Accessibility Plan

School Ethos

We are dedicated to creating a friendly and purposeful school community, where all are confident and aspire to do their best. Together we work as an approachable and supportive team to provide the best possible educational experiences for our pupils and ensure that all children achieve their full potential.

Introduction

The governors of Bildeston Primary and Whatfield CEVC Primary Schools are committed to improving access to education and the educational standards achieved by pupils who are SEND.  This plan seeks to address the statutory requirements of the Equality Act 2010, and to support our ethos by continuing to improve all aspects of the physical environment of the school site and other resources so that all disabled pupils can take full advantage of the education and associated opportunities provided by the School.

This plan identifies the Governors’ aims in fulfilling this commitment and the action points needed to achieve these aims.

Definition (Equality Act 2010)

“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”

The term “disabled” applies to students, staff, Governors, parents and visitors.

Bildeston Primary School acts to:

• Promote equality of opportunity between disabled persons and other persons.
• Identify who are disabled.
• Monitor policies and practice and make “reasonable adjustments” to ensure disabled people are not disadvantaged.
• Eliminate harassment of disabled persons that is related to their disability.
• Promote positive attitudes towards disabled persons.
• Increase disabled people’s participation in the curriculum.
• Improve the environment for disabled people.
• Monitor disabled learners progress, attainment, attendance and exclusions for any differential outcomes.
• Encourage participation by disabled persons in public life.
• Take steps to take account of disabled persons’ disabilities, even where that involves treating disabled persons more favourably than other persons.
• Publish a disability equality scheme and accessibility plan demonstrating how it intends to fulfil its general and specific duties.
• Involve disabled people in the development of the scheme.
• Annually review and report on the scheme and revise it every three years.

Bildeston Primary School site - Current Situation

Bildeston Primary School is a small rural primary school, serving the local and surrounding villages.  The school does have reasonable access for all adults and children.  It is accessible for wheelchairs.  In addition it has toilet facilities suitable for disabled persons who need to use a wheelchair. Presently all pupils, disabled or not, take part in all the activities of the school, and the school has a strong equalities ethos. 

Aims

Our school’s accessibility plan aims to:

• Increase the extent to which SEND pupils can participate in the curriculum

• Improve the physical environment of schools to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided

• Improve the availability of accessible information to SEND pupils.

We recognise the need to provide adequate resources for implementing plans and will regularly review them. Priorities in this plan may change to accommodate the changing needs of individuals. This plan has been drawn up after consultation with governors, as well as discussions with disabled visitors, staff and parents of disabled children.

Links with Other Agencies

• Excellent liaison already exists between Bildeston Primary School and local early years providers.  This liaison involves staff visits, discussions about children, home visits, and parents meetings, all of which help to minimise disruption caused by transfer.
• Staff at Bildeston Primary School ensures that they share any programmes already in place for children with special educational needs with the transfer school, thus enabling a smooth transition to take place.
• Children who transfer to other schools have detailed records passed on to the receiving school.
• Help is provided by outside agencies as appropriate (e.g. speech therapists, occupational therapists, Advisory Teachers for Learning Support and Hearing and Visual Impairment as well as Educational Psychologists).

Recent school developments

• 2018 Renovation to toilets in EYFS and year 2/3 class to ensure room for disabled changing facilities
• 2019 - New Roof to whole school with new windows, doors and cladding/school signage
• 2019 - Installation of Outside Canopy Area to KS1 Classrooms
• 2019 - New Roof/Rooflights to EYFS Canopy
• 2020 Sound field system installed in hall/classroom
• 2022 – Staff took part in Mental Health Training
• 2022 – Teaching Assistant taking part in Thrive training
• 2022 – Senior Lead Mental Health Course
• 2023 - Continuing programme of decoration to interior of school
• 2023 - Installation of New Fencing to Bin Area

Associated Documents

• Building and School Development Plans, Equality policy, SEND policy.

Date of Review

• March 2025