Accessibility plan: requirements

Your school must have an accessibility plan. Find out what your plan needs to include, and follow our step-by-step guide to make sure you stay compliant.

Last reviewed on 15 February 2024
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Contents
  1. All schools must have an accessibility plan
  2. Step 1: conduct an accessibility audit
  3. Step 2: write your accessibility plan
  4. Step 3: get governors' approval
  5. Step 4: publish your plan
  6. Step 5: review your plan every 3 years

All schools must have an accessibility plan

There's no set format, but it must show your intent to:

  • Increase the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the curriculum
  • Improve the physical environment to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of the education, benefits, facilities and services you provide
  • Improve the availability of accessible information to disabled pupils

This is explained in the DfE's advice for schools on the Equality Act (paragraph 4.29).

Your plan must be reviewed at least every 3 years. This is set out in the DfE's guidance on statutory policies for schools and academy trusts.

Read on for step-by-step advice on writing and reviewing your plan.

Step 1: conduct an accessibility audit

You can combine this with your health and safety inspections, to save you having to assess the school more than once. You don't need to publish your accessibility audit, but some schools choose to. 

Expand your understanding of accessibility