered when staff arrange special events and theme days. All pupils, including pupils with known disabilities, are encouraged to participate in the full range of extra-curricular activities offered by the school.
The School Accessibility Plan shows how access is to be improved for disabled pupils, staff and visitors to the school in a given timeframe and anticipating the need to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate their needs where practicable.
This Accessibility Plan will contain relevant and timely actions to:
- Increase access to the curriculum for pupils with a disability, expanding the curriculum as necessary to ensure that pupils with a disability are as, equally, prepared for life as are the able-bodied pupils; this covers teaching and learning and the wider curriculum of the school such as participation in after-school clubs, leisure and cultural activities or school visits – it also covers the provision of specialist or auxiliary aids and equipment, which may assist these pupils in accessing the curriculum within a reasonable timeframe.
- Improve access to the physical environment of the school, adding specialist facilities as necessary – this covers improvements to the physical environment of the school and physical aids to access education within a reasonable timeframe.
- Improve the delivery of written information to pupils, staff, parents and visitors with disabilities; examples might include handouts, timetables, textbooks and information about the school and school events; the information should be made available in various preferred formats within a reasonable timeframe.
It is a requirement that the school’s accessibility plan is resourced, implemented and reviewed and revised as necessary. Attached is an action plan showing how the school will address the priorities identified in this plan.