Accessibility
Disability and Discrimination Act
In the majority of cases, the school will be made aware of a child's disability because of arrangements for the assessment of and the provision for special educational needs through the SEN framework. In many cases parents do volunteer information about their child's disability. In the interests of our pupils we remain proactive in seeking out the necessary information and would welcome your support with this matter.
The Discrimination Act says [s 28B (1)] that the responsible body for a school discriminates against a disabled child if:
- for a reason relating to the child's disability, it treats him less favourably than it treats, or would treat, others to whom that reason does not apply, or would not apply; and
- It cannot show that the particular treatment is justified.
The school actively monitors this policy and employs the following strategies to ensure that this does not occur:
Three specific questions to be asked in determining whether unlawful discrimination, in relation to less favourable treatment, has taken place and are used to monitor such situations:
- is the less favourable treatment for a reason that is related to the child's disability?
- is it less favourable treatment than someone gets if the reason does not apply to him/her? And
- is it less favourable treatment that can be justified?
The school does not:
- Discriminate against a disabled pupil by excluding him or her from the school (these duties apply to exclusions whether they are permanent or fixed-term exclusions) or any aspect of the curriculum, for a reason related to the pupil?s disability. This would be less favourable treatment.
The school does:
- Take such steps as it is reasonable to take to ensure that disabled pupils and disabled prospective pupils are not placed at a substantial disadvantage in comparison with those who are not disabled. This is monitored by the school Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) on a termly basis.
However, there may be such circumstances where the school recognises that less favourable treatment may be justified under the Discrimination Act and these would be considered by the relevant body accordingly:
· It can be justified if it is the result of a permitted form of selection.
· Otherwise it can only be justified if there is a reason which is both material to the circumstances of the particular case and substantial.
Existing facilities to assist access to the school by pupils with disabilities
The school endeavors to make reasonable adjustments to the site to ensure that a disabled pupil at Jubilee is not at a substantial disadvantage. The majority of entry and access points to the school have ramps, and some handrails, to allow ambulant and non-ambulant disabled pupils and staff to move freely and safely around the site without restrictions. In addition nursery has an extra wide entrance to allow wheelchair access and a disabled toilet. KS2 has a disabled toilet with an electronic changing mat facility. Any longer term physical alterations that are necessary are covered by the longer term planning duties and the approach taken to increasing the accessibility of our building is strategic and planned over time according to the financial resources made available through the central budget.
Alterations are, and have been made to the site, based on:
- The need to maintain academic, musical, sporting and other standards;
- Sandwell Council health and safety requirements;
- The interests of other pupils and persons who may be admitted to the school as pupils.
The Accessibility Plan (required under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995)
(Covering future policies for increasing access to the school by pupils with disabilities)
The school has a three-year accessibility plan. The accessibility plan covers three distinct areas:
- To the extent that disabled children rely on special educational provision to have their needs met, equal opportunities for disabled children are dependent on the quality of the provision made;
- 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.
A full copy of the Accessibility Plan is available from the School Office and covers the period from 2006-2009. You may also view it by clicking on the attachment at the bottom of this page.
In addition, we ensure that any written information is accessible in a range of different ways for disabled pupils, where it is provided in writing for pupils who are not disabled.
