Admissions Arrangements

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.

Policy and Procedure

The school welcomes any parent who wishes to know more about the school and encourages visits of prospective pupils and their parents by appointment. The visiting parents will meet the Headteacher and possibly a prospective class teacher. Discussion will be informal and a conducted tour of the building will be offered.

Although the school offers introductory visits on the above basis, parents are advised that the admission of children with 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 statutory process 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. Nexus School is such a school and provided that the following conditions are met the LA must comply with the parental preferences.

The conditions are:

1. that the school placement will be able to meet the child’s needs;

2. that the placement will be compatible with the efficient education of the other children already in the school and,

3. 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 Nexus 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 Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), including the school which the LA has named, they have the right of appeal to a Tribunal whose decision is final.