Access for all

1
Access for all

• Based on a presentation by
• Judith Gibbons
• at a FACE seminar and on observations made at
• Springfield Study Centre

2
Introduction

• FACE arranged a seminar at the Springfields Study
  Centre near Solihull, a centre designed for
  children with physical or sensory deprivation.
• Judith Gibbons helped delegates to understand how
  to carry out an audit of their own centre
• We then toured the centre and particularly its
  grounds and came up with suggestions of our own

3
Carrying out an access audit

• This presentation uses the expertise of Judith
  Gibbons and the observations of the seminar
  delegates to suggest ways to approach your own
  premises when carrying out an access audit.
• In Judiths words The Audit should be thought
  of as a Forth Bridge project and be continued,
  in some way, indefinitely.

4
INDOORS

• Suggestions from Judith Gibbons

5

Entrances

• Does the building have flat or ramped access?
• If there are kerbs on the approach, does it have
  graded drops?
• Are ramps of appropriate width and gradient with
  no tight turns and appropriately surfaced?
• Do ramps and slopes have handrails on both sides?
  (To have only one handrail can be difficult for
  some users, especially those with a physical
  impairment whose weakness is on the "wrong"
  side.)

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Entrances continued

• Are handrails easy to grasp and colour contrasted
  so that they stand out? (Colour contrast, whilst
  helpful to all users, is especially so to many
  users with a visual impairment.)
• Are security systems, such as intercoms, mounted
  at a height appropriate to all, whether seated or
  standing?
• Is any entry system very clearly labelled?

8
Doors

• Doors can pose as big a barrier to access as
  steps.
• Is the doorway wide enough for wheelchair access?
• Is the door too heavy to push/pull open? (Many
  new doors are hung such that they are very heavy.
  Most can be adjusted to make them move more
  easily.)
• Are there vision panels in doors? These enable
  users on each side (whether seated or standing)
  to see each other and to be seen.

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Doors continued

• Do doors with full glass panels have a sticker on
  each panel, at a height to make the doors
  visible when closed?
• Are there handles rather than knobs as they are
  easier to manipulate? (They should be colour
  contrasted against the door and chunky as these
  are easiest to grasp.)
• Are the handles at an appropriate height? (Door
  handles should be at a height accessible to all,
  including wheelchair users and those of short
  stature.)

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Steps Stairs

• Are steps and stairs of the same depth and width
  and not too steep?
• Do steps have an appropriate, well contrasted
  handrail on each side?
• Are the tops and fronts of steps colour
  contrasted?
• Is glare onto stairwells reduced by blinds if
  possible? (Glare is a problem to all, but is
  especially difficult for many users with a visual
  impairment.)

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Classrooms

• Is there a range of seating and work surfaces to
  ensure children are working with their feet flat?
• Is there sufficient circulation space, especially
  for those with a physical or visual difficulty?
• Are there white boards rather than black or
  green? (These are easier to see as long as there
  is no glare onto them.)
• Is storage equipment accessible to all, i.e. at
  a height accessible to wheelchair users and well
  signed for any with a visual difficulty?

14
Dining Room

• Is there sufficient circulation space between
  tables for all?
• Do you have seating and tables in different
  heights to meet the needs of all?
• Are there spaces at tables for people in
  wheelchairs?
• Is the serving hatch at a height accessible to
  all?
• Are all signs at an appropriate height?

15
Toilets

• Is there a toilet for wheelchair users? ( This
  should, wherever possible, be centrally installed
  and approachable from either side or centrally.
  This is important for users who either have a
  significant weakness on the wrong side or who
  need the assistance of two people.)
• Is there good contrast between basins and tiles?

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Colour Contrast

• Colour contrast is of help to all, but especially
  to those with a visual impairment
• Is there colour contrast between the following-
• Doors and their frames
• Handrails and surrounds
• Handles and doors
• Basins and tiles in W.C.s
• Furniture and floor covering and walls
• Signs and their borders and backgrounds

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General Access Hints

• Do you use clear labelling, with strong colour
  contrast between labels and borders, and mounted
  at a height suitable for all including
  wheelchair users and those of short stature?
• Is the reception desks at a height suitable for
  all, whether seated or standing, well lit and
  with any sign at an appropriate height?
• Do you have blinds or curtains to reduce glare?
  (Where possible, they should be in corridors and
  stairwells as well as in rooms.)

