This depends on three things. Firstly, we assess all students very carefully to make sure we can meet their needs as individuals. Secondly, we need to be sure we actually have room for your son or daughter: we have a limited number of places. Thirdly, we can only accept a new student when funding arrangements have been agreed.

We educate students with complex learning needs, including profound and multiple learning difficulties. In particular, all of our students require some form of augmentative or alternative communication.

Some of our students have very high personal care needs indeed. We are used to this.

Some of our students have behaviours which those around them find upsetting or difficult to manage. However, all of our staff are trained in a low arousal system of behaviour management. This enables our staff to support students when they are anxious or upset, minimising the likelihood of difficult behaviours occurring.

The school is for pupils up to the age of 19. They all have Statements of Special Educational Needs with our school named in the statement. Statements are maintained by the Local Education Authority (LEA). Statements cease at 19. Our college is for students attending post-19 courses. Most of our college students attend for three-year courses commencing when they are 19. The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is responsible for maintaining the placement of our college students.

We are a national resource accepting students from anywhere in the UK.

Yes, most of our students are resident, but not all. Some only stay for one or two nights each week. Others stay Monday to Friday. Some students are half-termly or termly residents. A few stay for 52 weeks per year. All of our students live in small groups and have their own bedrooms.

Yes, if you are interested in your son or daughter coming here, we believe you must look round. You know your child best. You must be sure the decision you will be making with your child or on your child’s behalf is the right one. Phone our Link Worker (0161 610 0179) if you wish to arrange a visit.

No (unless this will cause you child care difficulties). The staff who show you round will want to talk to you about your son or daughter. We think it is undignified to ask questions and talk about the young person in their presence.

Yes. You may wish to bring people such as other family members (not too many!), your social worker, a teacher or support worker from your daughter’s or son’s present school, a nurse or maybe your Connexions Personal Adviser.

Tell us! We will not be offended. We know that our school and college cannot meet the needs of every prospective student. If you do not think we are right for your son or daughter, it is better for everybody if this is stated at the outset.

We do a very careful assessment indeed. This makes us as certain as we can be that we can meet the needs of your son or daughter. After we have received a referral, we collect five types of information:

• We collect copies of documents such as recent review reports and educational programmes

• Two members of our staff (usually our Link Worker and our Educational Psychologist) will visit your son or daughter in their present school. This is simply to carry out an observation.

• Our visiting staff will talk to your son’s or daughter’s present teacher or key worker.

• Our visiting staff will meet you as parent(s) to discuss your child’s strengths and needs.

• If this information suggests the assessment should be pursued, we invite the young person to a two-day assessment in our school or college. Our full multidisciplinary team will be involved. We are sensitive to the fact that some young people, especially those on the autistic spectrum, might be anxious or frightened in an unfamiliar setting. We would therefore assess these prospective students in their present schools or at home.

No. If we are assessing prospective students for a place at our school or college we do not charge for the assessment.

No. The assessment is to help us with the decision on whether or not we can meet your child’s needs. We obtain some very valuable information, but, regrettably, it is too time consuming to write a full multidisciplinary report. We will give you verbal feedback.

All assessments are discussed by our Student Management Team. This meets on a regular basis (typically every three to four weeks). We are often able to give parents some informal feedback very soon after the assessment.

This is out of our hands. We can state that we can meet a young person’s needs, but the funding agencies make the final decision.

Our school is “non-maintained”. This means it is not maintained by any particular Local Education Authority (LEA). Your own LEA is responsible for maintaining your child’s statement and for paying the fee. Sometimes the LEA pays the fee jointly with the Social Service Department.

No. Our school only accepts students funded by their LEA.

Tell the LEA officer responsible for reviewing your child’s statement of special educational needs. The statement must be amended to name our school. Some LEA officers are very supportive if they know their own schools cannot meet your child's needs. In other cases, however, the LEA might feel it is meeting your child’s needs adequately even if you do not. You have the right to appeal against the LEAs decision. We always hope the matter can be solved amicably without the need to go tribunal. You may wish to take independent advice from organisations such as the Independent Panel for Special Educational Advice, SENSE, the National Deaf Children’s Society or the National Autistic Society.

We are a Specialist College with places funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Some places at post-19 are funded jointly by the LSC and the young person’s Social Service Department.

No. We only accept college students funded by the LSC.

Talk to your son’s or daughter’s Connexions Personal Adviser. The Connexions PA will explain the process and will approach our college on behalf of the young adult concerned.

Some parents do their “homework” by visiting us a year, eighteen months or even two years before the September in which their son or daughter might enter our college. Give yourself plenty of time. Look at other colleges too, not just ours. We begin assessing students during the Autumn Term for admission the following September, i.e. almost a year in advance, and hope to have all the assessments completed early in the New Year for September admissions. We do not have a “waiting list” as such, but at some point during the year we must draw the line and say that we will not assess any more students.