Admissions

FAQs for Admissions

If you would like to arrange a visit to our school or if you have a specific query about the school that is not answered by the information on the website, please email us (admin@avenue.reading.sch.uk) and we will endeavour to get back to you.

We are an all-age special school for pupils with complex needs (with a significant learning difficulty as their primary need). In addition to a learning difficulty, some pupils may have additional needs such as autism, social and communication difficulties, complex medical or physical needs or a sensory impairment.
All pupils have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan issued by the Local Authority. Please also see the information on our website about the curriculum / learning pathways that we offer. If unsure, please speak to the SENDCo at your child’s current school or see your Local Authority’s Local Offer for further information about special educational provision.

Although we are an Academy, all of our admissions are handled by Reading Borough Council. If you would like an application to the school, you will need to speak to the SEN Team in the Local Authority in which you live and they will in turn contact Reading.
A change of school or placement is usually requested through the Annual Review process or, in some situations, you can discuss this directly with the Local Authority.
Before a child is able to attend The Avenue School, your Local Authority will have to agree that we are an appropriate school for them. After this has been agreed, the Local Authority will then formally write to us asking for a place. This letter will be accompanied by your child’s EHCP and any other supporting documents.

Please do not send us any paperwork regarding your child. We are only able to consider paperwork sent to us from Reading Borough Council as part of the formal application process.

We hold admissions panels with the Local Authority once per long term (i.e. three times per year).
At these panels, we consider the suitability of each applicant and whether we have a space to offer them.
If we offer a space, the SEN Team at your Local Authority will get in touch with you to let you know.
If we feel that your child is suitable for the school but we do not have a space, we can add them to the waiting list.
Sometimes we might feel that your child is not suitable for the school. This could be for a variety of reasons – for example, it could be due to their learning needs, their emotional needs, or a lack of a suitable peer group. If this is the case, the SEN Team at your Local Authority will let you know.

We currently have a long waiting list. The length of time that a child would have to wait for a place depends on their age, their special educational needs, and the availability of a space on a suitable learning pathway. We are not able to specify an amount of time that an individual child would have to wait.

Transition plans are highly individualised and could include your child visiting the school, our staff visiting your child’s current setting, and social stories / photos of the school. We will also be in touch with your child’s current setting to ensure a full handover of information.

We have small classes, ranging on average from eight to twelve pupils. Each class will have a Class Lead, a Teaching Assistant and Support Assistants. Adult to pupil ratios are determined by the needs of the pupils in the class and their learning pathway. For example, a class on the Nurture and Engagement pathway will have a higher ratio of adults than will a class on the Independent Learning and Living Pathway.
Our classes are highly structured with plenty of visual cues, to enable pupils to operate as independently as possible. For more detailed information please see the pages about our learning pathways.

The Avenue School