Admissions

Valence School caters for pupils with a physical disability and/or complex medical needs from 4-19 years.

All pupils will have Statements of Special Educational Needs or Education Health Care Plans, and referred to by the Local Authority.

If you would like your child to attend our school, please see full details of our admission arrangements below. Please note that this process applies to any admission, for any year group and in year admissions will also be considered.

Although the school offers introductory visits, parents are advised that the admission of children with Statements of SEN / Education Health and Care Plans to schools is a matter for the LA who has statutory responsibility for arranging their provision. There are admissions criteria for each special school that are applied in order to determine if a particular special school would be a suitable placement. Admissions and referrals are dealt with by the Area Education Office (Special Educational Needs Department) in consultation with the school. An admissions panel is held each week at the Area Education Office and admissions are subject to assessment recommendations of the statementing procedure under the terms of the 1981 Education Act. Under the Code of Practice which came into effect from 1 September 2014, parents of a child who has a Statement of Special Educational Needs / Education Health and Care Plan are entitled to express a preference for any school, mainstream or special, which is in the maintained (state) sector. Valence School is such a school and providing that the following conditions are met the LA must comply with the parental preferences.

The conditions are:

That the school placement will be able to meet the child's needs;
That the placement will be compatible with the efficient education of the other children already in the school and
That the placement represents an efficient use of the LA's resources.
The right of parents to have their preference accepted is not reliant on where they live. Parents who do not live within the Kent County boundary may still express a preference for Valence School when asked by their LA for their view on an appropriate school to meet their child's needs.

If the LA decides that one or more of the three conditions set out above are not met by the parental preference they may name an alternative school. When this happens parents should be fully consulted and involved in detailed discussions. If parents are not satisfied with the Statement of Special Educational Needs/Education Health and Care Plan, including the school which the LA has named, they have the right of appeal to a Tribunal whose decision is final.

The admission of children with Statements of SEN / Education Health and Care Plans to schools is a matter for the LA who has statutory responsibility for arranging their provision. There are admissions criteria for each special school that are applied in order to determine if a particular special school would be a suitable placement. There are is over subscription criteria for Kent Special Schools as the LA has a statutory duty to allocate school places. Special schools do not hold waiting lists.

There are admissions criteria for each special school that are applied in order to determine if a particular special school would be a suitable placement. A link to the admissions criteria for Kent special schools can be found below:

http://www.kelsi.org.uk/admissions/admissions/sen-admission-criteria

Pupils will normally be admitted to Valence School at the beginning of the academic year to start a Reception place, after Key Stage 1 or 2 (Primary/Secondary transfer) and after Key Stage 4 (to Key Stage 5 education). In addition, pupils may also be admitted at the end of Key Stage 3 in order to access the courses on offer, particularly accreditation pathways. Pupils who apply for places during the academic year e.g. if they move to Kent from another LA will be considered according to the admissions criteria.

It is essential that the curriculum on offer at Valence School meets the needs of the pupils and that all elements of the statement or EHC plan can be delivered. In order to facilitate efficiency of learning, there should be an appropriate peer group and a vacancy in the Year Group.

Information, support and advice for special educational needs can also be found by following the link below:

http://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs/...

The named officer in the relevant Area Education Office explains the arrangements for admission to parents and carers as part of the statutory assessment process or as part of any school transition process but further advice is available directly from the Area Offices:

East Kent 03000 421160, SENEast@kent.gov.uk

North Kent 03000 419345, SENNorth@kent.gov.uk

West Kent 03000 420997, SENWest@kent.gov.uk

South Kent 03000 420889, SENSouth@kent.gov.uk