Barnardiston Hall Disability Equality Scheme – Accessibility Plan
Barnardiston Hall Disability Equality Scheme – Accessibility Plan
Background
Barnardiston Hall aims to identify and remove barriers to disabled pupils in every area of School life and will ensure that children feel welcome irrespective of race, colour, creed or impairment.
Whilst Barnardiston Hall does not currently have any children with a physical disability on its Register, planning for short, medium and long-term is in place to cover any areas where it is foreseen there may be a shortfall in requirements.
The definition of ‘disability’ within this document includes:
$1· Physical impairment (including sensory impairments)
$1· Mental impairment (including hidden impairments such as dyslexia, autism, speech and language impairments, ADHD) but only where these are likely to affect the person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
$1· Those with cancer, multiple sclerosis or severe disfigurement.
Barnardiston Hall is ready and able to adapt and will ensure that any child who becomes a pupil at the School is supported not only by an enthusiastic and supportive staff, but also with as many aids as are deemed necessary to make the life of both pupils and staff easier in an educational setting.
Recruitment, development and retention of disabled employees
Barnardiston Hall recognises that disabled staff may have much to contribute to the School and will not discriminate towards applicants in any way. However, the safety of the individual must always be of paramount importance and this must be carefully considered.
Barnardiston Hall will develop a policy of interviewing all disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirement for a job.
Upon recruitment, employees are required to complete a confidential Medical Questionnaire. This is seen only by qualified medical staff who will make a decision as to whether or not an applicant is able to fulfill the physical requirements of the position. Applicants receive a letter explaining that information in the Medical Questionnaire will be treated confidentially and will be signed and sealed by the Medical Officer prior to being kept on file in a secure container. If it is determined that the applicant will require additional help to enable them to carry out their role effect
All staff will have an annual appraisal. They are also encouraged to speak to the Headmaster at any time should they feel that adjustments could be made to their working conditions which will benefit them.
Upon leaving Barnardiston Hall, all staff will have an ‘Exit Interview’ at which time the Headmaster will ascertain whether there have been any adverse conditions which have contributed to the staff member terminating their employment with the School.
Impact Assessment
Barnardiston Hall will review its policies on a regular basis and immediately upon registration of a student, parents / carers or others associated with the pupil, with any type of disability. It is hoped that, by performing this exercise, all policies for the School will remain current and effective.
Main Priorities
Promoting Equality of
The School will examine all information given to students to ensure that it encompasses anything helpful gathered from current disabled students at the School. The School will also speak to parents / carers and teachers to ascertain whether there is anything that can be done to make their involvement with the School easier.
Eliminating Discrimination
Staff will keep a close watch on the impact of all policies and will work to raise expectations of all disabled students.
Eliminating Harassment
The staff will work towards raising awareness amongst pupils, parents and carers of disability-related harassment. This will be done both in written policies and in regular PHSE lessons. Any harassment will be immediately addressed.
Promoting Positive Attitudes.
Staff will treat all pupils with respect, regardless of disability. The School also expects behaviour of the highest standard of all its pupils towards one-another (‘treat others as you wish to be treated yourself’).
The School will use positive disabled role models to highlight achievements. This has already been done in the case of an epileptic child meeting and working with an epileptic member of staff who has been able to pass on their own experiences in this area in a positive and encouraging manner.
Encouraging Participation in Public Life.
All pupils at Barnardiston Hall are encouraged to take part in public life when they are at a stage in their development where this is appropriate to both themselves and others. Children are frequently taken out on an informal basis by the Headmaster and staff for social outings and are encouraged to enter into conversations with the public and to adhere to formal conventions (opening doors, please and thank you at restaurants etc).
Registration of Disabled Pupils
Prior to accepting a pupil into Barnardiston Hall, a meeting will be held with the parents / carers to ascertain whether or not Barnardiston Hall is the right school for that child. It is important in such a small school that the balance of children is right and that ‘needs’ do not ‘clash’. During this meeting, all special requirements will be carefully noted and no child will be accepted until the School can be sure that every element is in place to guarantee an easy and successful transition of education.
