What You Need to Know
Admissions The Brook admits children from Haringey and other neighbouring boroughs. All admissions are made through the Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) Department of Haringey Local Authority and as the Brook is a maintained special school, it is the LA who makes the final decision as to which children can be admitted.
Any parent who is considering the Brook School as a suitable place for their child are most welcome to come for a visit – indeed, it is highly recommended that they see the school for themselves during a normal school day. On that visit they are given a tour by our Child and Family Liaison Officer or a member of the Senior Leadership and Management Team and have plenty of opportunities to ask questions.
Once a placement has been agreed and before admission, an initial assessment of the child’s learning and medical/therapeutic needs is carried out. Parents/persons with parental responsibility play an important role in this process and are invited to visit the school with their child, talk to the Headteacher or member of the Senior Leadership Team, see the class into which their child may be admitted and talk to appropriate staff. A Child and Family profile is completed which helps us to begin our partnership with families and helps us to be able to meet any needs and address any concerns. Senior staff also visit the prospective pupil’s home or current placement in order to meet the child, their parents/carers/nursery or school staff in a more relaxed environment. This ensures effective liaison and a smooth transfer into the school.
Admissions may be made at any time of the year into any year group.
All admissions for Haringey residents are made through the Special Education Needs (SEN) of the Local Authority (LA). You can contact Central SEN Services at: 10 Station Road, London, N22 7TY. Tel: 020 8489 1913. For admissions from other boroughs, the home borough SEND department will need to be contacted.
Family Support and Parental Partnership This is a crucial area for both parents/carers and the school in working with our pupils. We will rarely see each other “at the school gates” as pupils will largely be transported by bus each day, so systems are set up to make sure that home/school links are as detailed and coordinated as possible. Parents and carers are welcome at any time to see either the Head Teacher or one of the senior team. The teacher with responsibility for Family Support and Parental Partnership will coordinate all the parents’ groups, providing a programme of relevant speakers, visits and activities.
Pupils attend school for 190 days per year divided into three terms. The dates for each year are sent to parents/carers separately as soon as we have them. The school day is from 9.00am until 3.30pm with lunch from 11.45 – 1.15pm. Individual pupil’s timetables and class timetables are sent to you by your child’s teacher at the beginning of each term. This is complex for The Brook at as timetables will be in conjunction also with The Willow.
Travel AssistanceEvery SEND pupil is entitled to apply for travel assistance to the SEND Department of the Local Authority. If approved, the children are picked up from a pick up point and returned there after school. If your child is brought to school by transport, please telephone transport directly if your child’s arrangements change ; for example, if they are ill or being dropped or picked up from a different address. Each bus has an escort who acts as an informal contact between school and home and will deliver messages, dinner money and ensures that all the children have a positive start and finish to their school day.
Travel Assistance is organised and authorised by Haringey LA SEND department. Although the Brook school works closely with the team there, the school does not have any authority to decide routes, modes of transport, length of journey, location of pick up points. This is arranged solely between the LA and the child’s family School Meals School meals are cooked in our school kitchens on the premises and meal times are considered as social and learning experiences, as all school meals are eaten together with The Willow as far as is possible according to the needs of each pupil. Cultural and religious requirements are always respected and parents/carers should make sure the school is aware of any dietary restrictions especially those of ASD children. The administrative officer will inform you of costs and dinner money should be sent into school each Monday. The school will also arrange for free school meals.
Regular Communication/Home School BooksCommunication is via the home/school book, unless you can bring your child to school and we will try to fill these regularly. We expect parents/carers to reply via the home/school book as it is essential that we know if anything has happened to the child overnight and what your child has been doing over a weekend so that we can talk to them about it.
We also communicate through “Teachers to Parents” on your mobile phones for end of term dates, reminders of school events etc. etc.
Open Evenings and Person Centred Reviews Individual consultation evenings (Open Evenings) are held once a year with a programme of coffee mornings and evening meetings for those who cannot attend parent/carer coffee mornings during the day.. Parents also meet wtih the class teacher once a year to review their child's progress when they attend the person centred review. At the end of the summer term there is a meet and greet session when parents have the opportunity to meet their child's teacher for the following term.
Charging Policy The Brook endorses the principle of free education for all pupils. However, because some activities such as regular visits to cafes, outings, horse-riding, sailing and special events would have to be restricted if parents/carers did not contribute to the cost, voluntary contributions are requested. We make sure that we also apply to various charitable foundations for some of these costs whenever possible. In addition to regular educational visits, the school organises school journeys from time to time. These provide an excellent learning experience for our pupils and are also a lot of fun! If you would like your child to go on any outing, educational visit or school journey but are worried about the costs, please talk to the Head teacher. No pupil is ever excluded if parents/carers cannot make a contribution.
Attendance The Brook is required by law to make an annual report on the rates of authorised and unauthorised absences from school. We do understand that, for some pupils, their condition means frequent, unavoidable absences through illness or medical appointments but, if your child has to stay away, please ring the school or send a note with the bus escort explaining the reason for absence.
First Day Calling will be used from the school office if we are not told of a reason for your childs absence
Family holidays in term time are never agreed. This is because we feel that your child’s education is so important and consistency of attendance for our pupils is crucial and it is now against the law and subject to a referral to Educational Welfare Services – families can be fined should they take their children out of school. The Head consults with the school’s Education Welfare Officer (EWO) and investigates the circumstances, balancing parental need against any detrimental effects on the pupils education.
A calendar of term dates is sent home at the start of the school year, and reminder letters are sent home at the end of each term reminding parents/carers of the return date for pupils after the holiday.
Complaints Policy The Governors have adopted the LEA Guidelines for Complaints procedures and these are also set out in the school prospectus including the following:
- Enquiries about a child’s mood or behaviour/minor scratches and bruises/lost clothes etc. should be referred in the first instance to the class teacher
- Complaints about any member of staff, more serious accidents or the general care of the child should be made to the Headteacher
If the above does not resolve the matter, a more formal approach can be made to the Chair of Governors and the Governing Body and eventually to the Local Education Authority via the Head of Services for Pupils, Parents and Students on 0208-489-0000
If parents/carers have any complaints under Section 23 of the 1988 Education Reform Act, about the organisation or content of the curriculum, they should contact the Headteacher in the first instance.
Safeguarding and Child Protection The Children Act (1989) puts a duty on all education service staff to report any concerns that they may have that any child may be suffering significant harm, particularly as a consequence of possible abuse. All adults in the school have a duty of care to raise any queries or concerns they may have regarding any possible risk to a child’s safety or well-being in or outside school
The DFE requires each school to nominate a senior member of the teaching staff to become the Designated Child Protection Officer with special responsibility for Child Protection. At The Brook, the person nominated is the Head Teacher with two other senior members of staff taking on that role alongside the Family Liaison Officer. These officers will, if necessary, take advice from CYPS advisers in order to agree the best way forward in any given situation. The Head Teacher also works closely with the School Nurse who is the DCPO for Health in the school. The school has a joint policy on Child Protection & Safeguarding with The Willow, which has been agreed by the Governing Body and informed by the Haringey Area Protection Committee and the London Child Protection Procedures of 2007. Close contacts have already been established with Health, Social Services and the Police by both schools, any or all of whom may become involved if abuse is alleged or strongly suspected.
To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings around this very sensitive area, we need you to let us know about the cause/circumstances of any injury (eg bruises, burns, scalds) or emotional upset that your child may experience. The school nurse or the Head Teacher will telephone you if there are unexplained issues and will need to be satisfied that there is no cause for concern. The school, in turn, will always let parents/carers know when a child has had an accident/incident in school either through the school nurse, Head Teacher or class teacher, by telephone or in the home/school book dependent on the circumstances. Written records are also kept in school of any such accident /incident. We always try to work in partnership with parents/carers under these kind of difficult circumstances but our first concern is always the welfare of the pupil.
Under new guidance issued in 2000, the government has extended the provision of services for children in need of support and their families. This is an entitlement for all relevant children and families who need a little extra help. The Head Teacher has received training in this entitlement and may contact you to discuss how they could help you access the support if you wish.
Should you wish to discuss child protection and safeguarding, provision for children in need or the safety of your child please feel free to contact the school at any time.
Contact: Felicia Rock (Child & Family Liaison) or Ed Putman (Assitant Head for Wellbeing) 020 8808 7120
