Referrals and Admissions
St Vincent's accepts referrals from parents and local authorities. We encourage parents to engage in dialogue with their child's current school SENCo and/ or local authority in the first instance. We receive referrals from local authorities once an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) has been agreed upon. Local authorities are responsible for the fees.
The below points are an examples of the procedures taken by a placing local authority:
• Local authorities consult with the Headteacher of St Vincent’s School by sharing with them the EHC plan, advice and review if one has taken place
• If the approach has not been made by the LA, school will inform the host local authority
• In many cases, initial contact to the school will be made by parents, LA or an interested party on behalf of the child or young person. All enquiries are directed to the Family Liaison Officer
• St Vincent’s will review the paperwork and share an initial decision with the local authority about the suitability of the provision, and offer an assessment visit to meet the child or young person
• If an assessment visit is arranged, St Vincent’s will carry out a 2-day assessment to fully understand the child or young person’s needs and then respond to the consultation formally to the LA
• The response from St Vincent’s is often considered by a panel, which is a group of managers in the local authority who make decisions about placements and provision
• The local authority would consider if the placement at St Vincent’s is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs (SEN) of your child or young person; the attendance of your child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of the efficient education for others, or the attendance of your child or young person would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources
• If the local authority agrees to fund the placement, then St Vincent’s School provides a transition plan and start date
• If the local authority decided not to agree to the placement at St Vincent’s School, your rights of appeal would be shared with you alongside the decision
• Parents and young people have a right to mediation if they only want to appeal section I of an EHC plan which includes the name of the school or other institution to be attended by the child or young person, and the type of that institution (or just the type if no specific institution is named). However, if the appeal is only about Section I of an EHCP, and the rest of the EHCP is not disputed, the parent/carer or young person does not need to contact a mediation adviser to get a mediation certificate in order to submit an appeal to the tribunal
• St Vincent’s may be asked by the local authority or parent or young person to provide more evidence during the tribunal appeals process or be invited to be a witness during the tribunal hearing
All pupils have an EHCP, and have a sensory impairment and/or other needs – this includes visual and hearing impairments. The EHCP will identify a visual impairment as the primary requirement for special education, but pupils may have, in addition, other needs.
If you would like to know more about our school, please get in touch via our school office.