Gladestry Church-in-Wales
Primary School’s
Accessibility Plan
For the four year period
2016 - 2020
1.0
Introduction
This plan sets out the proposals of the Governing Body of the school to increase access to education
for disabled pupils in the three areas required by the planning duties in the Disability Discrimination
Act (DDA):
 Increasing access to the curriculum for disabled pupils
 Making improvements to the physical environment of the school to increase access to
education and associated services
 Making written information accessible in a range of different ways for disabled pupils
where it is provided in writing for non-disabled pupils
This plan takes account of the local authority’s Disability Equality Scheme, the Equalities Strategy
and the Community Strategy.
It takes account of the fact that the Powys Children and Young People’s Partnership has developed a
single Children and Young People’s Plan.
2.0
Our starting point
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The vision, values and ethos of our school.
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The vision for our access plan.
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The ambition we have for all pupils.
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Our aim to remove barriers to enable access to all aspects of school life.
3.0
Our approach to developing our plan
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We recognise that the duties within the plan need to be known and understood by all staff.
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We have involved all staff in contributing to and or commenting on the plan.
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We aim to ensure the plan is owned by all adults within the school.
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We have set out to be explicit about what the duties under the DDA mean in this school.
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We recognise that every member of staff has a duty to remove barriers to learning for
disabled pupils.
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We will involve disabled pupils and their parents and carers in the development,
implementation and review of this plan.
The priorities of our vision
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Gladestry Church-in-Wales Primary School aims to be a completely inclusive school where
we value the individuality of every pupil, irrespective of ability.
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We seek to remove any barriers to full participation in every aspect of school life for all our
pupils.
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We are also aware of the need to address any problem due to any type of disability
experienced by parents, carers and members of the community whom we always welcome
into school.
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4.0
The school’s focus is upon current and future pupils with a disability
Currently the school has no pupil with a physical disability.
There are no parents or carers registered as disabled.
We are not aware of any prospective pupils, parents or carers with a disability who are likely to join
the school within the next three years, although we recognise that the transfer of pupils is a frequent
occurrence and therefore there could at any time be a requirement to respond quickly to new needs
and requirements.
5.0
Our current strengths and needs as a school in working with disabled pupils
The size of the school means we are very adaptable and can respond to the arrival of new pupils with
specific needs, simple adaptations to the building could be undertaken easily if adequate notice is
provided. Should any major alterations to the building be needed it would become necessary to seek
external sources of income.
Depending upon the particular disabilities of any future pupil there is a possibility that staff might
need specialist training.
6.0
How our school’s organisation impacts upon disabled pupils for example in terms of
our policies, procedures and practices.
None of our policies, procedures or practices disadvantage or in anyway limit the full participation of
any of our pupils. With the arrival of additional pupils with disabilities the Governing Body will review
its policies, procedures or practices to ensure that this remains true.
7.0
The outcomes for disabled pupils in our school
Gladestry Church-in-Wales Primary School aims to be a completely inclusive school where we value
the individuality of every pupil and seek to ensure their full participation in every aspect of school life
irrespective of ability. With particular regard to those with a disability we seek to remove any barriers
to full participation in whatever form they exist.
8.0
Our priorities for improving the information and data to support the Access Plan
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To be informed by cluster consultation.
9.0
The views of those consulted in the development of our plan
Our plan is informed by the views and aspirations of the few disabled people in the wider community,
voluntary organisations and the priorities of the Local Authority.
10.0
Our main priorities in our Access Plan
10.1
Increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in our school curriculum
We aim to pool our learning with our partner schools in order to be able to make greater gains and
impact than if had we acted alone.
As and when the need arises we will draw upon a range of external partners to assist us in our
approach namely:  LA officers
o Advisers
o Educational psychologists
o Education Welfare Officers
o Additional Learning Needs (ALN) officers
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 Teachers with experience / specialism in:
o Autism
o Dyslexia
o Speech, language and communication
o Hearing impairment
o Visual impairment
 Colleagues from health including
o Speech and language therapists
o Occupational therapists
o Physiotherapists
o Community Paediatricians
We recognise that disabled pupils have the right to access activities outside the formal taught
curriculum including:
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Recreation times
Movement around the school
Special events
Extra curricular activity
School trips
10.2
Our priorities for increasing curriculum access are:
At present all our pupils are able to access the full range of curricula activities on offer.
10.3
Improving the physical environment of the school to increase disabled pupils
opportunities to take advantage of education and associated services
We appreciate that we will achieve some improvements as we maintain the fabric of our school and
upgrade our facilities e.g. contrasting door handles fitted to new front door, new IT facilities.
