Satellite Class consultation

Overview

Meeting the needs of young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND): Proposal to establish an Avenue School Satellite Class within the Ridgeway School for children requiring a special school place

Reading Borough Council is statutorily obliged to provide enough school places for all young people in Reading; including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). There is an identified gap in school learning provision in Reading for primary aged children who require a special school place.

To address this gap in provision and meet the needs of these children, it is proposed that the Ridgeway School in Reading make available to the Avenue Special School a spare classroom; re-purposing it as a satellite class for children who require a special school place.

Children will be on roll at the Avenue School with the satellite class staffed by teachers from the Avenue, teaching the Avenue school curriculum. The arrangement between the schools will be set out in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Reading Local Area Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Strategy 2017 – 2022 
        
The Strategy sets out Reading’s shared vision and outcomes for young people with special educational needs and disabilities. Flexible local provision that meets current and future local needs is a key part of the vision; in-line with the SEND Code of Practice 2015.

The satellite provision will deliver this vision by providing the appropriate education for pupils with SEND who require a special school place, ensuring the provision of inclusive learning opportunities and the social inclusion of children and young people.

Children in the provision will receive an annual review of the support they are receiving, and recommendations will inform their Education Health and Care Plan. They will also have support during the transition process to the next stage of their education. Some children may return to a mainstream school or to another specialist provision; possibly again within a mainstream provision. This may be when they reach secondary school or before, depending on their need. 
 

Why your views matter

There is an ever-increasing number of children in Reading of primary age who require a special school place. Currently, the demand for special school places, including at the Avenue School, outweighs the current number of special school places available.

Reading Borough Council and Brighter Futures for Children have been working creatively with the wider Reading education system to build sufficiency of special school places – to ensure all children with SEND have the the appropriate education and support. 

The aim of this consultation is to seek the view of Borough residents regarding utilising space at the Ridgeway School to host a class of six to eight children from the Avenue Special School. Children would be on roll at the Avenue and be taught by Avenue teachers, teaching the Avenue school curriculum. The satellite class in an extension of the Avenue school, but within the Ridgeway School. This consultation will give parents, the local community and other key stakeholders in Reading an opportunity to have their say on the establishment of a satellite class.

Pupils that access the satellite provision will be admitted through the Avenue School admissions system with satellite admission decisions made, depending on suitability and space. Children in the satellite class may on occasion join mainstream classes where appropriate for lessons and activities, dependent upon their individual needs; but spend most of the time in the satellite class for individual learning activities. 

As part of establishing any satellite provision, Reading Borough Council would invest the capital investment needed to make the classroom usable for children with SEND.