Referrals and Admissions Policy
Introduction:
The senior leadership of Regency Source place great importance on, and are committed to, ensuring the equity and equality of access and outcomes for all young people. This policy will set out the procedures and practice for managing internal and external referrals for commissioners of our services. The company is committed to ensuring the safeguarding of young people and vulnerable adults and this policy has due regard to the Data Protection Act 1998, School Admissions Code 2014, and subsequent policies which may be linked also within Regency Source.
The purpose of our policy is to provide commissioners with clear information about our services, costs, processes and procedures so they are able to make an informed decision, dependent on the individual needs, regarding the educational provision on behalf of the young people and their families.
Statutory Guidance & Legislation:
● Section 19 of the Education Act 1996, as amended by section 3A of the Children, Schools and Families Act 2010;
● Section 29A of the Education Act 2002;
● Sections 6A and 100 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006;
● Sections 1C and 4 of the Academies Act 2010 (as amended);
● The Education (Pupil Referral Units) (Application of Enactments) (England) Regulations 2007;
● The Education (Pupil Referral Units) (Management Committees etc.) (England) Regulations 2007;
● The Education (Educational Provision for Improving Behaviour) Regulations 20102
● The Education (Short Stay Schools) (Closure) (England) Regulations 2010;
● The Pupil Referral Units (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2012;
● The Schools Forums (England) Regulations 2012.
Provision of Services:
Referrals:
All referrals to Regency Source Alternative Provision including on roll school requests are initially dealt with by Business Development Manager (Sarah Budgie), the single point of access to all education services provided. The team Senior Leadership Team consist of; Helen Redfern (Managing Director), Matt Thorne (Head of Alternative Provision) and Sarah Budgie (Business Development Manager).
The referral process sometimes begins with an initial enquiry from a range of commissioners and parents, including; individual schools or academies, children’s social care, independent social care, County/City Council officers with a lead in fair access protocols or education, health and care pathways, and other agencies with the responsibility for commissioning additional educational provision. A referral is made through the completion of the relevant referral information forms, a Learner Profile and a risk assessment; this is usually emailed to us. Other information may also be given at this stage, and can include (but not limited to):
● A copy of the most recent Education, Health and Care Plan
● Details of the child’s social history and current circumstances.
● Copies of any psychiatric or other recent assessments e.g. Asset, AIMS assessment, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy
● An outline of the child’s medical history if the referral is health related
● Any other reports which give additional information, e.g. placement reports, current care plan, risk assessments, review reports etc. medical information or core assessments.
At this point, the referral is logged and checked as to what is being requested and actioned if possible. All information is then discussed at a twice weekly referral panel (Tuesday AM and Thursday PM) to review the progress of referrals and to allocate new ones to be actioned. The Business Development Manager will respond to requests for support and will allocate between the whole team, requests to be actioned. Requests for support/provision will be responded to in the following way;
- There is usually a response date attached to the requests from a County/City Council officer and these will be adhered to. Response forms will be completed by the Business Development Manager.
- Once we have been notified that our written response to a request has been successful, we will contact the commissioner wherever possible within 24 hours to acknowledge their acceptance and the Head of Alternative Provision will then arrange a home visit to meet the learner and their parents/carers.
- If the referral has come directly just to us, the commissioner will be contacted no later than 48 hours after the referral request. The commissioner will be offered a meeting to discuss our provision and their referral in more detail; this will take place as soon as possible depending upon their availability but it is hoped that the meeting takes place within 4 - 5 working days. A meeting between the learner and their parents/carers is agreed by the commissioner, again to take place as soon as possible depending upon the availability of the parent/carer.
- The Head of Alternative Provision will attend the home (or at a venue suitable for the family) visit to discuss the offer of provision, complete the risk assessment and consent forms and if needed, arrange visits to venue’s.
- An initial assessment will be supplied for the learner to engage with and this can be completed either at home or upon transitional visits to Regency Source Alternative Provision.
The admission of a child to the services provided by Regency Source Alternative Provision is a process that demands sensitive and skilful handling. It can be a stressful and anxious time for both the child and the parents or carers. An understanding of the underlying issues which have resulted in a young person being referred to a provision outside of mainstream education is essential to be able to offer the appropriate support. Therefore, in parallel to the practical and administrative issues which need to be dealt with, our procedures also endeavour to support the emotional needs of the child and his/her family.
Therefore:
1. The Head of Alternative Provision, along with the Business Development Manager will take every step to ensure that the young person is supported during the initial assessment process and will take every step to help prepare all the identified staff on his/her individual timetable for the admission of the child.
