Admissions Policy

To be eligible for consideration for a place at the school, young people must be of secondary school age, have severe autism and severe learning difficulties. In addition, many of the young people who attend The Shires have challenging behaviour, often as a result of their communication difficulties.

Before being offered a place at the school, young people who meet the above criteria will receive an initial assessment to ensure their suitability for placement.

Referrals for places are usually received directly from the education or social services departments within Local Authorities, known for these purposes as Placing Authorities. However, parents, sometimes with the agreement of the local Placing Authority, may also make applications.

The school's assessment team, which may include a teacher, educational psychologist, care worker and/or speech and language therapist, considers each referral.

Following the initial assessment, one member of the assessment team visits the home and current placement of the young person concerned to make a more detailed assessment. This detailed assessment will include discussions with parents, and wherever possible, with the young person concerned.

In addition, the views of professionals involved with the young person are sought. Observations are made of the young person in a variety of settings. If the young person would benefit from a placement at the school, the Local Education Authority and parents are informed, and an admission date is agreed.

Securing a placement at a residential special school

On occasions, parents do not always get the support of their local placing authority when trying to place their children at residential special schools such as The Shires. Under these circumstances some parents may consider making a legal challenge through Special Needs Tribunals, or SENDIST.

Tribunals assess the needs of each pupil and make a judgement about whether or not the child needs residential care and education and the extent to which schools such as ours can meet those needs. The Shires specialises in caring and educating pupils at the low-performing end of the autistic spectrum and so would not meet all the needs of pupils with say, Aspergers Syndrome.

Parents who are unsure about the degree of special need of their child are welcome to make contact with The Shires. Staff at The Shires will talk with the parents, explain what sort of special needs are best met at the school and home, and provide some advice about the options available to them. This may or may not involve an assessment of the child by one or more independent specialists whose reports might be used as evidence for placing authorities and tribunal to consider.

It is essential that the special school a child eventually attends is the one that best meets that child's needs and that is always the overriding concern of special schools like The Shires and the placing authorities.

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