Current Access
Pupils with impaired mobility are able to access the entire ground floor of the School but would be unable to reach first floor level. The Library has moved to a more central area of the School with single-level access from both doors. The possible requirement for a lift has therefore been removed. All corridors are wide enough to allow wheelchair access. Signage throughout the School is a mixture of written and visual (pictures and words) and the fire alarm auditory but staff are tasked with physically clearing the building of personnel. All areas of the School are well lit with low level emergency lighting in place.
Toilet Facilities
Although there are toilet facilities on the ground floor of the Prep School, there are currently no dedicated disabled facilities available.
Transport and access around the School grounds
The School has a professionally converted Chrysler Voyager Wheelchair Carrier which can be used for travel outside the School. There are wide pathways to allow access around the outside of the School and vehicles can be parked immediately outside the Main Entrance to the School.
Furniture and Equipment:
Barnardiston Hall recognises that children of varying disabilities will require different facilities within the School. To ensure that children are able to work in the very best conditions, the Disability Officer at the School and the Headmaster will assess the needs of a child prior to his/her arrival and will ensure, if appropriate, that chairs, tables and desks of a suitable nature are purchased. Advice will be sought from parents / carers and other outside agencies. All pupils have access to computers and adapted keyboards / laptop computers will be available to any students who may require them.
The Curriculum
The staff in the Bridge and the team of LSAs work closely with the teaching staff to ensure that the curriculum is accessible to all students and work is presented to children in a wide variety of formats which can be adapted for disabled students. ICT is widely used to produce written information in differing formats and signs can be printed in a large font. Staff are all familiar with this technology. Overhead projectors are already available and interactive whiteboards have been installed into all classrooms. A successful and recognized teaching programme of ‘Sound Foundations’ will be used for any child with reading difficulties. Pre-Prep children are able to join in with swimming lessons which are held at Haverhill Leisure Centre which complies with all DDA requirements.
Policies
Upon acceptance of a pupil at the School with any type of disability, all School Policies will be re-visited to ensure that they take into consideration the particular requirements of the new pupil.
Staff
The staff in The Bridge at Barnardiston Hall work with children who have special educational needs. Therefore, they are already trained in many aspects of caring for children with requirements that may be considered outside of ‘the norm’. Prior to a disabled child being accepted at the School, the Disability Officer will ensure that staff either have, or will receive, the necessary training required to work with that child. In some instances, this may involve recruiting additional staff with specialist qualifications (Makaton training, Brail reading, sign language etc).
Policy-Making
When a physically disabled student is registered he/she will be asked to join a group comprising of the Headmaster and the Disability Officer to regularly review the facilities in the School. This group will also play an active role in decision-making for the future.
Teachers / Parents / Carers
Whilst this document refers directly to pupils at the School, the same policy will apply to any new teachers, parents or carers who become involved with Barnardiston Hall. Immediately the School is aware of any teacher, parent or carer joining the School who may require special assistance, they will be invited to meet with the School Disability Officer and the Headmaster who will ensure that any additional resources / facilities are put in place as soon as is practically possible.
Reporting
The Disability Officer will report on the Disability Equality Scheme annually to the SMT and will investigate progress that has been made in short, medium and long-term plans. In addition, the effect of work completed will be recorded and future plans will be discussed. Both this document and other policies will be re-visited annually to ensure that they are still current and the entire Scheme will be reviewed and revised as necessary every three years.
Risk Assessments
The Bursar will undertake a full risk assessment of the premises and the child upon acceptance of any pupil with special needs. In addition, current risk assessments will be regularly reviewed with DDA regulations in mind.
|
Objectives and Timeframe |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disability Officer: Mrs L Gundersen ____________________________________
1 September 2013
