A good accessibility plan helps your school find and remove barriers that disabled pupils may face. It looks at learning, the school environment and access to information.
For SENCOs, accessibility planning is an important part of creating a school where more pupils can take part. But it isn't a job for the SENCO alone. Effective accessibility planning is a whole-school responsibility.
Here's what schools need to consider and how you can turn the plan into practical action.
What an accessibility plan means
An accessibility plan is a written plan for improving access for pupils with disabilities over time.
Under the Equality Act 2010, schools in England and Wales must have one. This is a statutory duty, which means it's required by law. Schools must also put their plan into practice, keep it under review and revise it when needed.
Every accessibility plan must address three areas: access to the curriculum, the physical environment and access to information.
This makes accessibility planning much wider than SEND provision alone. It should connect with teaching, premises, technology, communications and wider school improvement.
A strong plan is:
- Written and strategic, with clear actions
- Proactive, finding barriers before they limit access
- Practical, with realistic priorities and resources
- Shared across the school, rather than owned by the SENCO alone
Legal requirements under the Equality Act
The Equality Act 2010 protects pupils with disabilities from discrimination. Schools also have duties around reasonable adjustments.
A reasonable adjustment is a change made to help prevent a pupil with disabilities being placed at a disadvantage. What is reasonable will depend on factors including the circumstances, effectiveness and resources involved.
Accessibility planning looks further ahead. Schedule 10 of the Equality Act says school plans must cover increasing disabled pupils' participation in the curriculum, improving the physical environment and improving access to information.
For SENCOs, there is an important distinction. Not every pupil with SEND will meet the Equality Act definition of disability, and a disabled pupil may or may not have SEN.
The plan should therefore be based on the barriers disabled pupils face, rather than labels alone.
The three areas every accessibility plan must cover
The three areas give schools a clear framework for accessibility planning.
Curriculum access
Curriculum access means helping pupils with disabilities take part in learning and wider school life.
Look beyond what is taught and consider how pupils access it. This might include adaptive teaching, accessible resources, assessment methods and assistive technology. It can also mean checking access to trips, clubs and other school activities.
Practical action might include using visual and audio resources, training staff in inclusive teaching or giving pupils different accessible ways to work with learning materials.
Assistive technology can also help remove barriers to reading, writing and communication when it matches the needs of the pupil.
The physical environment
Look at the spaces pupils use throughout the school day.
Steps and narrow doorways are obvious barriers, but accessibility can involve much more. Lighting, noise, signage, classroom layout and access to quieter spaces can all affect how pupils experience school.
Not every improvement needs major building work. Moving furniture, improving signs or changing how a space is used can sometimes make an immediate difference.
For larger changes, your plan can set out priorities, timescales and resources. New Department for Education guidance also provides advice on high-impact adaptations to make mainstream education estates more inclusive.
Information and communication
Pupils need to be able to access the information their peers receive.
That could mean providing information in large print or another suitable format. It could also include accessible digital documents, clear visual information and resources that work with assistive technology.
Plain language matters too. Information is more useful when people can understand it.
Think about families as part of your wider communication practice as well. Clear structure, descriptive links and accessible documents can make school information easier for more people to use.
How to write a school accessibility plan
Accessibility planning works best as an ongoing process rather than a document you create and then forget.
1. Bring the right people together
Start by deciding who needs to be involved.
The SENDCO brings valuable knowledge of pupil needs and barriers. Senior leaders can connect the plan to wider school priorities and resources. Governors or trustees provide oversight, while premises and IT staff may have important roles in specific actions.
Pupil and parent views can also help you understand barriers that staff haven't noticed.
2. Gather evidence
Look at what you already know.
Your SEND information, pupil feedback, participation data, parent feedback and staff observations may all reveal patterns. Consider who takes part in clubs and trips, who can access digital resources and whether particular spaces create barriers.
Don't only look for problems. Record what already works so you can build on it.
