An accessibility plan is the school's forward-looking plan for improving disabled pupils' access to the curriculum, physical environment and information.
An SEN information report explains how the school implements its policy for pupils with SEN and gives families workable information about identification, provision, review and support.
They are separate documents with overlapping evidence. The SEN information report must include information about the accessibility plan, but a link does not turn one into the other.
This guide applies to schools in England and is current to 11 August 2026. It is not legal advice.
Why the two documents are often confused
Both sit on the school website, both concern access and inclusion, and both need governing board or proprietor oversight. Templates also have a habit of borrowing each other's headings.
The key distinction is purpose. The accessibility plan is a programme of improvement over time. The SEN information report is a public explanation of current arrangements and practice.
Some disabled pupils have SEN, while others do not. Some pupils with SEN meet the Equality Act definition of disability, while others may not. The documents cannot be separated by pupil list.
Accessibility plan vs SEN information report
| Question | Accessibility plan | SEN information report |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Schedule 10 to the Equality Act 2010. | Section 69 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and Schedule 1 to the 2014 Regulations. |
| Main job | Set out how access for disabled pupils will improve over time. | Explain how the school identifies and supports pupils with SEN in practice. |
| Core content | Curriculum participation, physical environment and accessible information. | Identification, provision, review, expertise, voice, transition, complaints and Local Offer links. |
| Time horizon | A written three-year plan, kept under review, revised when needed and implemented. | Updated annually, with in-year changes made as soon as possible. |
| Useful evidence | Barrier audits, participation, estates, timetable, information formats, actions and resources. | SEND cohort, provision, review, outcomes, training, consultation and current routes. |
| Connection | Supplies objectives, actions and progress evidence that the report should reference accurately. | Must include information about the accessibility plan and wider disability access arrangements. |
The responsible body should confirm which governance route approves each document. The board retains oversight even when drafting and monitoring are delegated to leaders or a committee.
What belongs in the accessibility plan?
Start with barriers, not a list of worthy intentions. Schedule 10 requires the plan to address curriculum participation, the physical environment and the delivery of accessible information.
A reliable action names the barrier, intended improvement, owner, resources, completion date, evidence and review point. “Improve access” is an ambition. It is not yet a manageable action.
Include both strategic and workable work: room use, routes, signage, acoustics, curriculum materials, trips, clubs, assessment access and the formats in which pupils receive information.
The plan is not a substitute for individual reasonable adjustments. A three-year objective cannot postpone action needed now to avoid a disabled pupil being placed at a disadvantage.
What belongs in the SEN information report?
The report answers a family's workable questions about SEN: what the school provides, how needs are identified, who to contact, how support is reviewed and how concerns are raised.
It must cover the Schedule 1 information and the additional disability information in section 69, including admission arrangements, less favourable treatment, facilities and the accessibility plan.
Use the separate guide to audit what a strong SEN information report should contain.
The report should describe current practice honestly. It should not contain named cases, sensitive records or small figures that could identify a pupil.
How to review both without duplicating them
- Confirm the legal headings, responsible body, identified operational leads and publication routes.
- Audit barriers with disabled pupils and parents, staff, site evidence and participation data.
- Turn priority barriers into resourced accessibility actions with owners and review dates.
- Check whether the SEN information report describes live provision and access routes accurately.
- Link between the documents, but keep full action tracking in the accessibility plan.
- Report progress to the board and update public information when arrangements change.
This is one joined review cycle, not one giant document. A single 74-page PDF may technically contain everything while helping almost nobody find it.
A worked evidence trail
Consider a fictional composite. A barrier audit records that an upstairs workable room is not step-free, and the accessibility plan promises an accessible timetable and rooming solution.
Timetable records show the alternative room was booked. Provision notes show staff support was available, but participation and pupil feedback show that some workable activities still moved upstairs.
The professional question is not merely whether an action was marked complete. It is whether disabled pupils can take part in the intended curriculum experience without avoidable disadvantage.
The SENCo and site or curriculum lead check the rooming process, speak with the pupil and family, correct the immediate arrangement, then revise the owner, measure or action in the plan.
The SEN information report is updated if its public description of curriculum access is no longer accurate. The evidence prompts review; it does not decide the adjustment automatically.
What the evidence cannot prove
Attendance, participation or incident patterns cannot prove why a pupil could not access an activity. A completed action does not prove that a barrier has been removed in practice.
Aggregate SEND data does not represent every disabled pupil, and a PEEP concerns emergency evacuation rather than the whole accessibility duty. Each can inform questions, not replace consultation.
Keep missingness visible. Test changes with disabled pupils and parents, review individual duties separately, and use specialist or legal advice where the correct response is disputed.
How the workflow sits in Student Radar
Where a school has access, Student Radar's School Priorities can track an inclusion objective, actions, owners, evidence and review points.
SEND Reports can generate an audited aggregate SEN Information Report from live data, while leaving narrative policy sections for the SENCo to complete.
The PEEPs workspace can support individual evacuation planning and review. None of these tools decides reasonable adjustments or proves legal compliance.
What staff should leave with
- Locate both live documents and confirm their dates, owners, approval and web links.
- Check that the accessibility plan covers curriculum, environment and information.
- Test every open action for an owner, resources, completion date and observable measure.
- Compare the SEN information report with live provision, routes and accessibility work.
- Seek disabled pupil and parent feedback in accessible ways, then record what changed.
- Take progress and unresolved barriers to the governing board or trust board.
Use the reasonable adjustments guide for individual duties. To review the connected workflow in Student Radar, request a SEND-focused walkthrough.
Sources and further reading
- Equality Act 2010, Schedule 10, UK Parliament, Royal Assent 8 April 2010.
- Disability Discrimination accessibility plan periods regulations 2005, regulation 3, UK Parliament, made 18 November 2005 and continued under the Equality Act 2010.
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 69, UK Parliament, Royal Assent 13 March 2014.
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, Schedule 1, UK Parliament, made 30 June 2014.
- SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years, Department for Education and Department of Health, January 2015 edition; page updated 12 September 2024.
- SEN and disabilities: guidance for school governing boards, Department for Education, published 20 February 2025.