Accessibility Policy

At Willowgate we are committed to making the outdoors accessible for all no matter what boundaries are in place for them.

Although the building is an old building and comes with many challenges, we continue to work hard to make it as accessible as possible including working with those with complex needs to audit the centre.

Accessible parking, toilets and changing

The centre has 2 accessible parking spaces on site, we also welcome guests to drive as close as possible to activities to make it easier for them with you be able to drive right up to our archery & axe throwing ranges and next to our Activity Lagoon for Paddlesports.

We have inside & outside changing spaces to allow a private changing space is needed and support everyone to have somewhere they are comfortable to get changed.

We have a fully accessible toilet onsite as required.

Clubs

We run weekly additional support needs clubs focused on giving people an opportunity to enjoy the environment and outdoors in a safe space with instructor trained specifically for their needs. We run our weekly Wednesday Club at 2pm which is aimed at those aged 16 and above and our weekly Additional Support Needs club that runs Wednesday evening from 5pm.

We are also currently running a high tide award which is a 12 week program focused on supporting young adults with additional support needs to achieve and challenge themselves on their terms.

Training

We feel training is key to supporting people and over the course of each year we endeavour to deliver the following training to our team:

• Paddleability Training – Making Paddlesports more accessible for everyone – We also deliver this training for other organisations.
• Mental Health First Aid
• Additional Support Needs training
• We also have in place an Additional Support Needs policy as well as this accessibility policy.

121 Sessions

We welcome anyone and everyone onto our sessions no matter what struggles they may have or boundaries in their way. We do also find that a lot of people prefer 121 sessions where we can focus on finding the best ways to help them achieve their goals.

Website

We are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability. We are actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our website and in doing so adhere to many of the available standards and guidelines.

Equipment

We work tirelessly to keep our equipment in the best possible condition and also work hard to ensure we have the best possible equipment to make experiences as accessible as possible. We have access to a variety of equipment such as Aqua Bacs, transfer boards, beanbags, back support, Archery Bow Stands and would be more than happy to discuss your needs to come up with the best solution for you.

Commitment To Improve Accessibility

We feel although we work very hard to make things happen at the centre we are still in our infancy of making the centre as accessible as we can and aim to put our 2 year accessibility plan into action from January 2023. This includes the installation of a hoist, better building access and better site access to name a few things.