Treetops School Quality - Equality - Opportunity Thurrock Visiting intu Lakeside An autism friendly detailed guide
Contents Section 1 The guide 3 Section 2 Visiting and shopping times 4 Section 3 Planning your trip 5 Section 4 Parking and transport 6 Section 5 Toilets 7 Section 6 Queuing 8 Section 7 What can you do at intu Lakeside? 9 Section 8 A map of intu Lakeside 10 Section 9 Dining at intu Lakeside 14 Section 10 What else can you do at intu Lakeside? 15 Section 11 How can intu Lakeside support you? 18 Section 12 What to do if things do wrong? 19 Section 13 Feedback questionnaire 20 1
Hello Section 1 - The guide intu Lakeside understands that for some people with autism spectrum conditions, sensory or additional needs a visit to a busy shopping centre can be a daunting experience. At intu Lakeside we want to give all our customers the best possible customer experience. This is why we have worked in partnership with Treetops school and NAS Thurrock to develop this guide, which aims to support individuals with autism spectrum conditions, sensory and additional needs and their parents/carers, during their visit to the centre. The guide will support you from the early stages of planning a visit, arriving at the centre, information about our amenities and services to what to do in an emergency. We aim to ensure that you have a pleasant and fun visit in which you feel safe and supported. Throughout your visit there are friendly trained staff on hand should you require assistance and of course any further information should you need it can be accessed from our customer service desk, customer lounge or online at www.intu.co.uk/lakeside We welcome any feedback about this pack and feedback forms can be found on page 20. Thank you and have fun. This detailed guide to intu Lakeside has been produced in partnership with Treetops school and NAS Thurrock. The purpose of this guide is to inform those individuals with autism and their parents/carers about the centre and to help them have an enjoyable visit. In addition, we have created an easy read visual guide to intu Lakeside, specifically for individuals with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC). If you, or the person you are visiting intu Lakeside with, has ASC you may want to download that guide instead. The guide includes an easy read map of intu Lakeside. There is also a list of our stores and restaurants on our website at: www.intu.co.uk/lakeside/stores We hope you enjoy your visit. Sarah Rivett Community development manager Howard Oldstein Regional centre director 2 3
Section 2 - Visiting times Section 3 - Planning your trip We have identified intu Lakeside's busiest and quietest times to visit our centre so you can pick the best time for your visit. Shopping opening times Monday to Friday: Saturday: Sunday: 10am 10pm 9am to 9pm 11am 5pm Some shops and restaurants will open earlier or later throughout the year. All our updated opening hours are on the intu Lakeside website at www.intu.co.uk/lakeside/centre-information/opening-times Quietest times in the centre * Monday to Wednesday: Busiest times 10am 12pm Saturday and Sunday all day, plus school and public holidays. * These times are based on an average week and can vary, particularly around Christmas and school holidays. intu Lakeside website Our website has all our recent news, such as changes to opening times, shop relocations, listings of up-coming events and may help you decide when is best to visit and prepare you, or the person you are visiting with, for any changes visit www.intu.co.uk/lakeside Social media You can also see what s going on at the centre via our social media channels. Like us on Facebook at intu Lakeside or follow us on Twitter @intulakeside and instagram @intulakeside Free wifi and our app There is free wifi in the centre if you would like to use your ipad whilst visiting intu Lakeside. It's easy to get online, just follow these three simple steps: Go to settings on your device Select wifi Choose intu Lakeside free wifi and register with your email and phone number to get online (next time just log on automatically) You can download the free intu Lakeside app on your phone. It has an interactive map to help you find your way around and discover how to get to the store or centre facility you re looking for It tells you news about intu Lakeside It tells you about offers and events happening at intu Lakeside 4 5
Section 4 - Parking and transport Section 5 - How do I find the toilets? By car intu Lakeside has 12,500 free car parking spaces located around the centre. We have many spaces reserved especially for disabled shoppers in car park 10 also known as 'car park blue', and other dedicated spaces in car parks 3, 4, 5 and green. Please ensure you have a valid disabled badge on display when parking in one of our disabled spaces. Our shop mobility centre is in car park 10 (car park blue) on level one. Wheelchairs and other mobility options are available free of charge. Please call to check availability of equipment before your visit. For more information on our shop mobility service, or to book in advance, please call 0170 886 9744 All toilets and accessible toilets have been marked on the centre map within this guide. Toilets can be found on Levels one, two and three of the centre. Level one next to House of Fraser Level one next to Debenhams Level two - end of Brompton Walk (Changing Places facility) Level three (The Eatery) next to Primark Please note entrance to the accessible toilet units are via RADAR lock. Keys are available from members of staff within the toilet areas or from the customer services desks within the malls. You may want to purchase your own RADAR key before you arrive. These are available from the national key scheme and means you have access to all disabled toilets not just at intu Lakeside but throughout the UK. By bus The bus will drop you off at the bus station next to Debenhams. By train Chafford Hundred C2C train station is just a short walk from intu Lakeside, over the footbridge. 6 7
Section 6 - Queuing Section 7 - What you can do at intu Lakeside We understand that queuing can be a stressful activity for people with autism. To help you avoid queuing as much as possible, we have a few suggestions: Visit us at our quieter times (see page four) Try our 'click and collect service. You can buy online at home and collect from our customer services lounge during your visit and then enjoy the rest of what our centre has to offer Shopping is one of the main activities at intu Lakeside. To help you, or the person you are with, navigate around the shops here are some pictures of four of our largest stores in the centre, that you can use as signposts. Debenhams is at one end of intu Lakeside. It is on two floors. It is near the bus station. Primark is in the middle of intu Lakeside. It is on three floors. Marks and Spencer is in the middle of intu Lakeside. It is on two floors. House of Fraser is at one end of intu Lakeside. It is on two floors. It is near to the footbridge over to Chafford Hundred train station. 8 9
