Moorfield Primary School is an inclusive school where all members of the school community are of equal worth and each has the opportunity to be the best that they can be. Moorfield has high ambitions for all its pupils and expects them to participate and achieve in every aspect of school life. Under the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful for a school to discriminate against a pupil or prospective pupil by treating them less favourably because of their age, disability, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation, colour, race, ethnic or national origin, disability or religious beliefs. Our commitment to equal opportunities is an important aspect of our overall commitment to be a fully inclusive school.
This plan identifies how the school meets the needs of pupils with disabilities in response to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice 2014: 0 to 25 years.
Definitions of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
‘A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.
A child of compulsory school age or a young person has 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 or
- has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or colleges.’
(SEND code of Practice 2014)
‘Many children and young people who have SEN may have a disability under the Equality Act 2010- that is’… ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.
The definition provides a relatively low threshold and includes more children than many realise: ’long-term’ is defined as ‘a year or more’ and ‘substantial is defined as ‘more than minor or trivial’.
This definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight and hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and cancer. Children and young people with such conditions do not necessarily have SEN, but there is a significant overlap between disabled children and young people and those with SEN. Where a disabled child or young person requires special educational provision they will also be covered by the SEN definition.’ (SEND code of Practice 2014)
The Equality Act 2010
‘The Equality Act 2010 sets out the legal obligations that schools, early years providers, post-16 institutions, local authorities have towards disabled children and young people:
- They must not directly or indirectly discriminate against, harass or victimise disabled children and young people.
- They must make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services, to ensure that disabled children and young people are not at a substantial disadvantage compared with their peers. This duty is anticipatory- it requires thought to be given in advance to what disabled children and young people might require and what adjustments might need to be made to prevent that disadvantage.
- Public bodies, including FE institutions, LA, maintained schools, maintained nursery schools, academies and free schools are covered by the public sector equality duty and when carrying out their functions must have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and foster good relations between disabled and non-disabled children and young people. They must publish information to demonstrate their compliance with this general duty and must prepare and publish objectives to achieve the core aims of the general duty. Objectives must be specific and measureable.’ (SEND code of Practice 2014)
The duties cover discrimination in the provision of services and the provision of education, including admissions and exclusions. (SEND code of Practice 2014)
The Accessibility Plan should be read in conjunction with-
- The LA admissions policy.
- The School Prospectus.
- The Equality Policy.
- The Behaviours for Learning Policy.
- The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities policy.
- The SEND information report.
All policies will be checked to ensure that they do not, unintentionally, treat pupils with disabilities less favourably.
The Accessibility Plan
All providers must make reasonable adjustments to procedures, criteria and practices and by the provision of auxiliary aids and services. Most providers must also make reasonable adjustments by making physical alterations. Schools and LA education functions are not covered by this last duty but they must publish accessibility plans’….’setting out how they plan to increase access for disabled pupils to the curriculum, the physical environment and to information.’ (SEND code of Practice 2014)
‘Where a child or young person is covered by SEN and disability legislation, reasonable adjustments and access arrangements should be considered as part of SEN planning and review.’
(SEND code of Practice 2014).
The full range of needs and required support for all pupils identified as SEND Support or with an EHCP will be reviewed on a termly basis. The discussions will involve staff, parents and children plus outside agencies, as necessary.
Accessibility planning
This document outlines our accessibility planning for pupils with physical disabilities. These are the same duties as previously existed under the Disability Discrimination Act and have been replicated in the Equality Act 2010. Our accessibility plan aims to:
- Curriculum Access - Increase the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the curriculum;
- Physical Access - Improve the physical environment of schools to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided; and
- Information Access - Improve the availability of accessible information to disabled pupils.
This plan should be considered alongside the Single Equality Policy.
Moorfield Primary School is committed to:
1. Curriculum Access
Increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the curriculum
Overview
The curriculum covers teaching and learning and wider provision embracing after school clubs; leisure, sporting and cultural activities; and educational visits/school trips. Planning for improved access to the curriculum includes consideration of school and classroom organisation and support, timetabling, curriculum options, deployment of staff and staff information and training. There is mutual support and understanding between colleagues when working with pupils with challenging disabilities and training takes place (often annually) in SEND, Restorative approaches, Team Teach, Medical Needs such as: asthma, diabetes, epilepsy as well a high number of trained first aiders.
Curriculum audits support the school to review patterns of achievement and participation by pupils with disabilities, in different areas of the curriculum, e.g. the inclusion of children with a physical disability in PE, and then to identify action to increase participation.
Specific Actions
- Obtaining data on future pupil population to facilitate advanced planning. This includes liaison with the Local Authority (LA) SEND team.
- Liaising with external service and agencies regarding individual pupils (physical, sensory, learning, behaviour).
- Using specialist staff to support learning and to give pastoral and inclusion support.
- Organising Teaching Assistant (TA) deployment to cover a mix of curriculum and learning needs.
- Ensuring that where appropriate, pupils have access to national and internal assessments facilitated by provision of extra time, readers etc.
- Provision of a bank of disability specific, specialist resources, available to support individual pupil needs.
- Setting clear learning questions that are appropriately differentiated for individual pupils.
- Ensuring that parents/carers and pupils are included in the target setting process.
- Using the Stockport Standardisation Tracker as well as the engagement model where appropriate to measure progress and achievement of individual pupils, and to facilitate the setting of individualised targets with an element of challenge.
- Encouraging the use of clear, well-presented visual aids to the support learning of all pupils.
- Taking full advantage of the opportunities available outside school to provide educational visits that are accessible to all pupils.
