Our Vision

The vision of Catherington C of E Infant school, is that all pupils, families, staff and members of our wider community are treated fairly and with respect, regardless of any disability. Our vision is to ensure that all pupils can access not only the curriculum, teaching and learning but school clubs and activities, play and lunchtimes, PE sessions and off site trips. We aim to ensure all information is accessible to pupils and families and will promote positive attitudes towards disabled people; actively encouraging participation by disabled children in all aspects of school life.

Our Key Objectives

The key objectives of Catherington C of E Infant School’s Accessibility Plan is to provide a framework for integrating disability equality into school life, so as to reduce and eliminate barriers to accessing the curriculum and to promote full participation in the school community for pupils with a disability. This includes improvements and adjustments to the physical environment and the enhancing of staff continued professional development; providing training regarding the needs of disabled people and how to provide assistance to enable them to enjoy school experiences as fully as possible.

Legislation

All schools are required, under the Equality Act 2010, to have an accessibility plan. This Accessibility and Action Plan sets out how the school and Governing Body will improve the equality of opportunity for disabled people. The SEN and Disability Act 2001 extended the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act 1995) to cover education, so since 2002 the Governing Body has had three key duties towards disabled pupils under part 4 of the DDA;

• Not to treat disabled pupils less favourably for reasons related to their disability
• To improve access to the physical environment of the school by adding specialist facilities and physical aids in order for pupils with a disability to access education as necessary
• To increase access to the curriculum for pupils with a disability, expanding the curriculum as necessary to ensure that pupils with a disability are as equally prepared for life as their peers. This includes improving the delivery of written information to pupils, staff, parents and visitors with a disability.

The Equality Act 2010 defines an individual as disabled if he has a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ adverse effect on their ability to undertake normal day-to-day activities. Under the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice, ‘long-term’ is defined as ‘a year or more’ and ‘substantial’ is defined as ‘more than minor or trivial’. The definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight or hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and cancer. Schools are required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for students with disabilities under the Equality Act 2010, to alleviate any substantial disadvantage that a disabled student faces in comparison with a non-disabled student.

This plan should be viewed alongside the following school policy documents:

• Special Education Needs and Disabilities Policy
• Local Offer
• School Development Plan

The implementation of this policy is monitored by the Headteacher and by governors to evaluate its execution and effectiveness. The policy is to be reviewed by staff and governors every three years, or earlier if needed.

This statement was last updated on 09/07/2025.

The following PDF has further details about how we implement our Accessibility Plan within the school.