Before & After Red Gates School

1. Once a pre-school child has been referred, parents are invited to make an appointment for them to visit Red Gates with or without their child, whichever is preferred. They will also be sent a school prospectus and informed about the website.

2. During the visit parents will meet the Head, the teacher and teaching assistants (TAs) who could be involved with their child. They will be able to observe children working in the classroom. Time will be spent discussing the curriculum, assessment procedures, how individual programmes are devised and how parents are kept informed of their child’s progress. They will also be shown the special facilities.

3. Key Stage 1 Leader and Senior Teacher will visit children referred in their current placements. The Head will meet with Special Educational Need(SEN) case managers and Special School Heads in the spring term and early in the summer term to discuss children referred and which of these children would be appropriately placed at Red Gates. The Local Authority will then hold an admissions panel meeting to make the final decision on admissions to Red Gates for the following September. The Local Authority will inform parents of this decision.

4. Once parents have accepted a place for their child, an appointment will be made with the school nurse. This enables the nurse to establish a medical/health profile of the child. Red Gates’ therapists will liaise with other therapists currently working with the child and parents will become familiar with all professionals involved in the multi-disciplinary team at Red Gates. New parents and their children will be invited to a play session at the end of the summer term.

5. A new child starting in Reception class, or a child who has not attended school before, will attend mornings only for the first week and this will increase to a whole day as soon as parents and staff feel the child is ready. Parents are encouraged to join their child in class during the first week. This will help the child to settle into school and the parents to become familiar with the class structure, routines and activities and to get to know staff and other parents.

6. During the first two weeks parents are invited to join our starter programme which provides them with opportunities to meet staff and therapists to find out more about what is offered at Red Gates School.

7. The class teacher and a TA from the class team will offer a visit to the family at home during the first term, prior to the child starting school in September, to exchange information about the child.

At the end of Year 6 children transfer to a secondary school to complete their education. Generally, Children from Red Gates transfer to Priory School in Croydon, which is the secondary provision for students with SLD and autism. However parents may also wish to consider schools in other local authorities.

Transferring to secondary school is one of the most exciting developments in a young person’s life – and potentially one of the most challenging. It is a time when so many things they are used to completely change. Preparing our children for their transition to secondary school is very important and this takes place in the following way:

1. Year 4 & 5 – In the spring term parents are invited to a coffee morning where the transition process is explained and parents have the opportunity to discuss any anxieties they may have. This will be further discussed at the annual review meetings.

2. Transfer to secondary school is initially discussed with parents at the Year 5 annual review meeting and followed up at the Year 6 annual review. A preferred secondary school placement is recorded at the Year 5 review meeting and this information sent to the Local Authority Special Educational Needs Case Manager.

3. Year 5 – In the summer term a letter is sent to parents by the Local Authority, requesting them to fill in a form selecting an appropriate secondary school for their child.

4. The Local Authority admissions panel meetings for secondary transfers are held during the Autumn term and parents will be informed of the outcome by the Local Authority by the end of February.

5. The transition process:

• Autumn term Key Stage 2 Leader liaises with relevant staff at prospective secondary school(s) to discuss needs of Year 6 children.
• Autumn/Spring term senior staff from prospective secondary school(s) are invited to observe Year 6 children and discuss their needs and whether they can be met.
• Children transferring to Priory School will visit half termly for planned activities during Year 6. They will be accompanied by the class teacher and TA’s from his/her class. Children transferring to an out of borough school will visit the secondary school for at least one session with a TA and parent during the summer term. Parents will be informed about the transition programme and are kept informed about how their child is responding to the change throughout this preparation time.
• Social stories are prepared for each child and shared during the summer term. These are sent home over the summer holiday for parents to continue to use.

As part of the transfer to secondary school, the transitions teams from both schools invite parents/carers to an individual ‘family & professionals’ meeting to gather information from families and professionals. This meeting is an opportunity for parents/carers to meet education and therapy teams from Priory, and to address any queries they may have.  Other professionals who may be involved with the child such as the current class teacher, School Nursing Team, therapists and representatives from Social Care are also invited.