Accessibility plan (disabled pupils): what to publish on your school website
Your plan for improving disabled pupils' access to the curriculum, your buildings and the information you give them.
Check this on my websiteWho it applies to
- Published on
- The school's own website
- School type
- Academies and maintained schools
- School stage
- All stages, from early years to sixth form
- Does not apply to
- No school types are excluded
When it's due
Every 3 years
Counted from the date of your current plan.
What's needed
Publish your accessibility plan on the statutory information or policies page on your website, covering the curriculum, your buildings and information, and review it at least every three years.
What it must contain
3 parts- Sets out how it will increase disabled pupils' participation in the curriculum over timeMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Sets out how it will improve the physical environment for disabled pupilsMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Describes how it will make information accessible to disabled pupilsMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
What the official sources say
Set out in 3 official sources:
What academies must publish online
Academies must prepare an accessibility plan that sets out how, over time, they will increase the extent to which disabled pupils participate in the curriculum.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Curriculum > What all academies should publish
Equality Act 2010 Schedule 10 (accessibility for disabled pupils)
1 The responsible body of a school in England and Wales must prepare— a an accessibility plan; b further such plans at such times as may be prescribed.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Equality Act 2010 Sch 10 para 3(1)
2 An accessibility plan is a plan for, over a prescribed period— a increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school's curriculum, b improving the physical environment of the school for the purpose of increasing the extent to which disabled pupils are able to take advantage of education and benefits, facilities or services provided or offered by the school, and c improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information which is readily accessible to pupils who are not disabled.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Equality Act 2010 Sch 10 para 3(2)(a)-(c)
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3 The delivery in sub-paragraph (2)(c) must be— a within a reasonable time; b in ways which are determined after taking account of the pupils' disabilities and any preferences expressed by them or their parents.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Equality Act 2010 Sch 10 para 3(3)
4 An accessibility plan must be in writing.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Equality Act 2010 Sch 10 para 3(4)
5 The responsible body must keep its accessibility plan under review during the period to which it relates and, if necessary, revise it.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Equality Act 2010 Sch 10 para 3(5)
SEND Code of Practice
Schools and local authority education functions are not covered by this last duty, but they must publish accessibility plans (and local authorities, accessibility strategies) setting out how they plan to increase access for disabled pupils to the curriculum, the physical environment and to information.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Introduction, para xx, page 17
xxi. School governing bodies and proprietors must also publish information about the arrangements for the admission of disabled children, the steps taken to prevent disabled children being treated less favourably than others, the facilities provided to assist access of disabled children, and their accessibility plans.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Introduction, para xxi, page 17
Show 1 more from this source
4.35 The information must also include information about the arrangements for the admission of disabled pupils, the steps taken to prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably than other pupils, the facilities provided to assist access for disabled pupils and the schools’ accessibility plans.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Chapter 4, para 4.35, page 69
Questions schools ask
Do schools have to publish an accessibility plan?
Academies and maintained schools must.
What does a school accessibility plan need to cover?
Sets out how it will increase disabled pupils' participation in the curriculum over time; Sets out how it will improve the physical environment for disabled pupils; Describes how it will make information accessible to disabled pupils.
How often do we need to review our accessibility plan?
Every 3 years. Counted from the date of your current plan.
Where does the requirement for the accessibility plan for disabled pupils come from?
It is set out in What academies must publish online, Equality Act 2010 Schedule 10 (accessibility for disabled pupils) and SEND Code of Practice.
Recent changes to the official guidance
None of the published updates to the official sources change this requirement.
We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.
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Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4