We recognise that the physical environment of our school impacts differently upon different groups of
disabled pupils. We have set out to prioritise our approach to reflect the needs of our current and
future pupils.
We can make low key adaptations from our own delegated budget, but for major improvements we
would require funding from the Authority’s Disability Access resources via the People and Well-being
Senior Health and Safety Adviser or equivalent.
10.4
Improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information that is provided in writing for
pupils who are not disabled
We recognise that a standard print format may not always be accessible to all of our pupils and we
appreciate the need to use the best medium possible to ensure our pupils can gain equal access to
key information such as:
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Handouts
Timetables
Worksheets
Notices
Information about events
We aim to provide information in accessible formats e.g.
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Providing simplified language versions for pupils with learning difficulties.
Offering picture/symbol systems for pupils with language and communication difficulties.
Using large print formats for pupils who experience difficulties with standard prints.
Providing audio taped instructions for some pupils.
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We appreciate that some pupils require specialised formats e.g. Braille. Where this is the case we
will link closely with the Powys’ Sensory Impaired Service to secure this format.
11.0
Turning our plan into practice
Our management, co-ordination and implementation process
The governing body takes responsibility for the school Access Plan and sets a clear direction for it.
We will monitor the progress of our plan and review and revise it every four years or sooner in the
event of the admission of a disabled pupil.
We will ensure that disabled pupils, their parents and carers, the staff, visiting professionals, and
those from the voluntary sector can contribute to our review.
In terms of the evaluation of our plan and its impact we will invite colleagues from the local authority’s
School Improvement and Pupil Inclusion Teams to support us in the evaluation of our plan and play
the role of critical friend, with objective feedback.
We will expressly draw upon the views of the key stakeholders in our plan and we will link this with
our school performance data.
Clearly the Access Plan does not stand alone, it is inextricably linked with our wider planning
processes, namely our:
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School Improvement Plan
Equal Opportunities policy
CPD plan (Staff Development Plan)
Health and Safety policy
We recognise the need to ensure our plan takes account of the work of other services particularly
Health.
In terms of the detailed implementation of our plan we have set this out in a planning format on the
next page.
Making our plan available
Our plan is available to anyone on request and the plan is published on the school’s website. We will
readily offer the plan in other formats should anyone so request it. In striving to make our plan
accessible we have tried to use plain language that is jargon free.
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Current targets will be mobilised as soon as the need arises.
Targets
Strategies
Outcomes
1) Whenever any alterations are made to the building, whether
internal or external, accessibility for potential disabled pupils
will be taken into account. This includes: steps, stairways,
kerbs, exterior surfaces & paving, entrances & exits, doors,
gates, toilets & washing facilities, lighting, heating,
ventilation, floor coverings, signs, interior surfaces, room
décor & furniture.
The school will consult representatives from
local disabled groups or organizations, and/or
consult the LA before making any alterations to
the fabric of the building and its surroundings.
The Governing Body will take account of
accessibility in all purchasing decisions.
Gradual improvement of all the
school’s facilities, to achieve
maximum accessibility over time.
2) Availability of written material in alternative formats.
The school will find out about the services
available through Powys LA for converting
written information into alternative formats.
If needed, the school will be able to
provide information in alternative
formats.
3) Increase disability awareness in pupils, staff and governors.
Plan whole school assemblies to explore
disability & access; invite representatives from
local disability groups to come and take
workshops in school.
The whole school will become more
aware of issues affecting disabled
people, as individuals and as a
community.
4) Improve school entrances to enhance accessibility for
wheelchair users.
Seek advice from LA & other specialists on
improving doorways and gateways into the
school for potential pupils. Identify sources of
funding to implement such improvements.
Wheelchair users will be able to
access the school.
5) Research the possibility of constructing an external ramp
allowing wheelchair access to the upper level of the
building. Whilst not a perfect solution it would allow
wheelchair access to both levels.
Seek advice from LA & other specialists on
possibilities of constructing such a ramp. Identify
sources of funding to implement such
improvements
Both levels of the school will be
accessible from outside but not from
each other.
6) Research ways of connecting the two levels of the building
internally to enable wheelchair access throughout the
school.
Seek advice from LA & other specialists on
possibilities to improve access within the school
building for potential pupils. Identify sources of
funding to implement such improvements.
Both levels of the school will become
fully wheelchair accessible without the
need to go outside.
7) Explore the possibilities of making the existing “staff” toilet
wheelchair accessible.
Seek advice from LA and others.
All essential areas within the school
would become accessible assuming
either 5 or 6 above is accomplished.