Accessibility Plan

1. Purpose

Young people with special educational needs and disabilities are over-represented in alternative provision, and many have had their needs missed before. We want every learner to take a full part in the day, and every parent, carer and visitor to be able to reach us and understand what we tell them.

Our building does not make this easy: 37 Townhead Street has three storeys, no lift and a step at the front door. This plan is honest about those limits and sets out how we include people anyway.

2. Scope

This plan covers every learner in Care Cove Alternative Provision, whoever commissions the place, their parents and carers, and visitors, at 37 Townhead Street, outdoor classrooms, visits and work placements. Staff adjustments are made under the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy, but staff are included in the access audit and in personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs).

"Disabled" has its Equality Act meaning: a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. It includes many learners with sensory impairments, health or mental health conditions, or neurodivergence.

3. Law and guidance

• Equality Act 2010, section 20. As a service provider, we must make reasonable adjustments: changing how we do things, overcoming physical barriers, and providing auxiliary aids and services. The duty is anticipatory, so we plan ahead rather than wait until someone is disadvantaged.

• Equality Act 2010, Schedule 10. Schools must have an accessibility plan covering the curriculum, the physical environment and information. Care Cove is not a school, so we follow this model as good practice.

• Section 149. We help commissioning local authorities meet their Public Sector Equality Duty.

• SEND Code of Practice 0 to 25 (2015); Children and Families Act 2014.

• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Emergency procedures must get everyone out safely, including disabled people.

4. Roles and responsibilities

5. Our building: an honest starting point

There is no lift. The rear staircase links all three floors to the rear fire exit. There is a four-zone fire alarm with call points, extinguishers on every floor, emergency lighting and an independent fire risk assessment. Short Breaks uses the ground floor only after school and at weekends, so in the AP day we can arrange all three floors around our learners.

We have not yet confirmed whether any toilet is an accessible, wheelchair-usable toilet. Until the audit confirms it (action 2), we do not claim one, and we plan as if there is none.

6. Strand 1: Access to the curriculum

Every learner follows the same RESET curriculum and QTS-led core, adapted to them. Disability is never a reason to offer less.

• Adapted teaching, as the SEND policy sets out: short steps with visuals, vocabulary taught in advance, processing time, text-to-speech, larger print and movement breaks.

• The room follows the learner. A learner who cannot use the stairs is taught with their group on the ground floor all day, never alone because the group is upstairs.

• Therapy and one-to-one work move to a private ground-floor room (action 3). Nobody misses therapy because of where the therapy rooms are.

• Move and PE always have an adapted option, such as seated exercise, or coaching, scoring or officiating in basketball.

• Practical and off-site learning. Portable hobs are set up at a height that suits the learner. Tasters and outdoor routes are checked for access first, and if a venue does not work for one learner, we change it for the group.

• Exams. The SEND lead arranges access arrangements with the exam centre.

• Health and equipment. Healthcare plans are agreed before day one. We provide the equipment and auxiliary aids a learner needs and train staff first. Families never pay.

7. Strand 2: Physical access

7.1 Getting in

Anyone who cannot manage the front step uses the step-free rear entrance. It is kept secure, so a member of staff meets them at an agreed time, takes them to sign in and sees them out. The access statement (action 10) and a front-door sign (action 6) explain the route.

7.2 A learner who cannot use stairs

The learner's group is based on the ground floor all day, including breakfast, Family Table lunch, the RESET lesson and Close Out. Therapy, one-to-one work, regulation time and meetings take place in a ground-floor room. The zoning plan is updated and the Short Breaks team told. The same applies to a temporary injury for as long as needed. Staff never carry a learner on the stairs.

7.3 Toilets and personal care

The audit checks whether the ground-floor toilet works for a wheelchair user: door width, turning space, grab rails and a pull cord. If not, the Director decides what is reasonable, such as grab rails or other changes the building allows, and the learner's access plan sets out a dignified arrangement before they start, which may include escorted use of a nearby accessible public toilet identified in the audit. Any personal care need is planned in writing with the family and Clinical Advisor before day one.

7.4 Emergency evacuation and PEEPs

• Anyone who may need help to evacuate (a mobility, sensory or cognitive need, severe anxiety or a temporary injury) has a PEEP before they use the building. The Head of AP writes learners' PEEPs with the learner and family, naming the route out, the helpers and their backups, and how the person is alerted.

• People who cannot use the stairs are based on the ground floor, so their route out is step-free. We do not rely on an evacuation chair unless we have bought one and trained staff, and never on the fire service (Health and Safety, including Fire and First Aid, section 7.5).

• We have not confirmed that the alarm has visual signals, so anyone deaf or hard of hearing has a named person who alerts them in person (action 4).