2. The Head of Alternative Provision, along with the Business Development Manager will ensure that information systems are set up for the child. This will include emergency details, risk assessments and Learner Profile to be disseminated to the team around the child (e.g. the staff members allocated to the young person’s timetable).
3. All initial sessions with the young person are carefully coordinated and are within our Commercial Gate venue with transport from their home. The Head of Alternative Provision will orchestrate meetings with the young person and all of the key staff they will be working with on their timetable.
Cost of Provision:
The cost of any provision is an integral part of the commissioning process. At Regency Source, we aim to make our timetables flexible to adapt to the changing needs of the young person. Ultimately, costs may vary depending on the approved timetable between Regency Source and the commissioning body.
Provision can include one or more of the following options:
- Half day or full day sessions across part of a week, or full time.
- Provision with a Teaching Assistant - usually as part of entry level courses such as functional skills.
- Provision with a Teacher - usually as part of a GCSE pathway such as English, maths, ICT, or Science
- Case management coordination including curriculum timetable planning, management of teaching staff, safeguarding, family liaison, transport coordination, attainment and progression tracking, attendance at meetings, quality assurance (including unannounced drop in and lesson observations) and end of term reports
- Transport to and from venue as agreed with commissioning body.
The cost of a bespoke package can vary, depending on the options chosen and the level of staff involved in the delivery. Costs include case management regardless of the timetable arrangements.
The case coordination includes services such as: assessment, tracking and progression data, management of all timetabled sessions and curriculum (including the transportation of young people and risk assessments of venues), attendance at statutory meetings (e.g. Looked After Child Reviews, Child Protection Conferences, Education, Health and Care Plan reviews), attendance at other requested meetings and all elements of safeguarding young people, including the monitoring and reporting of concerns and disclosures.
The Head of Alternative Provision is also integral to the quality assurance of teaching and learning, providing unannounced inspection of staff, termly work scrutiny exercises and annual lesson observations.
Receipt of Referral:
As described above, referrals are predominantly received electronically. Any information relating to young people who do not go on to receive any services from Regency Source is confidentially destroyed. However, decisions relating to allocating provision are recorded and stored securely in line with the General Data Protection Regulations (2018).
Allocation of Referral:
Decisions are made based on the following criteria:
- The current capacity and availability of staff and provision in the required locality.
- Whether the educational needs of the child can be met within our range of services.
- The potential risks the child would pose to other children and staff.
- The vulnerability of the child to risks posed by other children.
- The overall suitability of placement within the current pupil group and the likely impact of this for the new referral and existing learners.
- Whether our services can meet the social, cultural and language needs of the child.
- Any other individual resources which might need to be provided to meet the specific needs of the child.
Referral Priorities:
The referral priorities are significant where capacity is limited . In these cases the following 1 criteria will be used. The criteria below are in no particular order. We will always prioritise those most in need.
- Looked After Child, Child in Care.
- Child in Need/Child Protection Plan.
- Without a school place.
- No current access to full time provision.
- Placement due to Fair Access Protocols.
- In receipt of an Education Health Care Plan.
- Currently being assessed/due to be assessed for an Education, Health and Care Plan.
- At risk of permanent exclusion.
- In custody/due for release/subject to a Court Order.
- Currently in receipt of support after adoption by social care.
- Health Related Learner
Referral Timescales:
Decisions regarding the offer of provision are taken by Regency Source Senior Leadership Team at a twice weekly referral panel. The Senior Leadership Team meets Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon (during term time) whereby all new and potentially future learners are discussed. The panel takes into consideration the individual needs of each learner, where they live, the nature of the provision to be commissioned and allocate resources accordingly. All decisions made at the panel meeting are communicated to the relevant commissioner within 48 hours of the meeting being held.
Core Offer:
Our core offer is of a broad and balanced curriculum which includes core subjects of English, Maths and Science. Along with foundation subjects which are of equal importance. History, Geography, Arts, Design and Technology and PE. At Regency Source Alternative Provision we value PSHE and recognise that this is of the upmost importance. Our values, adaptability, nurture and care for all our students is at the very centre of what we do. We recognise that our students are coming to us for a variety of reasons and as part of our core offer of a broad and balanced curriculum we pride ourselves on making our students feel welcome, safe, secure and nurtured. Research shows that when children feel safe and secure, they learn best. It is our aim to get the former correct which positively impacts the latter.
Baseline Assessments:
Regency Source will assess a students baseline academic level. We aim to avoid extensive paper based assessments, favouring assessments which encourage active participation.
At Key Stage 3 (year 7 and year 8) we will assess a child based upon exit from Key Stage 2 (working towards, expected or working at greater depth).
