Admissions

Pupils at Exeter House School will have ‘severe learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties and complex needs’. They will also all have an EHCP (or, under rare circumstances, require an assessment place whilst having one written). Children and young people with complex needs include those with severe or profound learning difficulties alongside other co-existing conditions. However, they also include children who have newly begun to populate schools such as Exeter House – among them those who have difficulties arising from premature birth, have survived infancy due to advanced medical interventions, have disabilities arising from parental substance and alcohol abuse, and/or have rare chromosomal disorders. Many may also be affected by compounding factors such as multi-sensory impairment or mental ill-health, or require medical procedures, such as supported nutrition, assisted ventilation and rescue medication.

We urge Parents and Carers who believe that Exeter House School may be the right school for their child to get in touch with the school. If appropriate we will arrange for you to visit the school and learn more about us. As part of that visit you will be invited to tell us more about your child so that together we can help you to help you decide if Exeter House may be the right school. Ultimately, the Local Authority will make the decision at a SEND Panel about which school(s) they will consult with for a school place for your child. Once we receive a consultation we then will consider the paperwork provided and often we will get in touch with current or previous settings as well as Parents for more information. We will then respond to the Local Authority with our decision.

In the event of over-subscription, we work with Wiltshire Local Authority as our commissioning body. Children and young people who have a statement of SEN or an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) are placed in schools through the arrangements set out in the SEN Code of Practice and not through any admission criteria. All admissions to schools for students who have a statement or an EHCP are handled by Central SEND Services at Wiltshire Council. Their contact number is 01225 718095.

Once a place has been allocated to a child/young person the school will begin the process of planning a transition programme for the child. This may include visits, social stories etc., initial part-time timetables as well as other appropriate adaptations whilst a pupil settles in to school. We welcome the full involvement of parents and carers in the admissions process and the parents of early years children are welcome to spend time in school during the first weeks (Covid permitting). Visits and phone calls from parents are always welcome.

Please refer to our admissions policy for further information. This can be found on our key Policy Page.