Disability and Accessibility Policy

Policy details

• Date created - 17/05/2024
• Next review date - 17/05/2025

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The academy welcomes people with disabilities and will comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 (EA10), the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA01), and the Disability Equality Duty 2005 (DDA05). The academy will  make all reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of individual students, parents/carers,  staff and other people from the wider community.

A disability is defined as: A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial, long term  and adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

The academy is committed to inclusion and supporting learning for each individual. The  academy aims to provide appropriate support, resources and facilities to meet individual needs and to encourage all students to achieve.

The academy recognises that under the Data Protection Act all students are entitled to  complete confidentiality if and when they disclose a disability. However the academy would  wish for appropriate disclosure in line with our Guidance on Access to Student Records  policy so that it can implement any provision for the student to support them and their needs.

Accessibility

All schools were required by the SEN and Disability Act (2001) to develop accessibility plans. The development of the plan required schools to undertake an audit focussing on three aspects:

(i.) Developing participation in the curriculum for students with disabilities (ii.) Developing physical access to the site and buildings

(iii.) Improving access to information for parents and pupils with disabilities

Any current accessibility plans will be revised in light of the requirements of the Disability  Equality Duty 2005.

The Disability Equality Duty 2010

The Disability Equality Duty includes two main elements:

i) a general duty  

ii) a specific duty.

Both apply to all publicly-funded schools including Academies. Responsibility for the duty lies with the Academies Trust.

The General Duty

The Academy, when carrying out its functions, will have due regard to the need to;

i) promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people ii) eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under the Disability Discrimination Act iii) eliminate harassment of disabled people that is related to their disability iv) promote positive attitudes towards disabled people  

v) encourage participation by disabled people in public life

vi) take steps to meet disabled people’s needs, even if this requires more favourable  treatment.

The duty will apply across the academy’s duties to;  

i) disabled students

ii) disabled staff;

iii) disabled parents and carers and other users of the school.

The Specific Duty

In addition to the general duty, certain public authorities, including all publicly-funded schools have a specific duty requiring  them to demonstrate how they are meeting the general duty. In effect the general duty sets out what the academy is going to do and the specific duty sets out how the academy is going to do it and what will be recorded as evidence of what has been done.

The Disability Equality Scheme

Under the requirements of the specific duty the academy will;

i) prepare and publish a disability equality scheme  

ii) involve disabled people in the development of a scheme

iii) implement the scheme

iv) report on it.

The purpose of the scheme is to demonstrate how the academy is going to meet the  disability equality duty. However, the academy is not required to do anything under its scheme that is unreasonable or impracticable.

Schools and Academies are required to undertake the development of their scheme in a  particular way and to include particular elements. In line with this requirement the academy  will;

i) involve people with disabilities (students, staff, parents) in the preparation of the  scheme

ii) set out in the scheme how people with disabilities have been involved in its  preparation

iii) set out the arrangements for gathering information on the effect of the school’s  policies on the recruitment, development and retention of disabled employees

iv) list the educational opportunities available to and the achievements of disabled  students

v) show the academy’s methods for assessing the impact of its current or proposed  policies and practices on disability equality

vi) list the steps the school is going to take to meet the general duty (the academy’s  action plan)

vii) show the arrangements for using information to support the review of the action plan and to inform subsequent schemes

The academy will implement the actions in the scheme within three years and report on the  progress annually.

The academy will review and revise the scheme every three years.

Our Inclusive Approach

The academy will strive to meet the needs of all individual students, staff, parents and carers and other site users by ensuring they have access to appropriate facilities, support and  learning resources including staff. The academy will achieve equality of opportunity by  ensuring the following:

(i.) Provision for students with special educational needs and disabilities will be an integral part of the equal opportunities policy

(ii.) The academy will ensure that building programmes will comply with legislation and ensure new buildings are accessible and meet the varying requirements of those with disabilities; students, parents/carers, staff and members of the wider community

(iii.) The academy will continue to liaise with external organisations to promote inclusive learning and access to learning opportunities

(iv.) The academy will ensure that staffing levels are appropriate to individual students’ needs

(v.) Promotional and publicity material will reflect the positive image that the academy is  accessible to all irrespective of their learning difficulties or disabilities

(vi.) The academy admissions procedure will give potential students and/or parents/carers  the opportunity to register a learning difficulty and/or disability in order that the  academy can make appropriate arrangements to meet the individual need

(vii.) The admission procedure will ensure that the student will be provided the most  appropriate learning or behaviour programme to meet the individual's need and will  receive initial assessment as appropriate

(viii.) The academy will ensure that Health and Safety legislation is taken into account and  special measures are taken so as not to compromise the health and safety of students, parents/carers, staff and members of the wider community with a learning difficulty and/or disability.

(ix.) The academy will continue to raise the awareness of all staff of the equal  opportunities policy and managing diversity and adaptations in the classroom

(x.) The academy will provide specialist support and training for staff involved in teaching students with special educational needs and/or disabilities

The academy will arrange specialist support depending on the individual’s need; this will be  initiated after discussing requirements with the individual, in the case of a student also with their parents/carers. For students, support can be altered according to any changes in their level of need and will be agreed in their support plan.

Examples of additional support may include, but is not restricted to;

(i.) Communication e.g. using a sign language interpreter or Braille

(ii.) Note taking for the student

(iii.) Equipment and technology, including sound-field systems or similar and vibrating  alarms

(iv.) Large PC screens and specialist software

(v.) Additional time to complete coursework

(vi.) A personalised approach to learning

The academy recognises that to provide the best possible support it will require specialist guidance so will liaise closely with Social Services, Educational  Psychologists, the Local Authority, Unions and other support agencies.

The academy will enable all students to sit examinations that are appropriate to their curriculum and will, with discussion, provide any reasonable specialist support required to do so. Notification to examination boards will be required, so advanced application is essential. This is both the duty of the academy to provide and the student and parents/carers to request.

Examination boards permit special arrangements for clearly defined reasons. These include:

(i.) Physical disability

(ii.) Visual impairment

(iii.) Hearing impairment

(iv.) Specific learning difficulties

(v.) Mental health difficulties

Special arrangements such as extra time and for those students with a temporary  impairment can be made at the time of the examination.

The academy and governors will review its disability statement and scheme each year. Any recommendations after the review will be implemented during the following year.

The academy welcomes positive comments to enable it to provide the best possible experience for all its students, parents, staff and members of the wider community.  

If you have a comment or wish to register a concern you should contact our SENDCo, Megan Slater, in the first instance.

If you wish to make a complaint about a matter related to a disability or difficulty you should  use the academy’s complaints and appeals procedure and your complaint will be dealt with  accordingly.

Details of the Complaints Procedure can be found here: Co-op Academies Trust - Complaints Policy (2023)

A copy of our complaints procedure is also available from the academy’s main office located at reception.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Review

The Governing Body will review this policy at least every two years and assess its  implementation and effectiveness. The policy will be promoted and implemented throughout  the academy.