Requesting a placement
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In our experience the best way to initially assess if a child’s individual needs can be met at the Royal Blind School is by making one or two visits to the school in the first instance – either parents alone and or with the relevant professional(s). It is usually recommended that the child should visit on a second or subsequent visit. For further information about the school, or to arrange a visit, please contact enquiries@royalblindschool.org.
What next?
If it is felt that the RBS can meet the child’s needs and the decision is made to proceed with an application for placement, then a formal application should be made to the relevant professionals in your home authority. In most applications for placement, it is the child's host local authority who makes this formal request as most placements and transport to and from school are funded by the child's LEA. Sometimes parents are unsuccessful with an application and they may then require to take the application to appeal.
Should you need assistance to make an application for your child, Royal Blind School staff will advise you as to the steps you need to take to make a formal application for a place at this school.
Special arrangements exist when making application for placement when private funding is involved, for example, when the child comes from a country outwith the UK.
Pre Admission Assessment
It will usually be necessary for your child to attend a short assessment carried out by Royal Blind School staff which allows us to produce a report outlining how the school would intend meeting your child’s learning needs at the Royal Blind School if a placement is agreed.
Admission
Once a placement has been agreed, parents/carers will be contacted by school staff who will in conjunction with your local authority guide and support your child’s transition into the Royal Blind School (RBS). In non-local authority funded placements, the discussion will normally be directly between the family and school. The details of the transition will vary but the key aim of the Royal Blind School is to ensure that this takes place as smoothly as possible, being aware of the need to effectively transfer as much information about the child as possible and with particular attention being paid to learning that has taken place prior to transfer to the RBS. This will maximise the continuity of learning.
At the Royal Blind School we deliver a high quality service which meets the individual pupil’s needs. These are identified through initial and ongoing assessment and consultation with the young learner and their parents. Following admission to the school a comprehensive baseline assessment is made of new pupils’ developmental and educational needs. This baseline assessment has an important role to play in the setting of learning targets.