At Key Stage 3 (year 9) and Key Stage 4 we will assess GCSE Curriculum levels as well as functional skills / entry level.
These assessments form only an indication of the students potential and we are aware that assessments can cause stress and anxiety within vulnerable learners. Therefore summative assessment data – although can be indicative – is also taken alongside formative assessment and observations of student academic performance over time.
Agreement of Commissioned Work.
Commissioned work with Regency Source will always require a service level agreement (SLA). A SLA includes:
- Expectations, terms and conditions.
- Confirmation of start date of the agreement
- Agreement of termination process
- Monitoring and summary agreements including health and safety inspections
- General cost of provision
Service Level Agreements:
The flexibility of provision means that often changes are made (in agreement with the young person, parents/carers and the commissioner) where relevant and required to maintain the good engagement of a learner, or to increase/decrease sessions according to need. This degree of flexibility does mean that we will require an agreement in writing from commissioners for audit purposes (in the body of an email for example). Verbal agreements are not acceptable to make changes to a programme of education.
Outstanding invoice payments are subject to specific company escalation processes.
Transition:
No transition should occur without the written agreement of the commissioner, in particular where additional resources may be required.
Regency Source Alternative Provision places high importance on the need for transparency, flexibility and progression of transition.
Transition is viewed as:
- A process, not an event! It is a continuous process which is assisted by agreed, clear decisions at significant points, with actions that are followed up.
- Transition planning and provision is personalised and based upon accurate and up to date information about the student’s progress.
- Assessment is holistic and addresses the emotional health and wellbeing needs and the care needs of students, as well as their educational needs.
- We endeavour to start the transition process for a student in good time to allow all necessary information to be gathered and procedures to be followed, specific to the particular point of transition.
- Transition planning meetings (wherever possible) are person centred to ensure that students and their parents/carers are at the centre of the process and are supported to be fully involved.
- All relevant agencies will be invited to contribute to the transition planning process and to attend planning meetings where appropriate
- Transition arrangements are reviewed in a variety of ways to ensure the learner is on track, for example through end of term reports, curriculum planning meetings and education, health and care plan reviews.
- Transition issues are recognised as a key strategic priority within Regency Source.
Transition Journey:
At Regency Source Alternative Provision, day one is vital to a successful partnership. We work closely with our commissioning bodies to ensure that this transition to us is smooth, calm and supportive for the children and the families.
The transition process will look like:
1) Commissioning bodies inform the Senior Leadership Team of Regency Source with potential students.
2) Information is requested about the student.
3) The Senior Leadership team meet regularly (referral timescales) to discuss the viability of the student placement.
4) A visit is arranged for the student to come to Regency Source Alternative Provision.
5) After a successful visit, the Head of AP plus one other staff member will attend a home visit to informally discuss the placement with the family/carers.
6) Information regarding academic performance, SEND, attendance, behaviour, medical needs, family history, safeguarding and external agencies will be requested. (There may be instances for more information.)
7) A behaviour contract and expectations of placement will be signed by the Head of Alternative Provision, Family/Carers and the Student.
8) A date will be set for the start of the placement within a 10 working day timescale.
Getting transition correct is vital as it sets the tone for the culture of expectations, learning and behaviour we expect at Regency Source.
Support for families, parents and carers:
Regency Source recognises that changes to educational provision can affect the whole family and not just the young person involved. Many parents and carers come to Regency Source following a long and painful journey. Arriving at Regency Source can be perceived as a last resort for their child, or it can be a relief.
Either way, parents and carers have a large role to play in the success of the education programmes offered to our young people. Parents and carers will always be invited to take an active role in their child’s education. We offer a supportive and encouraging atmosphere whereby parents can and are actively encouraged to visit us and discuss their son / daughters needs.
Processes & Procedures:
To refer young people to Regency Source Alternative Provision, commissioners can submit referral information to:
Allocating resources relating to new cases are made by the Senior Leadership Team every Tuesday and Thursday (during term time). We aim to communicate decisions to commissioners within 48 hours of the panel meeting. All commissioned services are confirmed through a Service Level Agreement, and we invoice for services on a monthly basis.
Monitoring and Review:
The Senior Leadership Team will monitor the effectiveness of all referral and admission procedures implemented within Regency Source in order to ensure legal compliance.
The Referral and Admissions Policy and all associated policies and procedures are subject to an annual review. In the event of any significant changes within the organisation e.g. changes in legislation and/or changes to management arrangements within this timeframe, Regency Source reserves the right to make whatever changes it deems appropriate.