Rationale
Hope is an integrated service which combines both Surrey County Council and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Policies and Procedures. As issues arise the response process to be followed will be that of the most appropriate organisation. The Service Manager for Hope is to be contacted in the first instance and will direct the query to ensure the appropriate application of Policies and Procedures of each organisation.
Legislation and guidance
This document meets the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 and the Department for Education (DfE) guidance for schools on the Equality Act 2010.
The Equality Act 2010 defines an individual as disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a 'substantial' and 'long-term' adverse effect on their ability to undertake normal day to day activities.
Under the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice, 'long-term' is defined as 'a year or more' and 'substantial' is defined as 'more than minor or trivial'. The definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight or hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and cancer.
Schools are required to make 'reasonable adjustments' for pupils with disabilities under the Equality Act 2010, to alleviate any substantial disadvantage that a disabled pupil faces in comparison with non-disabled pupils. This can include, for example, the provision of an auxiliary aid or adjustments to premises.
Schools are required, under the Equality Act 2010, to have an accessibility plan. The purpose of the plan is to:
- Increase the extent to which disabled young people can participate in the curriculum
- Improve the physical environment to enable disabled young people to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided
- Improve the availability of accessible information to disabled young people
Aims
The Hope Service aims to treat all its young people fairly and with respect. It is committed to providing a fully accessible environment and provision which values and includes all young people, staff, parents and carers, and visitors. As part of this provision all staff will challenge negative attitudes towards disability and accessibility and work together to develop a culture of awareness, tolerance and inclusion. This involves providing access and opportunities for all young people without discrimination of any kind.
Reviewing and monitoring
The Accessibility Plan will be reviewed every three years, but may be reviewed and updated more frequently if necessary.
Links with other policies
This accessibility plan is linked to the following Hope policies and documents:
- Health and Safety Policy
- Equality and Diversity Policy
- SEND Policy and SEND 14 Questions
- Supporting Young People with Medical Conditions Policy.
1. Increasing the extent to which disabled young people can participate in the curriculum
| Key actions | Staff | Timescales | Success criteria | Completion/comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ensure the day programme curriculum meets the needs of all the young people. | Teacher in Charge (TiC) | January 2022 onwards | Curriculum policy captures the Intent of the day programme and ensures the delivery of the key strands and skills to positively impact on all the young people in the day programme. |
|
| Ensure each young person has a personalised offer in the day programme. | All | Ongoing | Young people with SEND can fully access the day programme. | Each young person has an individual timetable but need to develop more bespoke offer to fully match all individual needs. |
| Ensure lesson resources are personalised to match the needs of each learner. | Teachers | Ongoing | Young people with SEND can access the education curriculum and make sustained progress. | All SEND information for the young people in the day programme is shared with teachers to ensure lessons are personalised. |
| Off site activities planned to ensure accessibility and participation of all young people. | Kerry Coyle, Zarina Vakil | Ongoing | Fully inclusive off site provision. | All activities fully inclusive for all young people in day programme and are adapted if required. |
Staff training to address the individual needs that impact on the young people in the day programme. These may include:
| All | Ongoing | Staff more able to meet the day programme curriculum needs of each young person. All young people with a disability make sustained progress. |
|
| Ensuring appropriate exam concessions are in place where relevant. | Juliet Roberts (JR), Maureen Payne (MP), TiC | Ongoing | TiC, MP and JR ensure that any young people who take exams at Hope receive exam concessions where needed and are not disadvantaged. | TiC, MP and JR liaise with substantive education placements to ensure concessions are applied for where applicable. |
2. Improving the physical environment to enable disabled young people to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided
| Key actions | Staff | Timescale | Success Criteria | Completion/Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The environment to be adapted to the needs of any young people, staff and parents and carers as required. | Coordinators, Team Managers, Administration staff | Ongoing | Young people have full access to the physical environment. Access plans for individuals where required. Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan for any young person who requires one. | Audit of accessibility to be completed on each site and actions identified and put in place by July 2022. |
| Accessible car parking. | Team Managers | May 2022 | Disabled parking available on both sites near to the entrances. | To investigate disabled parking at Epsom and ensure a parking area can be reserved on both sites for disabled visitors. |
| Ensure emergency exits can be accessed by all. | Team Managers | March 2022 | Any disabled personnel can safely access emergency exits on both sites. | Audit of all emergency exits on both sites to ensure they are compliant for disabled personnel. |
3. Improving the availability of accessible information to disabled young people
| Key action | Staff | Timescales | Success criteria | Completion/comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Understand the needs of each young person and ensure that information is available to them in a relevant and accessible format. For example:
| Coordinators, Key workers, Teachers | Ongoing. As and when needs arise. | All young people can access curriculum and Hope service information in a format that meets their needs. | All Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) information for each young person is disseminated to all staff with specific actions identified. |
| Hope service is aware of services available through Surrey County Council to convert written information into alternative formats and how to access interpretersand signers when there is an identified need. | Managers, TiC | Ongoing | All young people can access curriculum and Hope Service information in a format that meets their needs. | Does not apply |
Policy Reviewed: January 2022
Next Review date: January 2025
Key Person: J Roberts