Local Offer - Schools and Alternative Provision

Special Schools within Doncaster

Some children have long term, significant and complex needs and will require an Education, Health and Care Plan specifying a specialist placement within one of Doncaster’s special schools. To meet this level of exceptional need the Local Authority maintains 5 special schools:

School	Specialises In	Age Range
Coppice School	Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Severe Learning Difficulty (SLD)	3 - 19 years
Heatherwood School	Severe Learning Difficulty (SLD) Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty (PMLD)	3 - 19 years
North Ridge School	Severe Learning Difficulty (SLD)	3 - 19 years
Pennine View School	Moderate Learning Difficulty (MLD)	7 - 16 years
Stone Hill School	Moderate Learning Difficulty (MLD)	5 - 16 years

 

Specialist Outreach Support from Special Schools

Independent and non-maintained special schools

The Department for Education's (DfE) list of approved independent special schools, non-maintained special schools and post 16 institution providers is known as Section 41.

If a child’s parent or a young person makes a request for a particular nursery, school or post-16 institution in these groups the local authority must comply with that preference and name the school or college in the EHC plan unless:
• it would be unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or SEN of the child or young person, or
• the attendance of the child or young person there would be incompatible with the efficient education of others, or the efficient use of resources.

The child’s parent or the young person may also make representations for places in non-maintained early years provision or at independent schools or independent specialist colleges or other post-16 providers that are not on the list located on the link below and the Local Authority must consider their request. The Local Authority is not under the same conditional duty to name the provider but must have regard to the general principle that children should be educated in accordance with their parents’ wishes, so long as this is compatible with the provision of efficient instruction and training and does not mean unreasonable public expenditure. The Local Authority should be satisfied that the institution would admit the child or young person before naming it in a plan since these providers are not subject to the duty to admit a child or young person even if named in their plan.

The 2016/17 Student Finance England DSAs guidance documents for new and continuing students is available at the following link: www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/policy-information/guidance-chapters

Alternative Provision

Alternative Provision settings are places that provide education for children who can’t go to a mainstream school.

Doncaster Council arrange education for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education.  Schools will arrange education for pupils to improve their behaviour at an off-site location

On our journey to becoming the most child friendly borough in the country, and in line with the recommendations and themes identified in the One Doncaster Report and the Children and Young People’s Plan (2017-2020), Doncaster Council has a very strong commitment to ensuring that we are well positioned to provide an inclusive education system for all children and young people, including those with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) and Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs (SEMH).

Research tells us that all too often children and young people attending alternative provision struggle to access further education, employment or training in a way that supports their future social mobility. Many are also at higher risk of living with low self-esteem and poor mental health. In order to effectively fulfil our responsibilities and to make sure that the provision we offer is responsive to pupils’ individual learning styles and aspirations. We are keen to embrace innovation and the great diversity of specialist provision which is available to improve the outcomes for children and young people across the Borough.

A range of services will be offered within the packages to cater for children and young people who have specified additional needs relating to high risk, children with medical and mental health needs, children who can’t cope with a full-time curriculum, children missing in education, learners who find themselves marginalised from conventional schools because of their behaviour or other challenges (including Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs (SEMH), children who are needing complementary work to reengage back into the community/school settings and school phobic children.

Learners may need to access specialist alternative education provision when:

• They need support to reengage with their learning
• They need support to re-integrate into a mainstream setting
• They need a specialist assessment of need relating to SEMH and/or episodes of challenging behaviour
• They require a specialised or bespoke education offer which may include alternative education
• They are unable to access full time, mainstream education for any clearly identified reason within the scope of the Fair Access Panel the Inclusion Panel.
• They do not yet have an agreed school place and therefore require a package of support until such a placement is identified
• They need support to accelerate their progress as a result of gaps in learning.
• They have social, emotional or mental health need that is impacting significantly on their school placement,
• They are on the verge of exclusion or referral to a Pupil Referral Unit and need specialist intervention to moderate their behaviour
• They have poor school attendance which is having a detrimental impact on their academic progress

Learners may also need access to therapeutic services and/or counselling. Schools can make a referral to access services or alternative provision via Inclusion Panel by completing the relevant paperwork within timescales set out in the Inclusion panel Terms of Reference document. This should include clear evidence of Assess Plan Do Review (APDR) cycles.