User'536, I have read your comments with interest and I applaud your honesty. I actually think you have summed up brilliantly the school's Achilles heel. I would agree, Slindon by its very caring nature seems to be a place that would like to help everyone if it could, but sadly in reality this is a naive and impossible dream. What you have said confirms my thoughts that it appears to be the screening process for new applicants that needs to be a lot more thorough and robust, for the sake of the school's (good) reputation, for the realistic hopes of prospective pupils and their families, and also for the sake of the students already attending. If the paperwork is not being disclosed by a pupil's previous school or indeed being played down by the parents for whatever reason, perhaps it should set alarm bells ringing? Perhaps Slindon should insist on more in depth professional reports or carry out more specific rigorous assessments of its own? Maybe the trial period should be longer before the full offer of a place made? I wholeheartedly agree the school is able to provide an excellent differentiated curriculum and there are a lot of excellent points about the school. The "value added" you mention User'536, being another more recent introduction in the reporting system to help track academic progress, but my personal belief is it is vital that the "whole" student is evaluated rather than just the accompanying paperwork based on academic assessments.
I am sure that every parent viewing Slindon has been blown away by the place. My wife and I certainly were. It's impressive. The beautiful grounds and tranquil surroundings, the animals, the very warm and professional personalised tour..... first impressions can not fail to impress so naturally parents feel they've struck gold and would like a place for their son. User'536, you are correct, the 2014 Children and Families Act has given parental preference for a school a lot more legal weight when requesting provision from the Local Authority. It is vital therefore that prospective families who are looking to have this school (or any school for that matter) named on an EHCP are aware what the LA duties actually are and should familiarise themselves with the 2014 SEND code of practice. If Slindon was a maintained school and within the remit of the local authority what you have said would be totally correct and Slindon would be obliged to accept whoever the Local Authority decided. But, Slindon is an independent school and when I last checked, is not section 41 [of children and families act 2014] approved. This enables the school to reserve the right to accept or decline to admit a student based entirely on its own criteria and is under zero obligation to admit pupils it doesn't feel are suitable. If the school declines to offer a place, there is no case for tribunal. The LA can not force acceptance of a pupil if the school declines to be named. Obviously once placed formally, a legally binding contract is in place .....The school should therefore be exercising the right to say no if it feels a student is unsuitable to save his family the anguish and the school the horror of being given a very public thrashing on the internet if things go wrong, which sadly seems to be exactly what has happened here. It may well be very tempting to accept a student who is accompanied by higher fees that the authority might be willing to pay, but unless the needs can be met or the student will fit in, it's a dangerous policy to admit first and worry later if things do start to go wrong, especially when parents have such high hopes. The same applies to parents who choose to initially pay themselves to "get in the door" and hope to fight for Local Authority funding later. It's a tricky game to play, so you too need to be sure it is the right place for your son. I feel the school should also make it VERY clear to those who's son doesn't have an EHCP what is actually included - is everything on the published local offer available to all as core provision or just "available"? Again, better assessments and clarity on entry to save any escalating school fees or not receiving what they thought they would be getting. Slindon should be concentrating on doing an outstanding job of meeting the needs of the children, which to be fair, in many cases it does, and in some areas even goes beyond expectations. Ok, there will always be one or two where it just doesn't work out. That's life and it happens at every school. All you can hope for then is for school to deliver excellent customer service so people aren't walking out of the door hell-bent on revenge or whatever it is that has just gone on here and other such websites. So much grief could be avoided if communication was better as people have already said. It is my opinion that some internal self analysis is definitely required on behalf of the school. Especially those in the Leadership Team dealing with the area of specialist support. You HAVE to get it right. In any other business someone would be held accountable for the high number of unhappy customers who are saying they haven't received what they were expecting. There are of course many who are delighted with the school, with good reason. I would like to be reading more of these experiences. Believe me, when I say bad press is the very last thing I want to read about the school my son attends. It causes a lot of worry. I don't want my son's school to have a bad name, it doesn't look good on anyone, least of all my son's CV, especially as he is presently applying to further educational colleges. I hope the school will look to address the issues and not be in denial that something needs to be done about it. It is a real shame as actually, if it could only sort itself out it has so much good to offer and serves a lot of families very well, including our son, who we have high hopes for in obtaining the predicted grades when he sits his exams later this year.