2. How can my child attend Sunningdale School?

 

Sunningdale School is commissioned by the Local Authority to provide for children aged 2 - 11 years who have severe, profound, and multiple or severe learning difficulties, which may include Autism.

The placing authority is Together for Children on behalf of Sunderland City Council.

The young person will have severe and persistent lifelong difficulties with literacy, numeracy, or motor co-ordination despite regular attendance or have profound and multiple learning difficulties that are lifelong.

The child will have an Education, Health and Care Plan with cognition and learning as a primary need.

The child’s needs should in line with those identified at range 5. The young person will have:

 

• Associated severe and complex learning difficulties impact on their ability to make progress within the curriculum despite the use of specialist materials, aids, equipment, furniture and/or extensive adaptations to the physical environment.

• Potential requirement that health care inputs and therapies be intensive and daily, including interventions from Occupational Therapist/Speech and Language Therapist and Physiotherapist.

• Requires a total communication approach and is or may be an augmentative alternative communication user.

• Cognitive scores that fall within the range for severe learning difficulties, typically with an IQ below 50.

• Specialist interventions such as PECS, Makaton, Intensive Interaction, Tac-Pac, hydrotherapy

• Potentially may have a degenerative condition.

• Complex medical needs requiring frequent monitoring and medical intervention throughout the school day with access to a school nurse.

• Significant levels of difficulty in cognitive processing, requiring significant alteration to the pace and delivery of the curriculum.

• The child is socially immature and vulnerable because of limited social awareness, difficulties with reasoning, understanding, or expressing thought.

Interventions recommended by external specialists will have been used and despite these the child shows little, or no progress or intensive support is required to ensure progress; and

An Educational Psychologist will have been involved with the child and will have identified this level of need. This recommendation will have been discussed with an EHCP review meeting or the outcome of an EHCP needs assessment.

You can ask your local authority to carry out an assessment if you think your child needs an EHC plan.

The process will involve:

 

• An assessment by all the professionals involved with your child. Each professional will write a report about the child’s needs.

• An invitation to parents to visit different schools/settings. Parents will be asked to write their views about their child’s needs and to choose a preferred

• All reports are submitted to the SEN department and a panel of professionals decides on the ‘setting’ and the type of support required to meet your child’s needs.

• The application will be considered by Together for Children at the resourced panel meeting following statutory assessment. The Panel will be chaired by the SEN Strategic Lead/Team Manager.

• The Panel will consider available places, whether the entry criteria for the provision are met, needs of other pupils attending the school and advise on the placement.

• A draft EHCP will be written if professionals agree one is required. This will provide details about the child’s needs and the support required. Once professionals and parents agree the EHCP is accurate a final version will be issued.

• Following agreement, a transition package will be agreed between the team around the child to ensure successful transition into the school. This will be planned for up to six weeks, in partnership between school staff and the child’s mainstream school, to ensure a successful transition for the young person and their family