Accessibility
ACCESSIBILITY & ADDITIONAL NEEDS
At St. Luke’s we want everyone to be seen, heard, able to belong and join in, including those with additional needs. We have recently been awarded a Silver Award for Accessibility from the Growing Hope charity.
When you arrive in church the welcome team will say hello and you can pick up a pair of ear defenders if it feels too noisy and we have a box of fidget accessories that you might like to use during the service.
As you enter, there is a large board with a visual timetable of the morning, feel free to take a photo of this on your phone or check back on it during the service so you know what’s coming up next.
We have flexible seating which can easily be re-arranged to accommodate wheelchairs and mobility scooters, a quiet corner at the back of the church and another area with a video relay in the foyer area.
If you find it helpful to make notes or express yourself through art during the service, there is a creativity zone table and space if you need to move around at the back. For those with hearing impairments we have a hearing loop.
Our children’s and youth groups all use a visual schedule to help everyone know the activity running order. Activities are multisensory with movement breaks built in. We also have fidgets, ear defenders and safe spaces available in our groups.
Accessibility Coordinator
Lorraine Ackroyd
Lorraine is the Clinic Manager of Growing Hope Maidstone and a Music Therapist. She seeks to make St. Luke’s as accessible as possible for everyone, regardless of their needs.
Growing Hope
We are thrilled to have been awarded a Growing Hope Gold Award.
The Growing Hope Accessibility Award assesses and awards not only churches’ physical accessibility but accessibility according to all varied needs.