- Developing outdoor learning and areas around school to further enhance and develop learning.
- Using a range of teaching methods and styles to facilitate access for all pupils: for example, appropriate use of language, high level questioning techniques, collaborative learning, ‘mind-friendly’ learning strategies.
- Targeted interventions to support emotional well-being for example, counselling service, emotional literacy, therapeutic play, pastoral support and intervention.
2. Physical Access
Improving the physical environment of schools
Overview
This strand of the planning duty covers improvements to the physical environment of the school and physical aids to access education. The physical environment includes steps, stairways, kerbs, exterior surfaces and paving, parking areas, building entrances and exits (including emergency escape routes), internal and external doors, gates, toilets and washing facilities, lighting, heating, ventilation, floor coverings, signs, interior surfaces, room decor and furniture. Improvements to physical access include ramps, handrails, widened doorways, electromagnetic doors, adapted toilets and washing facilities, adjustable lighting and blinds. The provision of ‘quiet’ areas and improvements to the physical safety of the environment, indoors and outdoors, may also enhance access for children with learning disabilities. Improved access in existing buildings can often be achieved by rearranging room space, removing obstructions from walkways, changing the layout of classrooms, providing designated storage space or reallocating rooms to particular subject specialisms.
Physical aids to access education includes ICT equipment, tables, chairs, writing equipment through enlarged computer screens and keyboards, photocopying enlargement facilities, specialist desks and chairs and portable aids for children with motor co-ordination and poor hand/eye skills such as specialist pens and pencils.
Specific Actions
- The school building is fully accessible for pupils with physical difficulties
- Kaleidoscope building opened January 2011 was built to be fully DDA compliant
- Wheelchair access to all buildings that are used day-to-day.
- 2 disabled car park spaces by the ramped entrance to the front door of the School.
- 4 drop off car-parking spaces
- Disabled toilet facilities available in the Kaleidoscope building, with wheelchair access.
- Adapted/specialised furniture provided to meet individual needs.
- Spaces for small group work and individualised work for targeted learners.
- The outdoor learning environment enhances pupil’s health and well-being.
- Communal spaces are ‘clutter-free’ to facilitate easy movement around the buildings.
3. Information Access
Improving the availability of accessible information to disabled pupils
Overview
This part of the duty covers planning to make written information normally provided by the school to its pupils – such as handouts, timetables, information about school events. This might include alternative formats such as large print, the use of ICT and the provision of information orally, through speaking or in sign language. We aim to consider how all information normally provided in a written format including work sheets, timetables, school examination papers, newsletters, information about school events, trips and extracurricular provision can be made accessible to all those with a disability.
Specific Actions
- Visual timetables and information supported by signs/symbols for targeted pupils.
- Home-school books for targeted children to ensure effective communication.
- Provision of verbal or large print information for specific pupils.
- School website with access to policies and information for parents and the school community
- Text messaging to parents.
- Access to appropriate apps and ICT
There is a culture of understanding and tolerance so that all ability groups and all disabilities are accepted as part of our school community.
Specific anticipatory activities aimed to increase accessibility for pupils with SEND in:
-
Curriculum
-
Physical Environment
-
Information
| Objectives | Tasks | Resources | Lead | Monitor |
|
To ensure that all staff have a clear understanding of key SEND documents:
|
Training provided by the Inclusion Lead in INSET and through regular PDF meetings. Inclusion Lead to attend termly LA SEND network meetings |
INSET & Staff meeting time
|
GS |
Head teacher report to Governors |
| To ensure all staff are trained to support pupils with additional needs. | Training for all new members of staff. Updates and rolling programme of training for all staff. | Professional Development Time | GS | As above. |
|
To ensure staff are trained to support pupils with medical conditions and medical needs
|
Update staff training where appropriate in:
and as required with other specific conditions. Annual generic medical needs training from school nurse Update Medical Conditions policy annually |
Staff meetings and INSET for all staff |
GS/GG
|
Headteacher report to Governors |
|
To improve accessibility for pupils with dyslexia |
Purchase a range of acetate coloured slides, tinted paper and arrange of writing tools. |
£100 (annual) |
GS/GG |
SEND Action plan |
|
To ensure that planning for the new school build building supports pupils with additional needs
|
When decorating and carpet colours are chosen the need for clear contrasts will be addressed. Appropriate spaces for intervention identified and included |
Consideration at planning meeting and architectural drawing stage |
PA/TL |
Resources committee |
|
Development of Outdoor Learning within Moorfield |
To further develop Outdoor Learning within Moorfield |
See Vision for 2025 |
Subject Leaders |
Headteacher report to Governors |
|
Emotional and academic well-being through a range of intervention and provision |
Introduce a range of provision using PPG funding:
This will support removing barriers and build strength and resilience within cohorts of identified learners |
Catch up premium
£5000
|
SLT
PSHE Lead
Well-being team
|
Headteacher report to Governors |
|
To ensure that staff are trained to support pupils with emotional needs.
|
Staff are trained by Stockport Inclusion Service in ‘TEAM Teach – Care and Control’. All the staff are trained every 2 years in TEAMTeach |
2024/25 academic year
|
GS
|
GS
|
The performance of individuals continues to be monitored on a termly basis through progress meetings with the SLT. The performance of groups, including those with SEND, takes place on a termly and annual basis through SEND/EHCP review meetings with Inclusion Lead and class teacher.
The Head teacher maintains details any reported incidents of discrimination, including disability discrimination, and the subsequent action that has been carried out by the staff. This is recorded on CPOMS. All such incidents will be included in the termly report to governors.
Adopted by the Governing Body Spring 2024