• Visitors are asked at sign-in whether they would need help to evacuate.

• PEEPs are held on Care Cove Connect, shared with fire marshals, practised in termly drills and reviewed after each drill and any change in need.

7.5 Beyond Townhead Street, and families and visitors

• Employer visits check access and evacuation before any placement (Work Experience and Vocational Placements policy).

• We book a wheelchair-accessible licensed taxi when a learner needs one (action 12).

• We ask about access needs when booking any meeting. Anyone who would find the stairs hard meets us on the ground floor, and family events are held there or in an accessible community venue.

8. Sensory, communication and SEND adjustments

Many learners referred to us have communication or sensory needs, and many have lived through trauma.

• Predictability: visual timetables, Now and Next boards, a known adult at the door, a quiet or staggered arrival, and warning before any change.

• Sensory needs: low-stimulus regulation spaces, ear defenders, seating away from doors and bright light, movement breaks, the learner's Calm Kit, and a sensory audit of rooms with learners (action 7).

• Communication: plain, concrete language; SCERTS goals where needed; staff trained in any symbols or communication device a learner uses before they start. For a deaf learner, we agree with the school and local authority how support, such as a British Sign Language interpreter, is provided on our days.

• Visual impairment: enlarged or electronic resources, good lighting, high-contrast signs and a walk round the building before day one.

• Knowing the building: an easy read photo guide for every new learner and family (action 9).

• Devices: a phone or device needed for a disability or medical need, such as a glucose monitor, is allowed under an exception in the learner's plan.

9. Strand 3: Access to information

• Letters, plans and policies are written plainly. The child plan is in the learner's own words.

• Easy read, large print, audio or reading aloud on request, within 10 working days or before the meeting it is for (action 13).

• Professional interpreters, including for Roma community languages and British Sign Language, and translation on request (action 14). A child is never used to interpret.

• Care Cove Connect, including the Family portal and Student app, is built to WCAG 2.2 AA. Families who do not use the portal get the same information by phone, text, letter or in person.

• The access statement (action 10) explains the front step, rear entrance, lack of a lift, meeting rooms, toilets and who to contact. It goes with every welcome pack and invitation.

• We record at referral how each learner and family prefer to receive information.

10. Planning adjustments before the first day

We contact families within 5 working days of referral and start within a further 5, so access planning starts at referral.

1. The SEND lead asks the school or local authority about any disability, health, sensory, mobility or communication need and equipment.

2. At the initial meeting and site visit, held on the ground floor where needed, the Head of AP and SEND lead ask the learner and family what helps and discuss the options honestly.

3. The individual access plan is agreed in writing and recorded on Connect: entrance, floor and rooms, therapy, toilets and personal care, equipment, sensory and communication needs, information formats, transport and off-site access.

4. Any PEEP is written at the same time.

5. Staff, including agency and cover staff, are briefed and trained before the learner starts.

6. The plan is reviewed after two weeks, at every plan review and when needs change.

If an adjustment is not ready by day one, the learner still starts on time with interim arrangements. We delay a start only if the learner could not otherwise be kept safe, and the Director tells the commissioner the same day.

11. When we cannot meet a need

We never refuse a referral because of access. The Director judges what is reasonable by how well an adjustment would work, whether it is practical, its cost against our resources and its effect on others. If we cannot meet a need even with reasonable adjustments, the Director raises it straight away with the commissioning local authority as decision maker, with a proposal such as an accessible community venue for part of the week, extra staffing or equipment. The decision is recorded on Connect and the family told; they can use the Complaints policy at any point.

12. Monitoring and review

• The Head of AP keeps an adjustment log on Connect and reports to the SWMC every term on Appendix A, access plans and PEEPs, unmet needs and access complaints.

• The termly equality analysis compares outcomes for disabled learners with others (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy), and voice surveys ask families what works.

• This plan runs to 31 August 2028, with a new action plan each year. It is ratified by the SWMC and reviewed annually, or sooner after a change to the building or its use, an incident, a change in law or guidance, or a contract change. It is available to the commissioning local authority and families on request.

13. Related policies

• 12 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
• 13 Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment
• 15 Health and Safety, including Fire and First Aid
• 16 Transport and Escorting
• 18 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• 19 Complaints
• 24 Supporting Medical Needs and Administering Medicines
• 27 Work Experience and Vocational Placements
• 28 Site Security, Visitors and CCTV
• 30 Referrals, Admissions and Ending Placements

Appendix A: Action plan 2026 to 2027

Document control and ratification

This policy is signed off by the Designated Safeguarding Lead and the Head of Alternative Provision, and ratified by the Social Work Management Committee. It is reviewed every year, or sooner after an incident or a change in law, statutory guidance or contract requirements, and it is available to any commissioning local authority on request.