Question about admissions criteria?

[scrappydappydoo]

You know on most admissions criteria there is a criteria (normally no. 2) which basically covers those whose special needs require them to attend that particular school. What would those be - I can only think of maybe if child uses a wheelchair and the school has wheelchair access (shows my ignorance of sn I know).

Reason I ask is that dds school of choice (we're on waiting list) has just had to admit a child under that criteria (don't know any details) taking it above its admissions number. I don't have a problem with this but it got me thinking that if its considered inappropriate for a NT child to be in a class of over 30 why would be suitable for a child with sn who would (I assume) need more attention?
Sorry if I offend - I don't mean to. I'm not planning on using it in an appeal of anything it just genuinely curious and thought mn will probably know.

Usually a child who gets in under the SN criteria will have a Statement of Special Needs which names that particular school. The Statement sets out what help they should get and the school will get extra funds for this. Someone with a Statement will usually have some 1:1 help and so there would therefore be an extra adult in the classroom with them.

These are reasons that I know have been applied locally:

Child using wheelchair.

Child needing to walk but only able to cover short distances/not do stairs offered place at smaller school with ground floor/lifts.

Child unable to travel long distances because of SN offered place at nearest school.

Special kind of therapy only available at one school (due to trained staff).

Special counselling offered at one school.

Only one school has experience of particular (unusual) SN.

Child with emotional difficulties caused by SN offered place at school where friends would be going.

I'm sure I could think of more, but these are the ones I definitely know of. Others might be hearing systems, special equipment/layout of school for the visually impaired an autism unit etc.

Not all children with SN particularly need to be in smaller classes. My dcs need: a small school with no stairs, short travel distance, wheelchair access for days when wheelchair used, experienced disability counselling (and ds will also need writing equipment, but that would be easier for any school to set up). They don't need more teacher time.

Ah I see - thank you so its good to see its actually about consistency and the child will get extra help.

And not everybody who gets in under SN has a Statement: our LEA do not tend to statement children with merely physical disabilities (ie no learning needs), but they still have to provide for them under the Disability Discrimination Act. Neither of my dcs has a Statement, but they both are disabled.

and I'm very about my ignorance of sn.

Just to be clear, if a child has a statement of SEN naming the school they have to be admitted whatever the admission criteria say, even if the school is full up. They do not fall into this category. The category to which you refer, if present, is for other special medical or social situations similar to those outlined by Cory.

Thanks for your replies - like I said I have no details (none of my business) and it wasn't really about this particular case - it was more one of those sparked a thought and a question things. DD1 is my pfb and I have no knowledge how schools actually work yet and as she has no known sn I'm also ignorant of all that surrounds that as well. I'm guessing getting a statement naming a particular oversubscribed school is like the holy grail. Can't be easy.

Apart from medical needs, social reasons might be things like bereavement (if one school offers bereavement counselling), or need to be far away from abusive relatives, or unable to attend school near traumatic incident.

Don't be , Scrappy. I've been dealing with SN stuff for years and still learned new things from this thread.