Admission process for St Catherine`s School
The admission process for St Catherine’s School (children aged 11 to 16) involves three stages:
Stage 1: Informal visit
Prior to your visit, we suggest that you (or your local authority, at your request) submit your child’s documentation (see list below) for review by our evaluation team.
If the team thinks that St Catherine’s may be a suitable placement, then your visit will be arranged. We request that your child does not attend the visit with you.
During the visit, we will discuss your child’s needs with you to make a considered opinion as to whether St Catherine’s might meet your child’s needs.
We consider whether:
- your child falls within the School’s approved range of special educational need;
- the School feels able to meet the needs as described; and
- the young person likely to benefit from attending St Catherine’s.
If the responses are positive, then parents can proceed to the next stage.
Stage 2: Formal Application
This would normally be made by the local authority in which the young person resides as it is they who are responsible for maintaining your child’s Statement of Special Educational Need and for funding.
If the local authority does not wish to proceed with a placement at St Catherine’s School, it would be your decision whether or not to proceed to Stage 3, the Learner Interview, on a private basis.
There is a fee for the interview which is refundable should your child eventually join St Catherine’s School.
Stage 3: Learner Interview
As part of this interview the young person will join their relevant class group and follow the usual timetable. Although no formal testing is carried out, observation will take place in all settings and assessments made.
The interview for St Catherine’s School is a three day residential assessment, from Sunday evening to Wednesday afternoon. Local children attend on a non-residential basis.
Following the interview, St Catherine’s School will inform the local authority, if requested and parents of the outcome in writing together.
The School’s decision is final.
Documentation
Documentation should comprise Statement of Special Educational Need together with the most recent Educational Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy (if appropriate) and school reports, including the most recent Annual Review Report.
SENDIS Tribunals
It is often the case that parents choose to pursue placement through a Special Educational Need and Disability Tribunal, if their local authority does not agree to the placement. Grove Hill Further Education Centre can offer support through this process.
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