Birmingham Virtual school - General school admissions

In-year Admissions Round Children in Care with SEND

Pupils usually start school at the start of the school year in September.

However, sometimes a child in care needs to start or change school after this because:

  • the child/young person’s placement plan has changed
  • The child has been assessed for SEND or their needs have changed and there is a requirement for a new school place to be consulted and named
  • it has been agreed by professionals and current school that a change of school would be in the child’s best interest for other reasons e.g. location of family, siblings, distance to travel, risk of permanent exclusion 

In these circumstances the designated teacher/EY Key worker should

  • share their professional view about the child’s needs and the type of school or setting they believe would best meet the child/young person’s needs (for the next education transition point at a child’s PEP meeting) with the social worker and parent/carer
  • share what transition planning and information transfer it will undertake to support the move to new school place
  • organise a transition PEP meeting when school place is confirmed and invite the new schools Designated Teacher to this meeting

If the child young person has increasing risk of fixed term or possible permanent exclusion the Designated Teacher should

  • Request the support of the Virtual School Education Support Advisor – as behaviour or emotional regulation becomes more challenging
  • Reassess the child’s needs and adjust the education plan, strategies and interventions using the pupil premium or additional support available from the Virtual School
  • Include a two-term ‘graduated response of strategies (assess, plan, do, review) with an understanding that these very same strategies take some time to show impact
  • Discuss with the school SENDCO whether the child/young person has additional needs and consider the graduated response and request for assessment. If the child/young person already has an EHCP the DT should discuss with the schools SENDCO the need for urgent annual review. Ensure the most recent EHCP is uploaded to the child/young person’s PEP on document section and the SEND PEP page is up to date
  • Call a professional meeting or team around the child meeting
  • As a final step consider a managed move

General Birmingham Virtual school, in-year admissions guidance

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