All educational establishments
are now required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to ensure students with
disabilities or learning difficulties are not discriminated against or placed
at a substantial disadvantage in any area of school life and associated
services. No institution that provides education can treat someone who is
disabled less favourably than anyone else because of their disability. By law a
person cannot be refused entry because of a disability, nor refused appropriate
teaching materials.
The fact that children with
disabilities have strong legal rights makes it particularly important that
schools have accurate, appropriate and precise advice from specialists. I want
to point out here what I consider reasonable adjustments for a school to make
in anticipation of a visually impaired child attending the school.
Corridors, Stairs and Steps
Most schools have stairs or
steps either indoors or outdoors. In these areas there are several aspects to
consider when thinking of someone with low vision, such as adequate and appropriate
lighting, safety handrails, edges of steps, 71
colour contrast, trip hazards, adequate
space for traffic and direction signage. Let me deal with these in turn.
Lighting in and around
corridors and stairs
Some visually impaired people
have difficulty when there is a sudden change in light conditions. People with
albinism, for instance, who are significantly light sensitive, take three times
longer than others to adapt to a change in lighting conditions. This means that
if the ceiling lights in a part of the staircase are blown such a person will
be temporarily blinded until their eyes are accustomed to the darker
conditions. In the same way if the stairs open out into an area which is well
lit by natural window light and the area is south facing, on a sunny day there
may be too much light and the person with albinism will again be blinded by
glare for a minute or two while their eyes adjust. These are issues that we do
not often consider but it affects one in 17 thousand people with albinism every
day. In fact many people with a visual impairment are affected by glare or low
light so these things need to be considered carefully. In an ideal world
architects would have considered this when planning the building but we are not
living in an ideal world.
Handrails
Handrails should be on both
sides of the stairs, especially if the stairs are wide enough for people to
pass in both directions. This is a building regulations requirement. Handrails
should be at the correct height. Some nurseries and primary schools fail in
this respect as their handrails are adult height and not accessible for smaller
people. It is advisable in these circumstances to fit an extra handrail at a
lower height. Handrails should also be easily visible. This means they should
not be the same colour as the wall; they should contrast in their colour and
tone with the background. If the wall is white, handrails should be dark. If
the wall is dark the handrails should be a light colour.
Edges of steps
At the top and bottom of a
staircase or a flight of steps, whether it is inside or outside, there is an
acute safety issue for someone with poor distance vision, a squint, monocular
vision, or poor lower visual field. Spatial location is a common difficulty for
children with a visual impairment. Locating the feet on steps and stairs can be
a difficulty initially. I would say that it is good practice to introduce a
child to a building with no others around so they can familiarise themselves
with difficulties and commit to memory navigational and orientation cues.
People generally learn routes quickly and it is not unusual for a child to
require adult help initially only on one or two occasions. The trained mobility
officer is able to provide input if necessary, but even then an assessment of mobility
needs and perhaps one session with a child may be enough. Of course if the
child is registered blind they may need ongoing support.
A school can take some basic
precautions which ought to need updating once a year at most. Putting markings
on the nosings of steps and stairs is good practice. Some form of contrasting
tape or yellow paint can be put on the edge of each step or stair. If something
more permanent is required a wooden staircase can have a contrasting section
fitted to the edges. Outside on stone steps weatherproof paint is available for
this purpose. Another strategy that is often used is a tactile strip
starting about a metre from the edge to warn someone of the proximity of the
top and bottom of the stairs. This would be a small area of flooring that is
different from the surroundings and easily sensed by the feet on the approach
to the stairs.
Signage
By signage I mean room numbers
fixed on or adjacent to doors and direction signs to places such as toilets,
exits, library, reception and canteen. Light switches and door handles, though
not technically signs, also should be clearly visible. A coloured switch box on
a contrasting plain background and a door frame in contrasting paint is a
sensible strategy for ease of access. Signs need to be at a child’s height for
good access. They need to be large, by which I mean at least two or three
inches in height. They should contrast by colour with the background. Arrow
signs also need to be large and contrasting and positioned at the right height.
Signs need to separate from other markings on the wall.
Arrow signs for directions or
‘KEEP LEFT’ signs on the staircase is good practice in a school, especially
where space is limited in corridors and children are prone to bumping into
things. Keeping children walking on the left side of the stairs may need to be
reinforced. A young child in a kindergarten or nursery may need their clothes
peg differentiated by colour coding and larger signage and perhaps located at
the end of a row rather than in the middle. The same applies to storage lockers
where such exist; they should be located for ease of access and differentially
marked.
Floors
It is important that floors are
kept clear from clutter and obstacles in any space where children move around,
which includes classrooms. Trailing power leads on the floor can be a trip
hazard. Obviously dangerous sharp corners on furniture in a nursery can be
covered or rounded off with a sander.
Safety signs
In technology classrooms
specialist equipment should be clearly and boldly marked with appropriate
warning signs, such as ‘do not use without adult supervision’, ‘danger
– scalding water’, or ‘danger – electricity’.
Contrast in furniture
An important aspect of the
rooms used by children involves the contrast in colours of the furniture.
Accessibility is enhanced when tables, chairs and storage cupboards are in
contrasting colours to the background. Toilets and washrooms also should have
contrasting furniture.
Lighting in classrooms
Flexible lighting in classrooms
is good practice. In any classroom it ought to be possible to turn off some
lights but not all. The light over the interactive white board for instance
often needs to be off when projecting as otherwise it reduces visibility on the
board. Variable lighting is a good idea. Spotlights may be helpful where
possible; some people find fluorescent lighting uncomfortable. All classrooms
should have blackout facilities to vary lighting levels and cut out glare. Too
much or too little lighting can both be bad, but in my view too much light is
better than too little. I have been in very modern school buildings where
lighting is extremely bright and I have to say I prefer that to some old school
buildings where the opposite is the case. In point of fact tinted glasses can
be worn indoors by a child who is sensitive to glare. Reactolite lenses are the
ideal solution sometimes as they adapt to changing light conditions. On the
other hand a dedicated task lamp on the floor or on the desk in a dimly lit
older style classroom building can make a big difference to some children. Many
of the old school buildings in Britain have high ceilings and woefully
inadequate lighting. Windows provide natural light but not enough to read by in
most cases. I often carry a light meter when visiting schools to measure light
levels and give advice. Light is measured by lux. Building regulations
legislation gives guidelines on lighting levels which head teachers and
governing bodies should be aware of. Under English law, the Education
(School Premises) Regulations 1999, the illumination of teaching
accommodation must be 300 lux or more at any point on the work surface - this
is usually appropriate in classrooms, libraries and halls. However, the
illumination must not be less than 500 lux where visually demanding tasks are
carried out, for example, in laboratories.