We understand that trying to find the correct school for your child is very a important decision. We want to do what we can to help, but unfortunately it is not possible to offer individual tours during the school day. We do offer planned tours. Dates and times are below. Please note: - This will be a small group tour, we will not be able to answer personal questions about individual children during this session. These tours are for parents / carers looking at the provision for future placement not for those who have been offered a place. Children cannot be accommodated on these tours, you will not be able to join the tour if you arrive with any children.
Please note:
- This will be a small group tour, we will not be able to answer personal questions about individual children during this session. These tours are for parents / carers looking at the provision for future placement not for those who have been offered a place. Children cannot be accommodated on these tours, you will not be able to join the tour if you arrive with any children.
- Each date there are a maximum of 8 spaces. There is a maximum of two spaces per family/child
Please Note: Duke of Lancaster only has a few spaces in KS1 for 2023-2024
Admissions at SENDAT
Admissions to all our SENDAT schools are managed centrally by our SEND Services team. Please email sendservices@sendat.academy
This includes: Priory, Stone Lodge, Angel Hill, Mount Road, Mulberry, Peile, Duke of Lancaster and Chalk Hill
At SENDAT the CEO and the Heads of school work with our SEND Services team to identify correct placement at our schools.
The Local Authorities are our admissions bodies and we can only take admissions through consultation with them.
Suffolk has recently updated its processes. All request for places in special schools are now firstly reviewed by the Specialist Education Panel (SEP). Please see flow diagram below.
If you are enquiring about a school place / admissions please use this contact form.
It helps us answer your question if we have some information about your child. Please also make sure you have read the information on this page.
Norfolk processes for Duke of Lancaster
Please see the links on the Duke of Lancaster pages
Suffolk Processes
- As part of the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment, once a draft EHC Plan has been issued and the young person or family request a specialist setting:
- As part of the Annual Review of an EHC Plan, where changes to the special educational needs or support is recommended and the young person or family request a specialist setting:
Exception to these two pathways where immediate action may be required, is for a child or young person who is moving into or within Suffolk, or a child or young person who has been permanently excluded from an education setting.
Admissions to Chalk Hill
Chalk Hill is an Alternative Provision Academy (AP Academy) also called a PRU at times. Admission to Chalk Hill does not need to have an EHCP. Referrals to Chalk Hill still go through the SEP process outlined below before Chalk Hill is asked to consider a student.
Specialist Education Panel Outcomes
The Panel will consider the requests and supporting information and an outcome will be determined as follows:
A: Request for specialist placement not agreed.
B: Request to consult with a specialist setting is accepted.
* Unless the school is closed for more than 2 weeks, then additional time is allowed.
** For children and young people added to the shortlist, this does not mean that a specialist placement will be offered as further actions or information identified will be reviewed and the impact assessed.
For children and young people that may benefit from a specialist placement for the following school year, any additional information or actions requested will be reviewed and the impact assessed. Further consideration will be given late Autumn/early Spring so that the placement for September can be named in the EHC Plan by mid-February for school age children or end of March for those moving into post 16 education or training. Annual review reports will need to be with the Local Authority by the end of November.
The Specialist Education Panel
The Panel will be chaired by either the Assistant Director for Inclusion and Skills or Head of SEND Services for Children and Young People and will include representatives from the Specialist Education Services, Family Services and the Specialist Provider Team.
The role of the Specialist Groups, Units and Schools.
The Specialist Education Panel will consider all requests carefully and will expect forms to be fully completed, with up to date descriptions of the child’s or young person’s special educational needs and the support they require and clear information about the support that has already been in place and the impact of this. It should be clear what advice, guidance and input from Specialist Education Services, Early Help, Social Care and health services has been accessed to support the child or young person.
The Local Authority will hold current information about the number of places available for pupils in each setting, using the agreed admission date and the end of the placement date to keep this information accurate. If a child’s or young person’s placement ends, then the Local Authority must be informed immediately.
This should mean that on receipt of the pupil’s information from Specialist Education Panel, a positive response from the specialist setting can be made as soon as possible, or at the latest within 15 working days. The response should include an admission date for immediate placements requests. The Local Authority will acknowledge the response and will accept or decline the offer.
For all other requests, the response should also include
- any recommendations about additional support that the current school should have in place
- an initial view about whether the profile of special educational needs described could be met within the specialist setting if the continued or additional support identified in the current setting does not support progress
- the earliest an admission could be made if subsequent discussions indicate the specialist setting is required.
On review of the information by the specialist setting, if exceptional circumstances emerge regarding the admission of the child or young person, detailed information about the reason/s will need to be submitted to the mailbox within 15 days. This information will be presented back to the Panel for further consideration. The specialist settings will be informed of the decision: either that the request for admission is withdrawn; or an admission date is still requested and the reasons why.
The Local Authority will keep a shortlist of children and young people where both the Local Authority and the specialist setting/s agree a further discussion needs to take place regarding an admission to a specialist setting. These discussions will take place late Autumn/early Spring with the specialist settings so placements can be agreed for the following September.