3. Complete an accessibility audit
An accessibility audit is a structured check of how accessible your school is now.
Walk through the school as a pupil would. Look at entrances, corridors, classrooms, toilets, dining areas, outdoor spaces and emergency routes.
Then audit curriculum and information access too. Can pupils use learning resources? Are digital platforms accessible? Do staff know how to use the assistive technology available to them?
The aim is to find real barriers rather than make assumptions about what pupils need.
4. Set clear priorities
Turn the findings from your audit into actions.
A useful objective should explain what will change, who is responsible and when you expect it to happen. It should also include any resources needed and how you'll know whether the action worked.
For example: “By the end of the autumn term, all teaching staff will complete practical training on creating accessible digital learning materials.”
Some changes cost money. Others depend more on staff knowledge, planning or changing existing practice.
5. Publish and share the plan
For maintained schools in England, Department for Education guidance says schools must publish their accessibility plan online. The published information should explain how the school will increase curriculum participation, improve the physical environment and improve access to information for disabled pupils.
Make the plan itself accessible too. Use clear headings, plain language and an accessible digital format.
Staff should also understand the actions that apply to their work. A plan can't improve access if people don't know what they're expected to do.
6. Review progress
Accessibility needs change.
New pupils join. Technology develops. Buildings change. Staff find better ways of supporting learners.
Schedule regular reviews so your plan remains useful. An annual check can be a practical way to assess progress, while shorter termly reviews may help with active objectives.
The Equality Act requires schools to keep accessibility plans under review and revise them when necessary.
Building accessibility into everyday teaching
An accessibility plan works best when inclusion becomes part of everyday school practice.
Adaptive teaching is one example. This means adjusting teaching to meet different needs while keeping expectations high. A teacher might break a task into smaller stages, pre-teach important vocabulary or give pupils different accessible ways to show their understanding.
Technology can help too.
Text-to-speech can support access to written information. Speech-to-text can help some pupils express ideas without handwriting becoming a barrier. Visual timers and planning tools can support organisation and time management.
The right tool will depend on the individual pupil. Technology should solve a real access problem rather than be introduced simply because it's available.
Staff knowledge is just as important. Practical training on accessibility, autism support, dyslexia support and assistive technology can help staff understand different barriers and respond with confidence.
Monitoring progress and impact
An accessibility plan should lead to change that pupils can experience.
Review progress against each objective and ask what difference the action has made. A completed task doesn't always mean the barrier has gone.
For example, staff may have completed training on accessible learning materials. The next question is whether pupils can now access more resources independently.
Evidence could come from pupil and parent feedback, participation in school activities, observations or examples of successful adjustments.
Share progress with leaders and governors. If something isn't working, change the plan.
Moving from compliance to everyday inclusion
Accessibility planning for SENDCOs starts with a legal duty, but its value goes much further.
A useful accessibility plan helps the whole school think ahead. It finds barriers, sets realistic priorities and gives people clear responsibility for making improvements.
The SENDCO has an important role in coordinating this work and bringing pupil needs into the conversation. But accessibility belongs to everyone.
When accessible teaching, communication, technology and environments become part of everyday practice, more pupils have the chance to take part and show what they can do.
Explore our education solutions to find more ways to support accessible and inclusive learning.
Frequently asked questions about accessibility planning for SENCOs
How do we make online homework and digital resources more accessible?
Start with the basics. Use clear headings, descriptive links, readable text and alt text for meaningful images. Make sure resources can be used with a keyboard and common assistive technology.
Avoid scanned documents when an accessible digital version can be provided. For public sector websites and apps, government guidance also recommends making new documents accessible from the start and regularly reviewing accessibility.
How can small schools fund major accessibility improvements?
Start by finding the highest-priority barriers and separating changes that need funding from those that can be addressed through current resources or changes in practice.
For larger work, speak with your responsible body or local authority about available support and funding routes. The Equality Act requires responsible bodies to consider the resources needed when preparing accessibility plans.