Accessibility Strategies Guidance Planning improvements for disabled pupils’ access to education Guidance for education authorities, independent and grant-aided schools Consultation

Policy Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils‘ Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002 The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended) (the ASL Act) Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 The Equality Act 2010

Purpose of guidance Advice to responsible bodies – Content of accessibility strategies – Form of strategies – People to consult when producing the guidance Why update the guidance? – Since 2002 guidance, developments in policy and legislation e.g. Equality Act 2010, C&YP (Scotland) Act 2014 – Reflect Curriculum for Excellence

Definition of disability Physical or mental impairment, and Impairment has substantial and long-term effect on ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities Covers: – Physical impairment including sensory impairment – Mental impairment – learning difficulties and mental illness – Cancer, HIV infection, MS, MD, severe disfigurement

Also covers ‘hidden’ disabilities – Dyslexia – Autism – Speech and language impairment Term ‘significant’ – more than minor or trivial

Equality Act includes a duty to make reasonable adjustments, of three types: – Change the practice (for example, providing a pupil with dyslexia with a note of any homework required rather than requiring him to copy it down); – Change the built environment (for example, providing access to a building) where it is reasonable to do so; and see Equality Act S20(4) – Provide auxiliary aids and services (for example, providing special computer software or support from a classroom assistant). – Also, if first or third relates to information to provide it in an accessible format.

The three planning duties Increase disabled pupils’ access or participation in the curriculum. Improve access to the physical environment of the school to give better access to education and to associated services provided. Improve communication with disabled pupils, in particular regarding provision of information in alternative formats. Duties apply to school age and children under 3; also if educated on Gypsy / Traveller sites

Coverage Schools Pre-school centres for which they are responsible i.e. nurseries and day care facilities Out-of-school care taking place on school premises even if run by other organisation Does not include partnership nurseries – left to negotiation in contracts with them

Improving access to the curriculum (2) An accessibility strategy is a strategy for, over a period prescribed by regulations — – (a) increasing the extent to which pupils with a disability can participate in the school‘s curriculum or, as the case may be, the schools' curriculums; Examples: Reflect CfE curriculum entitlement - coherent 3 to 18 curriculum - a broad general education, from early years through to S3 - a senior phase after S3 s - develop skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work with a continuous focus on literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing - support in moving into positive and sustained destinations beyond school. Describe CPD arrangements e.g. so that staff can receive specialist advice on using accessibility software Cover accessibility requirements in contracts with suppliers

Examples of items covered Add specialised keyboards etc. easily Install specialist software Change OS accessibility options  Source: real disabled pupils who have had these difficulties reported, often on numerous occasion.  The examples are Outcomes focuses – what should be the experience of the disabled pupil.  How this is achieved is up to the responsible body.

Improving access to the curriculum 2 Accessibility strategies could also describe – How websites or other digital materials will be accessed – How assistive technology will be used – How managed network providers will allow for changes to be made to devices at no extra cost – How files used by disabled pupils are not deleted during refresh periods e.g. lost of MP3 files containing audio books. – How device refresh arrangements will take account of existing assistive technology and associated files

Resources within Guidance Appendix D Checklist for use in planning ICT - refers to specific paragraphs in Guidance Appendix E Checklist – more detailed - also refers to specific paragraphs

How might you use these Appendices? To understand features that disabled pupils might need in order to access the curriculum. ICT managers, commissioning staff involved in procurement functions and schools can use Appendix D to review whether certain reasonable adjustments are in place – can they take these steps quickly and easily? If not, why not? Appendix E can be used to inform procurement decisions; as a school questionnaire; to phase in improvements; to find out how quickly and easily adaptations can be made.

Respondent Information Form Available from ownloads (for both guidance and respondent form) Five straightforward questions 1. Is the draft guidance clear and does it contain enough detail? 2. Is the structure of the guidance appropriate? 3. Are there any areas which you feel need clarification? 4. Is there information missing? Or is the guidance comprehensive enough? 5. Any other comments? Send response to