Admissions

All placements at Baycroft are commissioned by the Local Authority.

The school’s registration with the DfE is for children with ‘Moderate Learning Difficulties’. The school also offers support to children with additional / secondary needs that can affect their learning and progress. The prime/principal presenting need of any child being placed at Baycroft must be their lifelong learning/cognitive difficulties.

The LA’s decision will follow suitable consultation with the school, due diligence on our part, and a view given about both suitability and our current capacity. We are not currently able to admit students who are not ambulant due to the inaccessibility of the school site. We eagerly await further information from the DfE Schools Rebuilding Programme, as we were one of the schools named for rebuild in December 2022. Our latest information is that planning may being in 2027. See Schools in DfE Rebuilding Programme

All placements are subject to an Education, Health, Care Plan, the Code of Practice for Identification and Assessment of Children with Special Educational Needs and/or any modifications to that legislation or requirement as issued by the DfE and Hampshire County Council. They also need to be in line with  Baycroft Admissions Policy

 

In order for the school to consider any consultation, the Education, Health, Care Plan needs to be both current (or accompanied by recent reports and updates) and also compliant with the Code of Practice in all parts, particularly Health (Sections C and G). This includes stating the required level of specificity,  namely:

  • the type of support needed (including any specialist equipment) 
  • the frequency of support needed  
  • the level of support needed 
  • the level of expertise needed 
  • who is responsible for providing the support – (demonstrably pursuant to recommendations about competency in delegated tasks) 

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (health commissioners) have chosen not to provide any nursing or other appropriate support for medical needs to this school. Consequently, we strongly suggest that any prospective parents and carers of children with medical needs carefully check the quality and detail of this section of their child’s EHCP well in advance of asking the local authority to consult with us. Delays caused by the necessity for medical professionals to re-draft plans can mean that students lose out on places. It can be useful to prepare clinicians working with your child to contribute to updating plans in order to promote a prompt turnaround. Unfortunately, Care Plans cannot be accepted as a substitute for properly constituted EHC Plans.

Parents/Carers are very welcome to contact the school for information on our school environment, curriculum and pastoral care.

 

TRANSITION/ PHASE TRANSFER

Due to the overwhelming demand for places, the school is unable to offer personal tours of the site for entry into Year 7, however, parents/carers are welcome to attend any of the Year 5 open evenings that the school hold during the autumn and spring terms.  Details are advertised on the school website.

Please be aware that from the current academic year, the Local Authority are requiring secondary schools to be named via the Year 5 Annual Review of an EHCP. Therefore it is extremely important that prospective parents attend the Year 5 Open Evenings. These are not usually suitable for children in Year 6 as this is likely to be too late for consideration of placement.

For students entering the school on a phase transfer (Year 6 into 7), places are confirmed by the Local Authority at the end of February of the relevant year. Our transition processes cannot begin until Year 11 students have finished their exams and assessments – usually the end of June. During the summer term, details of transition and admission processes will be sent out to families. Our transition process will include a 1:1 conversation with your child’s tutor.

We have a range of materials and information which updates each year and which is adapted for different needs. You might like to view this year’s transition booklets:
Year 6 Welcome Book for Parents and Carers.pdf
Year 6 Welcome Book for Students.pdf

We also have a special edition of our Baycroft TV for Transition 2023 which you can find on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BaycroftTV

Please do not be tempted to book holidays which prevent your child from benefiting from the full transition process. Experience demonstrates that this makes it very difficult indeed for them to make a good start in the autumn term. If you have any difficulties with transport or any reason why your child cannot attend the programme of transition, please let us know as soon as possible.

If you are looking for placement for a child in Years 8 to 10, please call the school who will put you in touch with the relevant contact for that year group. The appropriate key stage lead with be make contact as soon as possible, providing that your child has a draft or a final EHCP. We do not admit students into Year 11.

You may wish to read our Admissions Policy here.