A guide for parents and carers on admissions to Secondary School

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SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDSWhat are special educational needs(SEN)?A child has special educational needs (SEN)if he/she has greater difficulty in learningthan most other children of about the sameage. A child’s SEN may be caused by learningdifficulties, behavioural, emotional <strong>and</strong>social difficulties, speech, language <strong>and</strong>communication needs, visual or hearingimpairment or physical disabilities.Many children have learning difficulties atsome time in their education. These areoften temporary <strong>and</strong> are usually dealt withby the school.How can schools help?The Council delegates money intomainstream schools’ budgets to provideextra help <strong>for</strong> pupils with SEN. If a child isidentified as having special educationalneeds, the school will set up an individuallearning plan (IEP) which will set targets thatare reviewed regularly with you. This mayinclude extra help from a teacher or learningsupport assistant individual or small-groupteaching <strong>for</strong> short periods. The level of helpwill be matched to your child’s needs <strong>and</strong>you will be kept in<strong>for</strong>med at each stage ofthe process. Sometimes, the school will callon the help <strong>and</strong> advice of an educationalpsychologist or another professional.Children with statements of SENIn most cases schools will ensure that yourchild gets all the help he/she needs. A fewchildren will have more significant <strong>and</strong> longtermneeds. These children may require aStatutory Assessment of their needs, whichmay lead to the child having a Statement ofSpecial Educational Needs. This explains howthese needs are to be met. Most childrenwith Statements of SEN attend their localschool <strong>and</strong> receive extra help there.However a child with a statement may needto attend a special school or a mainstreamschool with additional facilities <strong>for</strong> particulardifficulties such as hearing impairment,physical difficulties, autistic spectrumdisorder, specific learning difficulties,emotional <strong>and</strong> behavioural difficulties orspeech <strong>and</strong> language difficulties. If you thinkyour child needs to attend a school with thisspecialist support you cancontact the Council’s Special EducationalNeeds Team to find out which schoolsprovide this support.If you are concerned about your child’sprogress, you should speak to his/herteacher. The school will have a publishedpolicy on identifying <strong>and</strong> supporting pupilswith special educational needs, which youcan ask to see.Transfer to Secondary SchoolIf your child has a current statement ofspecial educational needs <strong>and</strong> attends amainstream primary school or a specialresource in a mainstream primary school, hisor her future placement must be consideredas part of the annual review of thestatement <strong>and</strong> you will be part of thosediscussions.In most cases it should be possible to giveclear recommendations in Year 5 as to thetype of schooling that your child will needat the secondary stage. Very rarely, a child’sneeds may change after the Year 5 review tosuch a great extent that the type of schoolmay need to be reconsidered. This shouldtake place through an interim or early Year 6review.71If you have any queries please contact the Admissions Team on 0118 937 2550 or email: admissions.team@reading.gov.ukApply online at www.reading.gov.uk/schooladmissions
The law is that the Local Authority mustagree to your preference <strong>for</strong> a maintained(State) school, unless:The school is unsuitable to the child’s age,ability or aptitude, or his or her specialeducational needs – if you are looking <strong>for</strong> achange from mainstream school to a specialschool or special extra resources this willonly be taken <strong>for</strong>ward if the school issuitable to your child’s ability <strong>and</strong> specialeducational needs.Or the attendance of your child at theschool would prejudice the provision ofefficient education <strong>and</strong> the efficient use ofresources. The governing body would haveto demonstrate that they could not takereasonable steps to resolve these issues.In the majority of cases, it will be possible tomeet the parental preference <strong>for</strong> a namedschool. However if you do not agree withthe school being suggested you will beinvited to meet with someone from theSpecial Educational Needs Team to discussthe matter. The Parent Partnership Service isalso available to offer independent advice<strong>and</strong> support to <strong>parents</strong> of children withspecial educational needs.In cases wherethere is a disagreement about your child’sspecial educational provision you may beoffered <strong>for</strong>mal mediation with anindependent mediation service. If you aresent a final statement with which youdisagree, you then have the opportunity toappeal to the SEN <strong>and</strong> Disability Tribunal inLondon.Mainstream schooling: the majority ofchildren will attend their local mainstreamschool serving their address in cases wherechildren attend a school that is not thedesignated area school <strong>parents</strong>/<strong>carers</strong> willnormally be expected to pay the full cost ofthe transport costs to the school.Specialist provision: if your preference is <strong>for</strong>a place in a resourced unit or special schoolthis in<strong>for</strong>mation is passed to the SpecialEducational Needs Team. A move to aspecial school or to a special educationresource can only be arranged if the schoolhas places available <strong>and</strong> is suitable to yourchild’s age, aptitude, ability <strong>and</strong> their specialeducational needs. Expressing a preference<strong>for</strong> a mainstream place in a school that hostsa resource will not necessarily secure theadmission of your child to either the schoolor the special resource.Schools outside Reading Borough: you areable to express a preference <strong>for</strong> your childto be placed in a mainstream school, aspecial school, or to a special educationresource within a mainstream school outsideReading. The allocation of places in schoolsoutside Reading is arranged with theGoverning Body <strong>and</strong> the appropriate LocalAuthority. The Special Educational NeedsTeam must by law consult the admissionauthority <strong>and</strong> the governors of yourpreferred school. The admission authoritymay be the LA that maintains the school.Expressing a preference <strong>for</strong> a resource placein a mainstream in a school outside Readingwill not necessarily secure the admission ofyour child to either the school or the specialresource.If you live in Reading you will receive asecondary school application pack inSeptember 2012. You should complete theapplication <strong>for</strong>m enclosed <strong>and</strong> return it tothe SEN team. Your application will beprocessed by the SEN team <strong>and</strong> you will bein<strong>for</strong>med by the 12 February 2013 whichschool will be named in your child’sstatementPlaces at a special school or a resourcedunit are only offered at therecommendation of the LA, <strong>and</strong> to pupilswith a Statement of Special EducationalNeeds.If you need further advice or in<strong>for</strong>mation, abooklet “A Parents’ Guide to Procedures <strong>for</strong>Children with Special Educational NeedsIf you have any queries please contact the Admissions Team on 0118 937 2550 or email: admissions.team@reading.gov.ukApply online at www.reading.gov.uk/schooladmissions 72
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MOVING ON TOSECONDARY SCHOOL2013-20
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CONTENTSTimetableExplanation of Ter
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EXPLANATION OF TERMS USED INTHIS GU
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parent or legal carer i.e a single
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for each end point
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• school’s aims and</st
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HOW TO APPLY FOR A SECONDARYSCHOOL
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If your child does not attend a Rea
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Can school 1 beoffered?YesOffer pla
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSThis section m
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OPEN EVENINGSBlessed Hugh Faringdon
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Page 30 and 31: Pre-Admission MeetingAs part of the
Page 32 and 33: Any applicant unsuccessful in the s
Page 34 and 35: Open EveningOpen Evening - Monday 2
Page 36 and 37: e inaccurate will potentially inval
Page 38 and 39: normally be achieved in a single si
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Page 44 and 45: Reading SchoolErleigh RoadReadingRG
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Page 52 and 53: Entrance TestsThe entrance tests wi
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Page 78 and 79: USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS ANDCONTACT DET
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A guide for parents and carers on admissions to Secondary School

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