Designing inclusive schools

A place that has been designed to be inclusive enables and empowers people. It ensures that everyone can participate fully.

Inclusive design within educational settings includes:

• Buildings
• Grounds
• Fixtures
• Fittings
• Furniture
• Equipment
• Information
• Curriculum
• Activities and events
• Teaching and pastoral support

When something is not accessible, adjustments should be made to make it as accessible as possible.

See also:

• A summary of the principles of inclusive design in schools (PDF) (PDF, 607 KB)
• A summary of the principles of inclusive design in schools (presentation) (Powerpoint, 4 MB)

Accessibility audit toolkit for Norfolk schools

The accessibility audit toolkit for Norfolk schools is designed to support educational settings to rate the accessibility of their site, identify issues and opportunities to improve.

The toolkit is designed to consider a wide range of disabilities as well as focusing on issues that may impact upon a specific area of disability.

No building is 100 percent accessible to all, and new issues and barriers emerge all the time. Therefore, the information gathered by an accessibility audit should be repeated periodically, to inform ongoing accessibility planning.

For further information on these areas see:

• Building Regulations - These are the GOV.UK approved documents that provide guidance on meeting the building regulations.
• British Standards - A lot of best practice is located within British Standards; the key document regarding physical accessibility is BS 8300-2:218
• Specific guidance on designing for disabled children in special and mainstream schools - Building Bulletin 102
• Accessibility within sporting facilities
• Accessibility to historic buildings and landscapes
• Creating accessible environments for disabled people: Technology

For advice on accessibility, including the audit toolkit, contact Norfolk County Council's Equality and Diversity Team at equalities@norfolk.gov.uk. (Note that depending upon the level of support you require we may charge for this service.)

Using the access audit toolkit

The toolkit covers specific themes, to make it easier for you to focus on each key aspect of your educational setting:

• Section 1 - Approach and car park (Word doc, 23 KB)
• Section 2 - Entrance and doors (Word doc, 20 KB)
• Section 3 - Horizontal movement fixtures (Word doc, 25 KB)
• Section 4 - Vertical movement (Word doc, 25 KB)
• Section 5 - Toilet and changing areas (Word doc, 20 KB)
• Section 6 - Fire exits (Word doc, 19 KB)
• Section 7 - Information (Word doc, 17 KB)
• Section 8 - Equality adjustments (Word doc, 17 KB)
• Section 9 - Additional elements (Word doc, 16 KB)