Admissions

Admissions criteria

Prospective pupils must be between 2 - 19 years of age. 

To come to Richard Cloudesley School, a pupil will have both a physical disability and additional needs such as learning difficulties, medical needs, and sensory impairment. Typically, pupils are affected by compounding factors such as multi-sensory impairment or mental ill-health, or require invasive procedures, such as supported nutrition, assisted ventilation and rescue medication.

We have a specific area of expertise in supporting pupils’ communication needs through a range of alternative augmented communication (AAC) strategies.

Admissions process

Before admission, an initial assessment of the child's learning and medical/therapeutic needs is carried out. Parents and carers play an important role in this process and are invited to visit the school, talk to the headteacher, see the class into which their child may be admitted, and talk to the appropriate staff.  

Considerable thought, planning and preparation go into utilising our support staff to ensure children achieve the best outcomes, gain independence and are prepared for adulthood from the earliest possible age.

We welcome the full involvement of parents in the admissions process and the parents of early years children are welcome to spend time in school during the first weeks. Visits and phone calls from parents are always welcome.

The process for a parent applying is as follows:

1. Make an appointment with the headteacher to view the school with the child or young person.
2. Parents should register their interest in Richard Cloudesley School with their home local authority.
3. The local authority should request a place for the child or young person with the school by sending formal consultation papers to the headteacher and Islington Local Authority.
4. The headteacher will review the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) with the home local health authority to assess need and establish whether the appropriate level of support can be provided.
5. A visit to see the young person in their current educational or home context will be arranged to support the headteacher’s decision as part of the consultation process.
6. If the school has a place and can meet the child’s needs effectively and efficiently, then an offer subject to agreement over place costs for education and health provision, will be made. The headteacher must notify the home local authority of their decision within 15 calendar days of receiving formal consultation papers.
7. The school will negotiate and agree on the level of education funding with the home local authority.
8. The Whittington Health team leader will negotiate and agree on the level of health funding with the local authority.
9. It is expected that the local authority will respond to formally accept the place and name Richard Cloudesley School on the EHCP within 15 calendar days of a place being offered by the school.
10. A place is offered and a transition programme for the child or young person is developed.
11. The school will arrange a multi-disciplinary transition meeting that will include the head of department, medical staff, therapists, the new class teams, and the family.
12. A start date will then be set. If transport has been agreed this may affect the start date.
13. A multi-disciplinary review meeting will take place no later than six weeks after the child or young person has started.

Over-subscription criteria

If the school is oversubscribed, the headteacher will operate a planning list and inform interested parents and/or the local authority as and when a suitable vacancy may arise. The headteacher will consider the following criteria with respect to pupils:

• who are, or have previously been, in care or looked-after
• who are not currently in education, and are of school age (over 5 years old)
• who have degenerative or life-limiting conditions
• whose needs can best be matched at that time by the expertise in the school.

Updated following consultation with LA, parents, staff, leaders and governors in May 2023. Next update May 2030 (statutory seven year cycle).