21
General Access - 2

• Do you have good lighting particularly for those
  with a visual or hearing impairment?
• Are floor surfaces, especially where they become
  wet, non slip and non glare? (Carpet with a very
  low pile or non slip plastic are best.)
• Do you provide soft surfaces such as carpets and
  curtains? (These are helpful to those with a
  hearing impairment as they lessen reverberation.)

22
General Access 3

• Do you avoid the use of gloss paint?
  (Alternatives give much less glare.)
• Are sinks and basins accessible i.e. of
  appropriate height to be approached seated or
  standing and, ideally, hollow underneath?
• Are power sockets accessible to all? (Those over
  benches are not fully accessible but may be seen
  as safer than having them on the ends of
  benches.)
• Have you considered absorbent or acoustic ceiling
  tiles to reduce reverberation?

23
OUTDOORS

• Suggestions from delegates at the
• Access for All seminar
• at Springfield Study Centre

24
Supervision

• Is there plenty of pre-planning?
• Have you avoided separating one child from
  others?
• Can you offer alternative activities if necessary?

25
Car Park

• Is the dropping off area separate from other
  traffic?
• Is there a turning circle for minibuses etc?
• Are there clear signs for parking for the
  disabled?
• Have wider parking spaces been defined?
• Is there a level path or a designated route for
  wheelchair users from the car park to a nearby
  entrance?

26
Natural environment

• Have you explained the importance of a pre-visit?
• Do you have poisonous berries within reach?
• Will nettles pose a hazard?
• Can mud (on wheels) be a problem?
• Have you highlighted the dangers of water?
• Have you considered the adverse effects of
  exposure to sun/cold?

27
Signs

• Have you used contrasting colours?
• Have you ensured clarity by using appropriate
  justification, font style and size, spacing and
  lower case letters?
• Are your signs simple? (use symbols)
• Are your signs relevant?
• Are signs well positioned (consider height for
  wheelchair users and young children)
• Can visitors identify hazards clearly? (use
  yellow tape)

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Paths

• Are all surfaces firm, flat and even?
• Have you avoided using bark or large, loose
  gravel?
• Are there distinct physical and visual boundaries
  at the sides of paths?
• Have you removed or highlighted hazards such as
  bollards or overhanging branches?
• Are gradients never more than I in 16? (The ideal
  is 1 in 20)
• Have you provided plenty of seating?

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Gates etc

• Have you considered the width of gateways so they
  are accessible to all, including wheelchair
  users?
• Are handles/catches easy to grasp?
• Have you given thought to the regular and easy
  maintenance of gates?

32
Activity areasBird Hides

• Are the doorways wide enough for wheelchair
  access?
• Is there a low viewing window?
• Have you provided some moveable seating?
• Can wheelchair users gain proximity to windows?
• Have you thought about using cameras to see
  inside nest boxes or to record areas not easily
  accessed?

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Activity areasPond dipping platforms

• Have you considered the orientation of planks (to
  prevent wheels getting stuck etc)?
• Is the kick board clearly marked? (Trip hazard)
• Is seating provided?
• Is appropriate equipment supplied?
• Are you employing appropriate class management
  techniques?

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Activity areasPond dipping ramp

• Have you put matting in place to prevent
  slipping?
• Is the water here shallow?
• Have you made health and safety considerations?

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Activity areasRaised beds and raised ponds

• Are the raised beds accessible to all i.e. at
  different heights?
• Is there an overhang for wheelchair users?
• Have you thought about raising the natural world
  too? (Simply build up the woodland floor using a
  log surround.)
• If planning sunken paths, is there adequate
  drainage?
• Have you involved your clients in your design?

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Seating and tables

• Have you provided plenty of seating throughout
  your grounds?
• Do you have seating and tables in different
  heights to meet the needs of all?
• Are there spaces at tables for people in
  wheelchairs?

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Tractor and trailer

• Is this adapted for wheelchair use?
• Do you have wheelchair anchorage?

42
Links

• BT Countryside For All Standards and Guidelines -
  A Good Practice Guide to Disabled Peoples Access
  in the Countryside published by Fieldfare Trust
  0114 270 1668
• Clearly a better read RNIB
• http//www.rnib.org.uk/access/child_cp.htm
• Access trailers 01663 735 355
• www.accesstrailers.co.uk
• Yellow aerosol paint available from
  www.seton.co.uk

43
Thanks

• Thank you to Judith Gibbons and especially to
  Dave Digby at The Springfield Study Centre who
  hosted our seminar and shared with us his
  expertise and his inspiring location.
• Thanks to those who attended the seminar and
  offered ideas to add to this checklist which we
  hope will be helpful to all who are trying to
  make their own premises accessible to all.