Introduction

The Local Authority will:

work with the schools for which it is responsible to ensure they do not disadvantage or discriminate against a disabled child or young person
offer advice to other schools, including academies, on meeting their legal duties
work closely with schools and their governors to agree reasonable adjustments that will allow disabled children and young people full access to school facilities and activities
work together with all settings and other services, such as those in Health, to identify and plan for the needs of disabled children and young people more generally

All maintained schools have been supported to prepare for basic accessibility needs. School governing bodies, in liaison with the Local Authority, have been delegated the responsibility of ensuring school sites are accessible as specified in Schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

Where possible, children and young people with physical and sensory difficulties are educated at their local mainstream school, with maintained schools adapted as necessary to support their inclusion.

Alongside SEND Information Report reviews, Accessibility Plan audits are conducted by the Local Authority on a yearly basis for all mainstream schools in the local area, to ensure adherence to statutory requirements. Additionally, reviews of a range of specific accessibility features are undertaken for each school.

The local area has several specialist provisions for children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This includes special schools and a range of additionally resourced provisions catering for a variety of needs.

Most children with an EHCP can access school or college in a safe manner and do not need any form of travel assistance from the Local Authority. There are some children and young people, however, for whom some form of travel assistance is necessary. This is available to pupils who are assessed as eligible under the relevant policy and these policies have been developed to take account of the relevant Department for Education guidance.

The Local Authority’s accessibility strategy explains how the Local Authority and schools will:

increase access to the curriculum for disabled children and young people
improve the physical environment of schools to increase access for disabled children and young people
make written information more accessible to disabled children and young people by providing it in a range of different ways.