The purpose of this Access Statement is to provide you with information about the accessibility of our accommodation prior to your arrival. If you have any specific needs that are not mentioned here then please contact us by telephone on 01929 422126 or by email on leeson@dorsetcc.gov.uk. Any potential visitors are more than welcome to come to Leeson House beforehand to check through access and evacuation routes and, through prior discussion, we can produce a PEEP (personal emergency evacuation plan) for those intending to stay.
Location and arrival
Leeson House is located in Langton Matravers just outside Swanage - follow this link to find us on multimap.com
Our nearest railway station is at Wareham, approximately 10 miles away. Wareham is on the mainline service between London Waterloo and Weymouth operated by South West Trains.
Car and coach parking and access / turning for coaches and buses
It is recommended that all coaches use Three Acre Lane to approach Leeson House (zoom in on the multimap page to see this) as the turning into our driveway is tight. Once within the grounds of Leeson House we have adequate turning space for most coaches and there is space for coaches to park during the day and overnight.
We have up to 40 car parking spaces on hardstanding and also additional spaces, when required, on the edge of our front lawn.
Access from the car and coach parking area to the front door is along a slightly inclining driveway. There is also a ramp to gain access to the students entrance and also to the classroom block.
Main entrance and reception
On arrival please ring the main doorbell and then continue along the corridor to the reception area at the far end of the ground floor. There are steps along this corridor.
Students and luggage
All groups of students and also all luggage enter the house via a ramp and stepped double doors into the "games room" - a portable ramp is available over the stepped entrance to this room.
Bedrooms and bathrooms / showers and toilets
All bedrooms and showers are on the first and second floors and can only be accessed by stairs. All staircases have handrails and/or bannisters. There is one toilet available inside the house that can be accessed by a small portable ramp but there is very limited space in the toilet cubicle
Lounges and dining rooms
We have two lounges and two dining areas, all on the ground floor and all accessible without having to climb and steps or stairs.
Classrooms and outside toilets
The classroom block is reached by a moderately inclined pathway and the doorways are all at ground level. External and internal doors are all 90cm width. There is a toilet block adjacent to the classrooms and one set of toilets is at ground level with doors to the toilet cubicles being 55cm wide.
Fire procedures and health and safety information
There is a no-smoking policy in all the buildings although we do have a designated smoking area with bench and bin adjacent to the games room.
All visitors to Leeson House are given an appropriate briefing on arrival with regards to fire safety and other domestic information. This information is also on display at various key points around the main house and also in folders in each of the "staff" bedrooms.
A member of Leeson House staff is on call 24 hours a day whenever the house is occupied.