Hamilton Grace Access Policy

Governing body:
Board of Directors of Hamilton Grace Apartments

Date on which this policy was approved by governing body:
10 January 2018

Policy review procedure:
We will review the access policy every three years to ensure it is in line with national guidelines and standards.

Hamilton Grace will incorporate actions that arise from this policy in its three year forward plan.

Date at which this policy is due for review:
January 2021

1. Mission statement

Hamilton Grace aims to be a Nationwide provider of Serviced Accommodation, offering superior service and quality to our clients.

2. Our definition of access

Hamilton Grace recognises there are many barriers to access at all levels of the Apartment service. However we believe that all people have a fundamental right to engage with, use and enjoy the service.

We define access as something that is made possible when physical, cultural, social, financial, intellectual, psychological and emotional barriers are removed or reduced.

3. Our commitment to accessibility

Hamilton Grace aims to provide the widest possible access to its services to enable audiences from all sections of the community to enjoy and use our apartments. We will provide access to services in the wider community and within the apartments we will aim to provide independent use wherever possible.

This policy has been written in line with the museum’s Equality and Diversity Policy (2018), the aim of which is to ensure that:

‘all employees, potential employees, and visitors are treated in a fair and equitable manner regardless of their colour, race, ethnic or national origin, language, religion or belief, gender or gender reassignment, marital status, sexuality, disability, age, any illness or infection, social background, or organisation role.’

Our policy is to build accessibility into everything we do to develop and improve the service. Our commitment is long term and our policy is to make continuous improvements as our resources permit.

Our commitment to accessibility extends to our staff and visitors to all our apartments across the UK.

We are committed to ongoing training in access issues for staff and guests.

To eliminate barriers and ensure equality of access we will consider the following forms of accessibility:

• Physical – to enable people with physical disabilities to reach and appreciate every part of the service. To take into account the needs of the elderly and of people caring for young people.
• Sensory – to enable visitors with impaired vision or hearing to enjoy the our apartments and additional services.
• Intellectual – we recognise that people have different learning styles and we will provide interpretation in a range of learning styles. We also aim to ensure people with learning difficulties can use all services and items within the apartments.
• Cultural – to consider the needs of people for whom English is not a first language, or whose knowledge of English history and culture may be limited.
• Attitudinal / Emotional – to ensure that Hamilton Grace Apartments environment and staff are welcoming to visitors from all sections of the community.
• Financial – we will take into account that ability to pay can be a barrier to access and offer opportunities for those on lower incomes to access our apartments.

4. Access to apartments

We aim to provide equal access to the Apartments and our facilities for all visitors. It must be appreciated that as some of our apartments are listed buildings some physical adaptations to the Apartments are impossible or very difficult to undertake.

Nevertheless we are constantly working towards improving the facilities available to visitors with disabilities and will actively try to make our service accessible even when our particular buildings are not through a policy of offering alternative accommodation which is more accessible to people who have physical disabilities.

5. Access to communication

• We will promote our services using accessible means of communication.
• We will develop publicity material on request in alternative formats for a range of needs and languages.
• We will provide a range of ways that people can communicate with us.
• We will evaluate all our services and projects to ensure they meet the provision of this policy and we will consult users and non-users on all new developments.

Download a PDF version of our Access Policy here »