GOVERNORS' ANNUAL REPORT TO PARENTS ... - Highcliffe School

We have been particularly impressed with the contr ibution of ideas
from our Student Council members and other groups of students
who have been involved in some of the pr oj ect planning for the new
facilities for their school. Students have r es ponded well to thes e and
with respect.
T he r efur bis hed toilets and S ix th Form café have been well
received. We intend to pr ess for further refurbishment works to
other toilets. Our new Reception is now up and r unning and we
watch with anticipation the building wor k related to our new
Performance Hall and Ar t, Design and T echnology centre.
S chool Security
As part of the over all programme of work mentioned above, the
school has involved var ious specialists in reviewing as pects of
security and assisting us with prioritising wor k. We ar e pleas ed that
Dorset LEA helped fund our new reception with a s ecur ity grant.
Although the whole pr oj ect is not complete, it has made a
substantial improvement already. Other work has included new (or
refurbished) external door s and locking mechanisms , harmonising
and ex tending fire and intr uder alarms, more walkie- talkies for duty
staff, our new security badge s ys tem currently being phas ed in for
visitors, staff and s tudents in the S ixth Form.
Work will continue and we anticipate developing our formal policy as
part of the pr ocess noted above.
Dis ablities Discrimination Act (DDA) : Access
T he r elatively recent introduction of this legislation has brought new
responsibilities and oppor tunities for the Gover ning B ody and
community. As part of our review and pr oj ect work we have
endeavoured to make s ome r eal inroads into making Highcliffe mor e
accessible. We have a stair lift on a main stairwell and the r eview is
currently considering fur ther lift requirements. With the new
performance hall and ADT Centre we will have four disabled toilets
distributed evenly over the whole s chool site. Door way controls and
door access in terms of ramps are being pr ovided within the
programme of works. Further handle r ails and tr ead mar kings on
stairs are under consideration. Wheelchair provision and access has
improved. Assistance has also been secured fr om the Access to
Work team.
Having got started, we r ealise how much is still to do! Again, we
anticipate developing our formal policy on Accessibility as part of
the pr ocess above and wider access needs (including curriculum
access and modification and language access).