|
|
Within Reach
|
In 2000, the NUT and SCOPE jointly commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers to carry out a study into access to mainstream schools for pupils with a physical or sensory impairment.
The study is a follow up to an earlier piece of work that PricewaterhouseCoopers, then Coopers & Lybrand, carried out for the NUT and SCOPE in 1992. The original study, published under the title 'Within Reach', revealed a lack of knowledge at local and national level about the accessibility of schools and led to a further survey of schools in 1993 to establish the level of accessibility.
The pioneering joint project between the NUT and SCOPE was the first to survey the costs of making schools accessible to children with physical and sensory impairments. The project found that the start-up costs were quite small. For example, for primary schools, about £3,000 was all that was needed to improve access.
The work of NUT and SCOPE together has played a significant role in underpinning the lobbying which led to the launch of the Schools Access Initiative by the Government in 1995.
THE SCHOOLS ACCESS INITIATIVE
The Schools Access Initiative was established to provide funds allocated through local education authorities to schools to enable them to improve access and facilities for pupils with disabilities.
Projects to improve physical access to buildings and to increase access for pupils with visual and hearing impairments are eligible for funding. The fund was set up with £10 million in the first year, and funding was extended in 1996, when £12 million was promised over three years. The Labour Government announced that £11 million would be available for schools in 1998/1999. This amount was increased to £20 million for 1999/2000.
The Government announced in May, 2000 that £30 million would be given to schools and education authorities to improve access for children with disabilities in schools. The Schools Access Initiative allocation for 2000/2001 will be used to improve further facilities in mainstream schools by providing, for example, new ramps or Braille equipment for pupils with visual impairments. The Government is expected to increase the allocation to £50 million for 2001/2002.
This initiative is a key step in making schools more accessible for both pupils and for staff. It is a major achievement for the NUT and SCOPE.
WITHIN REACH 3 PROJECT
The 2000 PricewaterhouseCoopers' study carried out an evaluation of the Schools Access Initiative.
The five aims of the study were to:
- assess any changes to attitudes to school accessibility held by Government, LEA officers and schools;
- see whether LEA knowledge of the accessibility of their schools' premises has improved in extent and in reliability;
- trace how the resources from the Schools Access Initiative have been used by LEAs;
- provide advice to Government on the effective running of the Schools Access Initiative on ways in which the outcomes can be measured and monitored; and
- assess whether the Schools Access Initiative is sufficient and, if not, to recommend further action.
The approach to the study comprised four steps:
- national consultations;
- analysis of DfEE national data;
- fieldwork in LEAs, including visits to funded schools; and
- analysis and preparation of a report.
The DfEE has made a financial contribution to the costs of the study and has been represented on the Steering Group together with the NUT and SCOPE.
THE CONTINUING CAMPAIGN
The Government intends to bring forward legislation to introduce new rights for disabled students and pupils and new special educational needs (SEN) provisions.
In March 2000, the DfEE issued a consultation paper divided into 2 main sections - Annex A: Rights for Disabled People in Education and Annex B: Special Educational Needs.
The disability rights provisions are intended to achieve:
- a new duty on schools and local education authorities to plan strategically and make progress in increasing accessibility for disabled pupils to school premises and the curriculum;
- a new right, not to be discriminated against unfairly by schools and LEAs;
- changes to the policies of schools and LEAs which disadvantage disabled children;
- reasonable steps by schools and LEAs to provide education using reasonable methods to avoid physical features; and
- the establishment of a code of practice for education providers in relation to the new rights.
The NUT welcomed the reference to the Schools Access Initiative in the draft Bill.
The DfEE has emphasised that the Government is totally committed to taking forward the education recommendations of the Disability Rights Task Force and legislation in the shape of the SEN and Disability in Education Bill is currently progressing through the House of Lords.
The NUT will continue to campaign for:
- greater promotion of the Schools Access Initiative;
- the SEN and Disability Rights in Education Bill to ensure that LEAs give parents access to sufficient information about the relative merits of available provision;
- further research on SAI funds needed to achieve greater accessibility in schools;
- LEA knowledge of accessibility to be increased through Access Audits linked to Asset Management Plans;
- the SEN and Disability Rights in Education Bill to ensure that the Parent Partnership schemes have a disability access aspect to them;
- Asset Management Plans to become the core document for releasing SAI funds;
- SAI funding to remain ring-fenced and separate from other streams of funding; and
- the DfEE to set a national target for accessibility, based on the indicators used in the Access Audit.
|
|
|
|
