Deansfield Community School Disability Equality Scheme
1.1 Vision and Values
o At Deansfield Community School we are committed to equality of opportunity,
including race, gender, religion; social inclusion; and the principle that Every
Child Matters.
o The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 requires schools to:
o Promote equality of opportunity between disabled and non-disabled
people
o Eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment of disabled people
o Promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
o Encourage participation in public life by disabled people
o Take steps to meet disabled people’s needs, even if this means
treating disabled people more favourably than non-disabled people
o Deansfield Community School supports Wolverhampton Local Authority’s (LA)
commitment to promoting disability equality, based on the belief that we need to move
towards a more inclusive approach towards delivering services to members of our
diverse community by embracing difference, tolerance and the valuing of all people.
o The social model of disability is the belief that the poverty, disadvantage and social
exclusion experienced by many disabled people is not the inevitable consequence of
their impairment or of medical problems, but is often the result of barriers in their
environment or in people’s attitudes or behaviour. Deansfield Community School
recognises that its duty to promote disability equality will be enhanced by using the
social model approach.
o Deansfield Community School supports Wolverhampton Local Authority’s (LA)
commitment to the promotion of educational and social inclusion and the values of
interdependence and community, seeking to fulfil this vision by:
o Valuing the contribution of all individuals and groups in the
community
o Recognising that diversity is an asset
o Ensuring that access and opportunities are equally available to
everyone
o Taking steps to involve people who were previously excluded
o We aim to include disabled people in all aspects of the life of the school and to
promote positive images of disabled people through the school ethos and curriculum.
o We aim to develop a culture in which disabled people feel free to disclose information
about any condition or impairment they may have, and confident that this information
will be used positively by the school to make reasonable adjustments to meet their
individual needs.
1.2 Involvement of disabled students, staff and parents
Deansfield Community School is keen to involve disabled students, staff and parents in
the development of this Scheme. We will do this by taking the following steps:
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o Including views of disabled students via questionnaires
o Seeking the views of disabled parents via questionnaires and consultation
via the website
o Seeking opinions and views from disabled staff and governors and at new
staff induction / governors meetings
1.3 Information gathering
Deansfield Community School will provide information to all staff and parents about the
Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) definition of disability. This will include an explanation
that the information will be used to ensure the school is making reasonable adjustments
so that individual needs are met, and that information provided will be kept confidential.
o Information will be collected about students through admissions information
o Parents and carers’ information can also be collected on admissions
information, and site users / parents can be supported by a suggestion box
in the waiting area / foyer in Reception
o Information on staff can be gathered on application procedure and
addressed in application packs
o Annual checking will take place to ensure that current updated information is
stored
A database of disabled students, parents / carers and staff will be set up, which will be
used for the following purposes:
o To keep a record of reasonable adjustments made to meet individual needs
of students, parents / carers and staff
o To pass on information about necessary adjustments to the relevant people
(e.g. to the new teacher when a student moves class)
For future admissions the initial interview will be used to gather information about
individual needs of students, parents and carers. Prospective staff will be asked, both at
the time of application and after having been appointed, if they consider themselves to be
a disabled person under the terms of the DDA. The school’s positive attitude to disabled
people will be made explicit, in order to encourage people to have the confidence to
identify themselves as disabled.
Deansfield Community School will ensure information gathered from parents and/or
students is kept confidential, in line with the Data Protection Act. We will negotiate with
the parent, carer or student about who the information is to be shared with.
1.4 Impact assessment
Deansfield Community School will consult disabled people, or use information already
gathered as the result of consulting disabled people, as part of the regular review process
for all existing policies. Any new school policy that is developed will also take into account
the views of disabled people.
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Section 2: Priorities for Action
2.1 Main priorities and actions for disabled students
Actions
1. To ensure
effective information
sharing re. individual
students
2. To ensure
continuing INSET to
address Inclusive
Practice
Outcomes
Student mobility
between groups
is well planned /
communicated
effectively
Staff are aware
of Inclusive
Practice that is
practical in the
classroom
Timescale
Ongoing
Resources
Briefing time
Pastoral team
SIMs
Monitoring
SLT
Ongoing
INSET time
SLT
Resources
Forum for
information
gathering at
review of
policy.
Monitoring
SLT
2.2 Main priorities and actions for disabled staff
Actions
Ensure that the
everyday needs of
disabled staff are
met and that their
views are accounted
for.
Outcomes
Disabled staff
feel fully
included in the
School and its
procedures.
Views are acted
upon.
Timescale
Ongoing
2.3 Main priorities and actions for disabled parents, carers, governors and others
Actions
1. Parents / carers /
governors and other
site users have
physical access to
all areas of the site.
2. Access to
communication is
available on
request.
Outcomes
Timescale
Reception area Ongoing
to include low
level access,
access to all
floors and
rooms in use.
Access to sign
Ongoing
language
interpreter,
large print
documents
available on
request, hearing
loop facility.
Parent
Partnership
information
available.
Resources
Lift
Monitoring
SLT
Facility to
SLT
publish in large
print.
Leaflets given
out at
Induction &
review
meetings /
available in
Reception.
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Section 3: Making it happen
3.1 Implementation
Links to other School plans include: Gender Equality Scheme, Risk assessment, SEN
Policy.
3.2 Publication
Hard copies of Deansfield Community School’s Disability Equality Scheme are available
on request from the school.
3.4 Review and revision
Deansfield Community School’s Disability Equality will be reviewed annually.
April 2014
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