Wandle Valley Academy offers places for pupils experiencing Social, Emotional, Mental Health Difficulties. Pupils are admitted from year 1 to year 9 and the academy offers a curriculum for years 1 - 11. Admissions take place when appropriate, as the academy receives consultations all through the academic year.
Planning meetings take place with the Local Authority or other Authorities where possible to target pupils appropriately for the academy.
It is possible to arrange for an emergency placement but these should be the exception and must be managed carefully and will not be common practice.
All pupils admitted to Wandle Valley Academy will have an EHCP.
Arrangements for date of admission transport etc; are made by the individual Local Authority.
A pupil will be admitted to Wandle Valley Academy:
- If he or she falls within the terms of the current approval for the Academy.
- When the child has an EHCP or Statement of Special Educational Needs maintained under section 324 of the Education Act 1996 and Wandle Valley Academy is named.
- For the purposes of assessment when the Local Authority, parents/carers and the school and any relevant professionals who are involved in the assessment are all agreed that the child’s needs are such that action should be taken immediately.
Consultation with parents/carers and school before naming Wandle Valley Academy:
1. Before Wandle Valley Academy is named in an EHCP/Statement, the Local Authority will consult with the parents/carers of the child concerned and the Governing Body of the school. In practice, this duty of the Governors will normally be delegated to the Headteacher.
2. Where the parent/carer of the child concerned has expressed a preference for Wandle Valley Academy as the Academy in which he/she wishes education to be provided for the child, Wandle Valley Academy will try to offer a place to the pupil unless:
a) Wandle Valley Academy is unsuitable to the child’s age, ability or aptitude or tohis/her special educational needs; or
b) the attendance of the child would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for the children with whom he/she would be educated or the efficient use of resources; or 1
3. Where an application is made for a place and there is a place available within the school as a whole, the following criteria will be applied in order of priority in deciding whether a place is able to be offered:
- There is room within the year group that the pupil is in and adding another pupil to this year group will not adversely affect the provision of efficient education for the children with whom he/she would be educated or the efficient use of resources.
- Offering this pupil a place will maintain a positive balance within the year group and School.
- The parents/carers commit themselves to the Home/Academy agreement and to working in partnership with the Academy for the pupil’s overall development and independence.
4. Once Wandle Valley Academy has been named in the EHCP/Statement, Wandle Valley School has a statutory duty to admit the child. If the Academy and the Local Authority do not agree, then each party can complain to the Secretary of State for Education. Consideration would be given to (2) and (3) above, the terms of the approval of the Academy and the number in the particular year group or teaching group and the classroom arrangements at the Academy.
Admissions Pathway:
Wandle Valley Academy is approached by Sutton Local Authority or another Local Authority, the SEN team or Parent Partnership Officer;
Parents/carers and pupils invited an initial visit to the academy, if there are spaces in the year group and the paperwork submitted demonstrates that the pupil could potentially meet the criteria for Wandle Valley Academy;
If the initial visit is positive, a second visit maybe offered and or a trial session or a number of trial sessions.
Further discussions will take place with parent/carer and pupil to see if the placement remains appropriate.
Parents/carers may request a place at this point and a letter is sent to the LA SEN offering a place.
If at this point additional funding is requested in order to meet the needs of the pupil, this will also be detailed in the placement offer letter to the LA SEN, in addition to the normal placement cost.
If agreed Wandle Valley Academy will be named as new academy in EHCP;
Liaison and information with existing service providers,
Dates set for start. Academy admission information pack sent home with all relevant information, including Pupil Expectations and relevant Policy’s.
