Fosse Way School’s admissions are dealt with through Bath and North East Somerset Council. Their process can be found on their website here. Their information regarding appeals and over-subscription applies to our setting. Additional information can be found in the Fosse Way School Admissions Policy found on the policy page of this site.
If you wish to book a tour of the school for a prospective pupil. Please complete the prospective pupil form (word document on the front page of the website) and email this to office@fossewayschool.com
A member of our staff will then contact you to arrange a visit.
Here are some frequently asked questions that might assist prospective parents;
What criteria is there for my child to come to your school?
The main requirement is that your child has a Educational Health Care Plan. Then it is considered whether the school can meet their needs and has sufficient room to accommodate them in a class. Each referral for a place is looked at by senior leadership on its own merits before a response is made to B&NES Council.
Can I make an appointment to come and look around?
Yes – complete one of the forms on the front of the website, and send it to the office email and a member of staff will call you to arrange suitable times. We book appointments in the order in which we receive the form to try and have system a that is fair to all. As part of this process, some details will be taken regarding your child to ensure that the best person to show you around is booked in – eg, if you are looking for a Primary place, the Assistant Principal in charge of Primary would be the most appropriate person. At certain peak times of year, we have a high volume of bookings and we would appreciate as much notice as possible to avoid disappointment. At these times, please be aware that we might have to change to group tours.
Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate requests to look around from people who have not booked an appointment in advance due to the senior leaderships high level of commitments.
What will happen if we come and look around?
You will meet with one of the senior leadership team who will show you around and give you opportunity to ask any questions you might have that are specific to your child. Usually this takes between 30 mins – 1 hour.
Can my child come too?
Yes, if they are able to accompany you on the tour. Some prospective parents prefer to come around themselves and then return for a second visit with their child to familiarise them with the school environment.
Do you have a space for my child?
It is difficult to comment on spaces and capacity as the size of groups are determined by need. Even if it would appear we have capacity at the time of a tour, this information can be out of date almost immediately. In general, as the school receives a very high level of referrals, it is better to look into a place sooner rather than later.
Do you have residential provision?
We have a residential provision called Fosse Way House, which is week days, term time only. For information on Fosse Way House please look at their section of the website.
I like the school, and I would like my child to attend. What do I do now?
You can either raise it at the Annual review of the EHCP, or you can contact the SEN department of the council. If you live in B&NES you will have an allocated SEND Practitioner who can advise you on the process and initiate the referral process.
What happens in the referral process?
The SEN team initiates the referral, and collates the information that is sent to the school as a pack. The school is only allowed to consider the information they are presented with from the council, so unfortunately direct submissions of information from parents cannot be accepted. The school has 15 days to make a recommendation of whether a place is suitable for that individual and return it to B&NES. B&NES then makes the decision of whether the child in question has a place at that school, and amends the Statement/EHCP accordingly and informs parents of the decision.
If I haven’t heard, can the school tell us whether they have a place?
Unfortunately, as the decision lies with the local authority and they have the ability to override the recommendation of the school, information of the schools response might be misleading.
I don’t live in B&NES, can I apply to have my child come to your school?
Yes. The referral process is more complicated as it involves your home council having the final veto, but Fosse Way School only looks at the needs of the child, not location when examining referrals. Be aware that the negotiation between two councils can extend the decision process. You would have to contact the SEN department in your own county to initiate the process and they would have the final say on funding and allocating a place.
Can you provide transport to the school?
Transport to the school is organised by the Local Authority as part of the EHCP review. Please be aware if a place is allocated as parental preference i.e the authority have offered the closest school which can meet your child’s needs and you would prefer them to come to Fosse Way School, they are not obliged to provide transport to and from the school.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.