• Christian Ethos Statement
• Admissions Policy
• Behaviour Policy
• Anti-Bullying Policy
• Curriculum Policy (including Special Needs and IT)
• PSHE and Citizenship Policy
• Educational Visits Policy
• Assessment Policy
• Child Protection Policy
• Safer Recruitment Policy
• First Aid Policy
• Disability and Non-Discrimination Policy
• Complaints Procedure

Disability and Non-Discrimination Policy

Introduction

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) of 1995 aims to end discrimination against people with disabilities and to improve access in all areas of life. Since 2002, it has been unlawful for schools and to discriminate against pupils with disabilities.

From 1 October 2004 it is unlawful to discriminate against people with disabilities by preventing them from having access to premises. Along with all other public buildings, our school is required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to enable access.

Our Accessibility Plan (see below) details the ‘reasonable adjustments’ we can make to our method of working and to our building to accommodate persons with disabilities.

What is disability?

The Disability and Discrimination Act states that ‘a person suffers from a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out day-to-day activities’.

Physical or mental impairments can include sensory impairments (such as those affecting sight and hearing) and learning difficulties. The definition also covers certain medical conditions when they have a long term and substantial effect on pupils’ everyday lives.

Disability is not the same as special educational needs; not all children who are defined as having a disability have special educational needs, and vice versa.

Aims

• Our school aims to be an inclusive school that seeks to remove the barriers to learning and participation that can hinder or exclude pupils (including pupils with disabilities).
• We will seek to ensure that pupils with disabilities have the same opportunities as non-disabled pupils to benefit from the education our school provides.
• We will not treat a pupil with a disability less favourably than others because of the nature of his or her disability.
• We will make all reasonable adjustments to ensure that a pupil or member of staff with disabilities is not placed at a disadvantage.
• We will do our best to anticipate the needs of a pupil with disabilities before he or she joins the school.

Accessibility Plan

There are numerous ways in which we can adjust our working habits to address particular disabilities pupils may have. For example, if a child suffers from hearing loss, the teacher will always try and face the child when addressing the class. We will address such cases on an individual basis and ensure all staff are appropriately trained. This may involve consultation with specialists such as physiotherapists, educational psychologists, speech therapists, doctors, social workers, and the staff of voluntary and statutory agencies.

More challenging for Heritage School is our ability to make significant adjustments to the facility we are currently occupying (18-19 Brookside, Cambridge, CB2 1JE). The reasons for this are as follows:

• It is a three storey Victorian terrace with steep stairs and no lift.
• We are tenants with a limited lease period.
• We have limited financial resources for major developments.

However, we can improve provision for disabled pupils by addressing the following aspects of the physical environment as required and as finances allow:

• Access to the ground floor is possible via the door at the back of no.18, which has a ramp.
• We can improve the ground floor toilet to make it accessible for disabled pupils.
• We can re-arrange class rooms where possible to ensure ground floor access where necessary.
• We can ensure there is a comfortable medical room available at all times.
• Furniture and equipment: we can procure furniture items necessary to ensure equal participation in classroom activities; we can procure equipment/resources such as Braille machines, large print books, audio books or relevant IT equipment as required.
• Signage: we can make signs with clear, larger print for children with visual impairment.

Staffing

When advertising posts, or interviewing applicants, or deciding on appointments, the trustees and staff will follow the necessary procedures, and will not discriminate against people with disabilities, although there may be cases when ‘reasonable adjustments’ are not possible.

Should a member of staff become disabled, the governing body will make reasonable adjustments to that person’s employment arrangements, or to the premises, in order to enable them to continue in post.