Admissions
Aims
- To work with all people closely involved with the child to agree clear and realistic aims for support programmes
- To support the child’s return to full-time mainstream education
- To work in partnership with the school in managing the child’s needs, e.g. by attending SEN reviews and writing joint IEP
- To work with all agencies to ensure an integrated response
- To prevent further exclusion from school by:
- providing a secure and safe environment
- engaging children in learning
- helping children learn social and emotional skills
- encouraging children to develop their own interests in the world about them
- teaching children to be independent learners
- supporting children’s reintegration to full-time mainstream education
- providing a range of assessments
Criteria for Admission
Children are admitted to the Primary Inclusion Service for either placement at the centre, or for outreach support, when all these criteria have been met:
- The pupil is at School Action Plus of the SEN code of practice for BESD
- Other agencies have been involved in supporting the child, school and family
- The pupil has had fixed term exclusions and is at serious risk of permanent exclusion
- The school can evidence that it has provided additional support for the pupil and tried a range of different strategies to improve the pupil’s behaviour
- The pupil has been seen by an Educational Psychologist
- A Pastoral Support Programme is in place and has been implemented and reviewed
- The school has completed a Common Assessment Framework
- The pupil is not being educated off the school site on another intervention programme
Children who are in crisis and are at sudden risk of permanent exclusion may be admitted for placement without the above criteria being met, at the discretion of the head of service.
Structure, Timing and Allocation of Programmes
When children are admitted for part-time preventative placements, or placements as alternatives to permanent exclusion, they stay on their school roll and are recorded on the school register as being educated off site for the sessions they attend the Centre. Centre staff work in partnership with staff at the mainstream school to meet the child’s needs.
Part-time preventative placements and outreach programmes last twelve weeks and are reviewed after six weeks. An end date is given before the placement or programme starts. It is not usual to admit two children for placements from the same school at the same time, although more than one child can be worked with on an outreach programme. We aim to admit new pupils at a rate of no more than one child per week.
Admissions process for a referral (placement or outreach)
A phone call from an involved professional (usually the headteacher) triggers the process. However, this does not constitute a referral. The centre records a child as having been referred when it has received:
- The Common Assessment Framework signed by parents or carers
- A copy of the child’s reviewed Pastoral Support Programme
In a crisis situation the centre may accept a referral without the above paperwork, at the discretion of the head of service.
The Centre works in partnership with the Educational Psychology Service and the SEN department and will liaise with them over the best ways to meet a child’s needs. It is good practice to agree a placement or programme of support at a multi-agency meeting, convened by the mainstream school, to which parents and carers are also invited.
Induction
i. An Inclusion Support Teacher will visit the school to make various assessments of the child’s BESD needs and to collect:
- copies of the last three IEPs
- national curriculum levels for reading, writing and mathematics
- work samples
- any child protection information
ii. Primary Inclusion Centre staff will carry out a home visit and arrange an induction visit to the centre for the child with parents or carersiii. Taxis will be booked at a charge to the mainstream school of £15.00 a day (charge reviewed annually).
A letter from the Head of Primary Inclusion Support to the Headteacher of the school and the parents/carers confirms the placement or outreach programme and start dates. It is good practice for the children’s class teachers to visit children who are having part-time placements for preventative work, while they are at the centre.
Reintegration after placement at the Centre
Following a Placement at the centre there are three possible reintegration routes:
1. Full-time return to the child’s host mainstream school2. Fresh start at a new mainstream school3. Statutory assessment and possible additional support through astatement of SEN
It is not the policy of the Centre to recommend a child to reintegration to mainstream school unless the child has been assessed to have at a good chance of being successful.
Reintegration Process
1. Full-time return to the child’s host mainstream schoolThis is agreed in partnership with the school and parents or a carers at a six-weekly review meeting. It is usual for children to make a phased return and for the school or Centre to provide additional adult support for a short time to aid the success of the reintegration.2. Fresh start at a new mainstream schoolThe need for a fresh start is agreed in partnership with the school and parents or a carers. The head teacher of the host school usually initiates a fresh start place. Parents and carers are supported in approaching possible new schools by either staff from the Centre or by staff from the Service District or Attendance and Inclusion Service. It is good practice to discuss and agree the admission at a meeting at the new school. The Primary Inclusion Centre supports a phased admission and usually provides additional staff to support the child for one or two half days a week. The Primary Inclusion Centre monitors the fresh start process carefully and is always ready to give additional advice or support should the need occur.3. Statutory assessment and possible additional support through a statement of SEN.The need for a statutory assessment is agreed with an educational psychologist at one of the six weekly review meetings. The PIC works in partnership with mainstream schools to submit requests for statutory assessments and provide advice for children under assessment. The PIC supports children in partnership with mainstream schools until the statutory assessment process is complete and the SEN panel has decided whether or not to issue a statement. This can result in a recommendation that a special school can best meet the child’s needs at the present time.
How useful is this page?