Sheffield Young Carers Access Statement

Please find information below about accessibility at Sheffield Young Carers (SYC). Please note this statement mainly refers to our office building. Access information about groups and events is provided separately as we use various venues across the city.

We are always looking to improve our access provision and are committed to including all young people and families in our groups and events wherever possible. Please do get in touch if you think that someone hoping to come along to a group or event would need anything specific from us that isn’t covered below.

If you would like any further information or have any questions you can contact us at information@sheffieldyoungcarers.org.uk or, if you are already part of our service, speak to your SYC worker and they will find the information for you. We will always try as hard as possible to address any barriers you might face if you are thinking of getting involved in our service.

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There is no level access to our office building and no accessible lift to our office floor. We are always happy to meet elsewhere at an accessible venue.

We have an accessible all gender toilet in our office building. This toilet is not to Changing Places standards but there is a Changing Places toilet close by at Heeley City Farm.

There is no reception in our office building but we are always happy to arrange to meet visitors outside.

We use various different venues for our groups and events and provide individual access information about these.

We are always happy to meet young people in advance of attending group. We provide transport to/from home for young people attending our groups for 8-12 year olds. We support 12+ year olds with travelling by public transport by paying travel costs and offering bus/tram training if needed. For people aged 12+, if using public transport would stop you from being able to come though, please discuss this with a member of staff and we’ll see how we can help. We can also offer accessible transport. 

Coming to SYC groups or events

If you or anyone you know are anxious or nervous about coming along to an SYC group or event, we have videos of our venues or can arrange a pre-visit to show you around our space in a way that helps you feel comfortable. We can also support you with making a trip on public transport and can provide taxis in certain circumstances. We provide transport for young people attending our 8-12 groups. If you would like to have a pre-visit or find out more please get in touch with us to arrange this.

Space is provided on all our forms for you to give details of any access requirements that children and young people/families may have.

We don’t always have access to a break out room at the venues we use but attendees that need some time out can leave if they are accompanied by a worker.

We have ear defenders and sensory/stim toys available for anyone who needs them.

We don’t currently have any staff who are able to communicate using BSL and we do not have an induction loop available.

Food and drinks are served during most of our activities. There is space on registration forms to note down any food allergies attendees might have and you can also discuss this with us in more detail by email or telephone. We try to make sure there are lots of options to choose from to suit your needs. If we can’t cater for your needs though or if you prefer, you are welcome to bring your own healthy snacks.  

Use of prescription medicines is allowed if you share details of this with us in advance. There is space on our forms to let us know about this, and you can discuss it with us in more detail by email or telephone.

Getting to Sheffield Young Carers offices

Sheffield Young Carers are based at Sheaf Bank Business Park, Unit R7b, Riverside Block, 20 Prospect Road, Sheffield, S2 3EN.

Travelling by train or bus:

Sheffield train station is the only railway station in Sheffield and there is a taxi rank at the front of the station. It is 1.2 miles from the Sheffield Young Carers office.

Bus 1A leaves from Arundel Gate/Furnival Street Stop CS1 and takes about 12 minutes to reach Prospect Road/Alexandra Road, which is the closest stop to Sheffield Young Carers. To reach bus stop 1A from Sheffield Station you leave the front entrance and travel 0.3 miles up an incline across tarmac and concrete pavement with drop curbs.

It is 384 feet from Prospect Road/Alexandra Road bus stop to the SYC building crossing a road with drop curbs and then travelling across tarmac down an incline and across a carpark then up an inline and across a courtyard of uneven paving stones.

See below for more details about getting into our building. 

Travelling by car:

There is free parking available on the residential roads around Sheaf Bank Business Park, but spaces can’t be guaranteed. The Business Park also has its own car park which is pay and display, and costs £1 for two hours. The car park currently has no accessible spaces available for blue badge holders. SYC can offer a parking space for visitors if this is arranged in advance but it is not an accessible space.

Drop off and pick up points

If you are being dropped off or picked up, our drop off/pick up point is outside the Sheaf View pub. We are able to come and meet you here and accompany you into the building. Please just let us know in advance so we can make sure someone is available. 

Taxis

We are able to book accessible vehicles for young people and families in our service if needed, please just ask our staff.

Our building

There is no level access to Sheaf Bank Business Park and no accessible lift to our office floor. We are always happy to arrange to meet elsewhere at an accessible venue.

There is no reception at Sheaf Bank Business Park but we can arrange to meet visitors outside and accompany them into the building.

Entrance

The entrance gates and yard into Sheaf Bank Business Park.

 The terrain around the entrance is uneven and cobbled.

The Riverside Block is entered through a door with six steps up to it.

The door is heavy. If leaving the building after 6pm, it also has an exit button which must be pressed when leaving.

Entering the building requires a code. Enter the code 012 using the door entry system and wait for an answer, then please take a seat on the wooden bench on the left of the waiting area and one of our members of staff will come down to collect you.

If you prefer to phone us instead of using the buzzer system to let us know that you have arrived, our office number is 0114 258 4595.

The SYC office is then reached by climbing two flights of stairs, with first eight then nine steps. There is a service lift in the building but it is not suitable for non-goods use.

Inside the office

Our meeting room has several different kinds of seating and we can provide hot and cold drinks.

We welcome service animals and can give them water to drink. There is a relief area for service animals nearby in Heeley People’s Park (0.1 miles away). The route to the park is across the cobbled car park and then on tarmac pavement up an incline and across a road.

The temperature of our building changes a lot and we use heaters and fans to help with this.

Toilets

There is an accessible all gender toilet down the corridor from our office space. There are two gendered toilets on the office corridor but these are not accessible.

The door opens inwards and has a lever handle and a grab bar on the inside. There are also grab bars on both sides of the toilet and next to the sink. There is no emergency call button.

There are no baby care items in the toilet and it doesn’t contain a changing table.

This toilet is not to Changing Places standards. The nearest Changing Places toilet is approx 0.2 miles away at Heeley City Farm, Richards Road, Sheffield, S2 3DT. You can also use this location map to find your nearest Changing Places toilet: http://changingplaces.uktoiletmap.org/

You can open up a PDF version of this Access Statement by clicking here.

Last updated: 02/12/2022