All admissions to Sherwood Park School are through the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities team at Cognus, acting on behalf of Sutton Local Authority. Please click the link below for further information.
Sutton's Local Offer - Sutton Council
For any consultations on admissions in the first instance please contact sen.team@cognus.org.uk but for any ongoing case please email us at Admissions@sherwoodpark.org.uk
The school follows and supports Sutton’s process for admission to special schools. All admissions to Sherwood Park School are through the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities team at Cognus, acting on behalf of Sutton Local Authority, as the LEA retains the legal responsibility to place special needs pupils appropriately. The Sherwood Park admissions officer will maintain clear and up to date information about the School through its website and its Local Offer statement. The admissions officer will actively engage in all LA admissions panels where possible.
Initial expressions of interest may be made directly to the School, usually via admissions. The School welcomes interest from parents and carers and ensures there are opportunities for parents and carers of prospective students to visit and to attend scheduled Open Events. Tours of the school are offered to all interested parents, whether we have spaces or not.
If appropriate the Area Office will allocate a Case Officer and send formal papers to the school for consultation via the school admissions email address admissions@sherwoodpark.org.uk. Consults will usually indicate which campus (Sherwood Park or Sherwood Hill) is being sought but if not the admissions officer will determine which campus is appropriate. The School admissions officer will operate an effective tracker system to ensure all applications are treated fairly and addressed thoroughly.
Decisions regarding the placement of children and young people involve a number of stakeholders, such as the view of the child or young person, parent/carer preference, commissioners and the views of experienced staff within the school. The highest priority is given to looked after children and all previously looked after children. If the school is potentially able to offer a place we will then arrange for a formal visit either to see them in their current educational setting or at home if out of school. This enables us to complete a brief assessment as to their suitability for the school and the existing cohort. If a pupil has complex physical and/or medical needs, the school nurse and onsite NHS therapy team will be involved in the admissions process, in order to assess whether these can be met and to plan for their implementation. If the school has no spaces in the cohort we will generally respond according to the paperwork, as an assessment would raise potential hopes.
We respond to the Area Office in writing as to whether we can meet the child or young person’s Special Educational Needs. If a decision is taken not to offer a place, clear reasons will be given for that recommendation. The reasons will be expressed in terms of the needs of the child or young person, whether a place is available at the provision within the appropriate context (e.g. year group or cohort) and/or the efficient education of other young people already in situ, so that it is clear why the recommendation is made that they do not meet the published admissions criteria. Reasonable adjustments will be considered carefully and outlined in the response.
It is then the Local Authority, not the school that offers the place to the child’s parents. Once placement has been agreed, clear and planned transition arrangements are put in place to manage the move. These will be tailored for individual pupils and students. Sherwood Park has strong links with all of its feeder schools and nurseries and develops effective transitions for new students. Early Years pupils are admitted on a part time basis, building towards full time education by the age of 5 years.
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