Valley School Accessibility Policy
Introduction
Valley School is a primary special school with a specialist early years provision. We cater for pupils with learning difficulties along with associated physical, medical and sensory needs. We also cater for pupils who have social and communication needs. This plan identifies
- how the school meets the needs of children in response to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice 2014
- how it take into account and respond to the Equality Act 2010
Valley School’s Accessibility Plan relates to the key aspects of physical environment, curriculum and written information.
Special Educational Needs
A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or a disability if he or she
- Has significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age
- Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her making use of facilities that are provided for children of the same age
Our children in school have an Education, Health and Care Plan. Some of our nursery children will have their needs assessed to see if they may require an EHC plan.
Access to the physical environment
Valley school is fully accessible for all people including those who use wheelchairs. It has
- Overhead tracking
- Fully accessible toilets and changing areas
- Low distraction environments and spaces for small group work
- ‘Haven’ and ‘Blue Room’ for children to de-escalate
- Specialist sensory room
- Hydrotherapy pool
- Dropped kerbs
- Safe and secure outside area
Access to the school curriculum
The school strives to provide a caring environment according equal value to each individual regardless of ability or background. Within this framework, it aims to create opportunities for the intellectual, personal and social development of all students. This is so they may realise their full potential experience success and become responsible and fulfilled members of the school, of the Community and of the rapidly changing society around them.
Our curriculum at Valley has evolved over many years based on our collective experience of working with unique children with a diverse range of needs. It is tried and tested but continues to be modified to meet the changing needs of the children.
Staff are skilled and trained in delivering a wide variety of teaching approaches and to implement therapy programmes. Access to information /Communication with parents / carers
Valley School is committed to open and honest communication with families. This is achieved by:
- Home-school diaries
- Regular parent meeting including annual reviews, parents evenings and school events
- Individualised communication e.g. texting and emails, use of interpreters
- School website and prospectus
Access to specialist support on site
Valley School provides a base for a range of professionals who offer advice, guidance and support in meeting pupil’s needs. These agencies include:
- A full time school nurse
- Speech and Language Therapy Service
- Physiotherapy Service
- Occupational Therapy Service
There is regular input into the school from:
- Sensory Support Service
- Educational Psychology Service
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
- Children’s Community Learning Disability Team
- Paediatric Consultant clinics are hosted in school
Some children at Valley School have been identified as requiring 1:1 health care support. This is provided by Continuing Care
The following school policies outline how the school addresses and continues to review and improve the school curriculum. These include
- The aims of the school
- The School Offer
- Curriculum statement
- Teaching and Learning Policy
- SEN policy
- Behaviour Policy
- Disability Equality Scheme
This policy will be monitored by the Governing Body and published on the school website.
The School Improvement Plan is the main document which drives our practice forward and is central to the delivery of the School Accessibility Plan.
The key actions to increase accessibility for pupils to the curriculum, the physical environment and to information are:
|
Objectives |
Actions to achieve objective |
Responsibility |
Success criteria |
|
To improve curriculum access for the changing cohort of pupils |
Individual provision maps Specialist teaching input (IT and music) Further develop resources to support communication (AAC and ICT) Increase off-site visits including PE Increase experience of live music and drama Embed SPELL |
Whole staff team |
Raise pupil achievement in core areas of the curriculum Enhance life experiences |
|
To improve the physical environment |
Re-build of the hydrotherapy pool Plan to develop Sensory Integration facilities Refurbishment/re-location of soft play/ball pool Re-furbish the wheelchair swings Improve the quality of play opportunities for children in Key Stage 1 playground Maintain and develop resources for all pupil groups e.g. sensory trail for VI children, low distraction working spaces for ASD children |
Senior Leadership Team with support of individual staff members |
Raise achievement for pupils Improved safety for all involved Attractive and suitable environment maintained/improved Increase personal and social learning opportunities for children throughout the school day |
|
To improve communication a. Access for children to a Total Communication Environment b. for parents/carers
|
Communication champions in each class to promote Total Communication Multi-disciplinary communication working party to re-write speaking and listening scheme of work Communication working group – staff, governors and parents Introduce new format to annual review reflecting the Education, Health and Care plans Develop school website |
Whole school team |
Effective communication within school and with all stakeholders
New opportunities to increase our children’s views/voice Increase access to key school documents and information |
|
To ensure that staff are trained to meet the full range of pupils’ needs |
Full training for new staff. Annual/bi-annual up-date training for existing staff – Medical conditions – Team Teach – Manual Handling Plus specialist training linked to individual need Comprehensive Inset programme for all staff linked to SIP and appraisal targets |
Headteacher and multi-disciplinary team |
Staff are trained and competent Staff are proactive in self-identifying training needs |
