Page 26 of 36
Positive relationships
15. Arrangements for promoting contact between children
and their families and friends.
The relationship between parents and Prior's Court School is regarded as a
partnership and parents/carers and families are involved in discussions at all
stages of their child's stay.
Arrangements for contact between parents, carers, relatives and friends are
agreed during the pre-admission visits, individualised to meet the needs of the
child and parents/carers and detailed in the young person's plan.
Education and Residential staff communicate frequently to update parents and
families on their child's progress and wellbeing such as through a telephone call
at a pre-arranged time once or twice per week.
Young people are encouraged and supported by staff in communicating with
their families in a number of ways such as making a telephone call, video call or
sending an email.
Parents and families are welcome visitors. A family room and a family flat are
available for parents and families to use and stay in during visits.
All parents are invited to the Statutory Annual Review and LAC Review (where
applicable) of their child's special educational needs. Where appropriate this will
be complemented by social services care reviews.
An Admissions Manager and a Transitions Officer provide support at the times
families and young people most need it (i.e. on joining, leaving and key points
during their time at Prior's Court School). They and other staff also provide
relevant training, resources, events and information.
All parents have access to the Parent Portal section of our data recording system
Prior Insight. This portal consists of reports on a range of areas including
behavioural incident counts, seizure activity, detailed food and drink intake, and
any injuries. This helps parents get a closer look at what their child is doing on a
day-to-day basis and help them to better understand their child's autism.
An e-newsletter is sent to parents every six weeks, providing updates on events at
Prior's Court, policy changes, staff changes and other items of interest.
Parents have access to a private Facebook group to interact with other parents to
create a community of support. Access is also given to a specific Parent
Information area of our website, which contains key documents, letters home and
other resources.