Admissions Policy
The Principal oversees the Admissions Policy on behalf of the Governing Body.
The Purpose of this policy is to describe the referral and assessment process with regard to
• St Rose’s School
St. Rose’s has an ‘open’ referral system which allows families/carers, local authorities and professionals to refer possible applicants for admission in respect of specialist placements.
The key requirements which we believe are fundamental to providing a service for a student are:
• To work in partnership with local authorities in providing unique specialist services for children and young people with additional needs.
• When an enquiry is received directly from a family / carer St Rose’s School will inform the local authority and continue to keep them appraised of how/if the request progresses.
• St Rose’s School will only ever consider offering a placement to a child or young person where it feels it can meet the level, type and severity of need compatible with the knowledge, skills and expertise of its staff.
• St Rose’s School key indicators for placement will be its ability to meet the communication, learning, behavioural, health and social needs of the child or young person.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Preliminary contact
All enquiries are directed to the Principal or Transitions Coordinator. A telephone consultation with the referrer takes place to collect some preliminary information i.e. the service required and needs of the child/young person. A prospective student information form is completed. If an enquiry from the local authority initiated the contact then St Rose’s School receive an Expression of Interest form to complete. The local authority then decide if they want to progress the application and if this is the case then the young person and their parents are invited for an assessment visit.
Initial visit
The prospective student panel meet weekly to discuss initial enquiries. If the referral is appropriate a visit will be arranged specific to the requested services;
In order to identify the applicant’s needs and suitability for admission additional information will be gathered from families / carers and professionals during the visit.
After an initial visit the Prospective Student Form is shared with SCMT (School and College Management Team).
The prospective student form and any supporting documents from the visit are scanned and saved on R:PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS/PROSPECTIVE/20….
An expression of interest form will be completed when it is received from the local authority.
When the formal offer request is received from the local authority, The family / carer will be offered a multi-disciplinary team assessment.
Assessment visit
Following the initial visit, if St Rose’s School considers that we can meet the needs of the young person, an assessment visit will be arranged. During the assessment visit the young person will be met by relevant members of the multi-disciplinary team who will complete an Assessment of Need document.
It is important that families / carers accompany their young person at the assessment in order to provide relevant information to the multi-disciplinary team.
Assessments help us evaluate how well the young person might adapt to the learning and / or care environments St Rose’s School. During the assessment process we can arrange for the assessment to be carried out in the existing provision. If it is felt the young person would benefit from a visit in their current setting this would be arranged.
Offer Decision
When the Assessment of Need document is completed a decision will be made with regard to offering a place. At this point the local authority will be informed. Once funding has been agreed by the LA, the family and young person will be informed.
Transition
Once funding has been confirmed in writing a series of transition visits will be arranged. The length and nature of the transition period is determined and is based on the needs of the young person. Home visits and school visits may support the transition process.
APPENDIX A
Admission Information
St Rose’s School School is a mixed day and residential school for children and young people between 4 and 19 years who have physical and sensory disabilities, learning and communication difficulties and complex health needs.
St Rose’s School is committed to helping all our students achieve their full potential and their ambitions. Our dedicated and skilled team of teachers, therapists and carers work closely together to enable this to happen for each young person.
Our vision is to be an outstanding Catholic residential special school delivering the highest quality education, therapy and care to children and young adults aged 4-19.
The Admissions Process
St Rose’s School has skills and expertise in meeting the needs of young people aged 4 to 19 with physical and sensory disabilities, learning and communication difficulties and complex health needs.
The following placement types are available:
• Day
• Residential – 38 weeks (weekly boarding Monday to Thursday)
• Residential – 38 weeks (fortnightly boarding)
Application and Assessment
St Rose’s School has one intake for new students in September each year although subject to assessment and capacity, applications for start dates at other times of year may be considered.
Assessments are conducted after a request for a formal offer has been received from the local authority. These may include visits to the present placement and assessment from a multi-disciplinary team on site to ensure that we can meet the needs of the young person.
Short Break Services
St Rose’s School also offer short breaks on site, funded directly by social care or through direct payments for students on roll at St Rose’s. Funding for short breaks needs to be secured in addition to educational placement funding.
Criteria for admission
NMSS are fully included in the duties of the 2014 Children and Families Act and have a duty to admit if named on a child’s EHCP. The duty to admit is a conditional one which relates to the Local Authorities requirement to meet parental preference unless the educational establishment cannot meet the needs of the applicant or if to admit the applicant would compromise the effective education of that applicant or the current enrolled students at the school or college.
Appeal Process
If parents wish to appeal against any decision made by the school they should contact St Rose’s School for information about their appeal process.
Flowcharts for the Admissions Process are available for download in the Admissions Policy PDF