Section 8 - A map of intu Lakeside Lower mall Map key Toilets Entrance Car parks Escalators Noisy and busy i 10 11
Section 8 - A map of intu Lakeside Upper mall Map key Toilets Entrance Car parks Escalators Changing Places Noisy and busy Level three The Eatery 12 13
Section 9 - Dining at intu Lakeside The Eatery is one of our busiest and noisiest areas. Our sit-in restaurants located on the Boardwalk or on the malls will be able to accommodate quiet areas to sit (subject to how busy they are). If you bring your own food there are benches on the malls. There are also tables and chairs in the eatery or in nice weather you can sit by the amphitheatre (outside House of Fraser) which can be a quieter space. Section 10 - What else can you do at intu Lakeside? You can go to the cinema. VUE Cinema is a nine screen cinema located next to the lake and the Boardwalk. It is open seven days a week. VUE Thurrock show an autism friendly screening on the last Sunday of each month. Sometimes these are also held on other days. Please check the VUE website for more information at www.myvue.com/cinema/thurrock Autism friendly screenings at VUE Cinema differ from regular screenings. What makes a film autism friendly? Lighting will be kept on during the screening Volume levels will be reduced There will be no advertisements or trailers 14 15
You can visit Partyman World of Play. Morning sessions 9am - 10am Evening sessions 6pm - 8pm Sunday 30 September 2018 Wednesday 5 September 2018 Sunday 21 October 2018 Wednesday 3 October 2018 Sunday 25 November 2018 Wednesday 7 November 2018 Sunday 16 December 2018 Wednesday 5 December 2018 If you visit Partyman World when there is not a SEN session running it can be very busy and noisy. Partyman World of Play is open from 10am 6.30pm each day. Discover amazing slides, play structures and themed areas within the play centre. Partyman World of Play are proud to offer free SEN sessions. These are allocated morning and evening sessions dedicated to children and young adults with special needs where the entire play centre is open just for you in a more comfortable atmosphere with the music turned down (or off if required). These SEN sessions are complimentary and its free to bring siblings along too! The dates on the next page are the SEN sessions for 2018 only. 16 17
Quality - Equality - Opportunity Section 11 - How can intu Lakeside support you? Autism awareness cards Sometimes it can be hard to ask for help, we have therefore created our own autism awareness cards. These are downloadable from our website or available to be picked up from our customer services desk and customer lounge (see map). The autism awareness cards are to be used at your discretion, when and if an occasion presents itself where you wish to inform staff or other shoppers that you/ your companion has autism, quickly and discreetly. Section 12 - What to do if things go wrong? Approach one of our members of staff. Treetops School Hello! Thurrock My name is... I have an autism spectrum condition. Our customer service team Our security team Wristbands Our autism awareness wristbands can be collected at the customers services desk or customer lounge (see map). Our autism awareness wristbands are discreet orange bands. If an emergency or problematic situation were to occur the responding staff member(s) would be able to quickly and accurately identify you, or the person you are with, has autism and can therefore support you appropriately. The bands have been created to be worn at your discretion and for your reassurance. Our environmental services team Our staff are receiving autism awareness training. If you have chosen to wear our wristbands or carry our cards please share them with our staff during an emergency, they are in the centre to help you. 18 19
Section 13 - Feedback questionnaire We would love to hear your thoughts about your visit so we can constantly look to improve our service to you. Was the autism friendly guide to intu Lakeside helpful? Yes/No Why? (Delete as appropriate) Was the autism awareness cards helpful? Yes/No Why? (Delete as appropriate) What could be improved? What could be improved? 20 21
What was the most enjoyable part of your day? How could intu Lakeside be more autism friendly? Please hand this questionnaire into the customer service desk or email your response to Sarah Rivett, our community manager at sarah.rivett@intu.co.uk Thank you for your feedback. 22 23
Treetops School Quality - Equality - Opportunity Thurrock Treetops school is a day special school in Grays, for children and young adults who experience moderate learning difficulties. The school also operates a specialist provision for pupils on the autistic spectrum. Treetops school has communication specialist status and has its own speech and language team. The speech and language team is integrated across the school and has been an integral part of training staff, parents and members of the local community in how to work with a child s communication needs. Treetops school is working collaboratively with intu Lakeside to meet your needs. They aim to maximise quality of life for every individual regardless of ability to ensure everyone has the opportunity to have the same experience. The aim is for pupils to accept core values and become part of a whole community, which instils a sense of pride in each other. www.treetopsschool.org The Thurrock group of the National Autistic Society (NAS Thurrock) provides support to parents and families who have or may have a child with autism. Our group is run on a voluntary basis by parents and relies on fundraising and donations to provide the support, information and activities we run for local families. NAS Thurrock campaign for better local services for those living with autism in Thurrock and the surrounding areas. We are proud to be working collaboratively with intu Lakeside in becoming autism friendly and more accessible to all. You can find out more about NAS Thurrock at www.nasthurrock.btck.co.uk You can find out more about the National Autistic Society at www.autism.org.uk 24 25
www.facebook.com/intulakeside www.youtube.com/user/intulakeside @intulakeside www.intu.co.uk/lakeside 0170 886 9933 2018 intu properties plc