Admissions
Places at Highfield Ely and LINC 19 – 25 are offered using the following information:
The young person has an Education, Health and Care plan, or this process is underway, and this demonstrates a significant delay in attainment and complex learning needs. As a consequence, they require significant modification to the curriculum and personalized learning approaches that cannot be achieved in a mainstream environment.
Paperwork requesting consideration of a placement has to be sent to us through the Statutory Assessment and Resources Team (SAT). We are able to work with different Local Authorities (LAs) even though we are based in Cambridgeshire.
The Code of Practice, 2015 states that, ‘The … school … should respond within 15 days.’ Highfield Ely will respond to requests for placements within 15 days, acknowledging receipt of the paperwork and outlining the remainder of the process. If the paperwork outlines additional needs that don’t fit within the area special school remit, or there is another reason why the placement wouldn’t be appropriate, then we would say this in the initial response. The remainder of the process is in the form of an Admissions Panel meeting where all requests for placement are considered. We would expect to meet the young person before any offer is made, usually in a school tour, unless there are particular circumstances that stop this from happening.
To make the process as fair as possible, we hold one admissions Panel meeting each year, late in the Autumn term, or early in the Spring term (December/January) where we allocate places for the following September.
We offer places according to:
1. Pupils being identified as priority placements by Statutory Assessment Team Caseworkers
2. The level of the CYP's complex needs
3. How local to the school setting the young person lives
If the young person’s individual needs cannot be met within the proposed resources offered in the placement request, this will need to be agreed and arranged with the appropriate LA before the placement is confirmed.
Constraints on admissions:
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There isn’t a place available in an appropriate class group or appropriate resources available in the school.
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The young person requires a residential placement.
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The young person has communication/sensory/physical/social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties but does not have significant learning difficulties.
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The young person has other needs outlined in his/her EHCP that Highfield cannot accommodate.
Once the academy is named on the EHCP and parents / carers have accepted a place, the academy will contact the parents / carers to arrange for a pre-admission meeting. This is an opportunity to ensure the school has everything in place to meet the child’s needs and make the transition as smooth and positive as possible. Those invited to the meeting include parents / carers, the proposed teacher at Highfield, and other professionals that are needed in order that we have the right information so that no time is wasted upon commencement of the placement. If the child is to start in September they will be invited to any other transition events. Children under statutory school age may be offered a part-time place initially and will gradually build up to a full-time placement. How this is managed is agreed between the school and the parents / carers.
If you are unsuccessful with your application to Highfield you can appeal to the SAT Team.
The contact details for the SAT Team are: (Statutory Assessment and Resources Team)
Telephone: 01480 372600
Email: start@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
To visit the Cambridgeshire County Council Admissions information please click on the link below:
