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1. Prior's Court School
The kinds of special educational needs that are provided for:
Prior's Court School is an independent residential special school focussing on
meeting the needs of children and young people from 5 to 20 with complex
autism and moderate to severe learning difficulties. Based in Berkshire, students
come from Local Authorities across the UK.
Prior's Court was set up in 1999 by Dame Stephanie Shirley, an IT entrepreneur
and mother of an autistic son who wanted to create the school she wished had
been available when her son was young.
Some young people at Prior's Court may have other medical conditions or
additional needs such as epilepsy or ADHD. Some young people may exhibit
challenging behaviours. Many students are non-verbal, pre-verbal or have limited
functional language. Academically, the majority of students are working below
national curriculum levels. Prior's Court School has a levelling system that
replaces what were previously known as 'P levels' and focuses on 'I Can
statements'.
The school is largely residential with weekly and termly placements over 38, 44
or 52 weeks of the year; there are also a limited number of day places.
How will I know if my child/young person needs extra help or has special
educational needs?
As Prior's Court is an autism-specific
school, all young people will have a
diagnosis of autism (or may be awaiting
a diagnosis) and an Education Health
and Care (EHC) Plan.
To identify if the school could meet a
young person's needs, the Practitioner
Panel first looks at reports (such as
Education Health and Care Plan, Annual
Review documents, and reports from specialists). Following this, an assessment of
the young person is arranged with parents/carers and the local authority. The
assessment usually takes place at Prior's Court School and is undertaken by
senior lead practitioners with significant experience and members of the multidisciplinary
team where appropriate.