Admission to Westfield School

Westfield School is a Community Special School with a catchment area primarily covering the Wycombe and Chiltern & South Bucks districts of Buckinghamshire. Children from other areas and Local Authorities (e.g. Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham and Oxfordshire) will be considered upon request by Buckinghamshire Local Authority, which is responsible for admissions to Westfield School.

Admissions may be made at any time during the school year, but generally take place at the start of each term. All admissions are made in accordance with the current school policy and appropriate legislation.

Pupils are expected to be supported by an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or Statement of Special Educational Needs which describes the provision they will need in order to access education. If the EHCP or statement describes provision which matches that provided by Westfield, then your named Local Authority EHCP Co-ordinator will recommend that you visit Westfield and meet key staff in order to inform your parental preference. Please contact our office for information about upcoming prospective parents’ information sessions.

A place is confirmed only if the provision we offer and the needs of the child are compatible. Parents will be full partners in this process. Decisions about admission depend upon the agreement of parents, the local authority, Westfield staff and appropriate professionals and there being an appropriate place available.

Context

Special educational needs fall into four broad areas in accordance with the Code of Practice September 2014.

1. Communication and interaction

2. Cognition and learning

3. Social, mental and emotional health

4. Sensory and/or physical

Many children have difficulties that fit clearly into one of these areas; some have needs that span two or more areas; for others the precise nature of their need may not be clear at the outset.

Westfield School’s provision aims to support the development of primary aged children (aged rising 5 – 11) within the Communication and Interaction strand of SEN who are within the Moderate Learning Difficulty cognitive range. Children experiencing these needs may present with a range of difficulties which significantly impact upon their learning, including speech, language and communication needs, autistic spectrum disorder, ADHd, sensory processing and Developmental Co-ordination Disorder.

Children with these needs often find the social setting and expectations of mainstream school overwhelming, frustrating and stressful, and this may lead them to produce behaviours which challenge themselves, staff, other children and their own parents. These behaviours are how their underlying needs express themselves.

Our pupils are grouped in classes and learning bases according to their needs range rather than chronological age.

For information about other specialist provisions in your local area, please click on the link below:

https://directory.familyinfo.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/?categories=special-schools&collection=education-and-learning&map=true&page=1

Entry Criteria

A child or young person is eligible to be considered for placement if they meet the following criteria:

• The child or young person has a statement of SEN or EHCP
• The child or young person is Reception to Year 6.
• The child or young person has been assessed as being unable to fully access, or follow in a modified form, the National Curriculum in a mainstream setting.
• The child or young person is working below ‘Age Expectations’
• The school has the resources and expertise to meet the child or young person’s
• needs
• There is an appropriate place available within a suitable cohort

Exit Criteria

A child will be considered for placement in a mainstream school when one or more of the following factors are evident:

• The child’s special educational needs are no longer a barrier to accessing the curriculum of a mainstream setting.
• The child no longer requires an EHC Plan
• There is evidence from professionals across the agencies involved that the child will benefit from a placement in a mainstream school.

A child will be considered for placement in an alternative specialist provision when one or more of the following factors are evident:

• The child’s special educational needs have changed to the extent that the provision is no longer able to meet their needs and he/she requires the specialist skills/facilities/resources available within an alternative specialist placement.
• A child will be considered not suitable for placement if there has been deterioration of their health to the extent that they are required to be in a full-time health based environment, for example, hospital, hospice, full-time nursing care at home.

Consideration should be given to the compatibility of the placement of a child with the efficient education of other children in the school and effective use of resources available.

For this reason a student may be considered no longer appropriately placed when the points above do not apply.

Procedure for Placement

The admitting authority for special schools is Buckinghamshire Local Authority and requests for placement at Westfield School will be considered by the local authority’s provision panel.

If the panel considers that the child meets the criteria for a place, consultation will take place with the nearest appropriate provision to the home address that has an available place. Should parents state a preference for a place which is not at the nearest available school, parents would be responsible for the home to school transport if a place is allocated at their preferred school.

The school being consulted will respond directly to the Local Authority indicating if they feel that they can meet the pupil’s needs as per schedule 27.

Schedule 27 of the Education Act 1996 requires the Local Authority to comply with parental preference unless:

• the school is unsuitable to the child’s age, ability, aptitude or special educational
• needs
• the placement would be incompatible with the efficient education of other children
• with whom the child would be educated
• The placement would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources

In consideration of a parental request for a placement the Local Authority must consider the entry criteria detailed above.

Helpful Telephone Numbers

• Buckinghamshire Council School Admissions Information

Buckinghamshire Family Information Service Local Offer

www.bucksfamilyinfo.org/localoffer