Students
ADMISSIONS
Admissions to Riverside School are decided by the Special Needs Panel of the Children and Young People’s Service, advised by the Educational Psychology Service, (EPS), with referrals usually made by the mainstream school working in partnership with the parents.
For 2011/12 automatic transfer places were given to students from Moselle and Wiilliam C. Harvey schools in years 7-11 at that point. However, the additional capacity of 120 will allow for approximately 30 places for other students in the borough in need of the provision at Riverside.
Initial referrals of students - who will usually have a statement of special educational needs, and will be experiencing significant difficulty with their learning - can be at any age within key stages 3/4, although it is anticipated that an annual cohort will transfer from The Brook primary special school at secondary transfer.
New parents are invited to visit the school, talk to the headteacher, see the class which their child would join and meet the staff group. It is anticipated that parents and carers will work closely with the school. On entry a home-school agreement is signed jointly by the headteacher, parent/carer and student to encourage a successful working partnership.
ORGANISATION OF CLASSES
The school provides 120 places for students from age 11-16 years, (ie educational years 7/8/9 in KS3, and years 10/11 in KS4).
The make-up of classes is governed by group commonalities of need, levels of independence and learning capacity. For example, classes with students with very complex needs are taught using a range of augmented communication methods such as PECS, (Picture Exchange Communication System), BSL, (British Sign Language), and Communicate in Print, (an ICT symbol resource).
Classes with more independent students may communicate wholly verbally, and the style of teaching may have more in common with a mainstream class model whilst still addressing students’ individual needs.
ASD classes generally have a maximum class size of 6 across the school to help meet these students’ specific needs, although the school may occasionally accommodate 7 in these classes when students’ levels of communication and independence warrant it. In addition to a lead teacher, these classes will have either one, or, more usually, two support staff attached. Five specialist ASD classrooms are located on the first floor. A senior teacher oversees the ASD provision across the school.
PMLD classes follow a group size model of 6 to 8 students per class, although the level of staffing to support the teacher may be higher to reflect the profound and multiple needs in these classes. The core PMLD curriculum is delivered by the class team, although, (as with ASD classes), there is some separate specialist subject teaching, (eg music, art and P.E./sport). Four specialist PMLD classrooms are located on the ground floor. These rooms contain equipment bays and an overhead hoisting system. A senior teacher oversees the PMLD provision across the school.
GLD classes may vary in size from 6 to 12, depending again on levels of ability and independence, but larger classes have weekly half-class teaching sessions, especially for specialist subjects such as music, lifeskills and design and technology. These classes have a lead teacher, and either one or two support staff, but higher levels of timetabled separate specialist subject teaching. Seven specialist GLD classrooms are located predominantly on the first floor. A senior teacher oversees the GLD provision across the school.
In addition to the classteacher-based teaching of the core subjects, specialist teachers take all classes across the school for weekly lessons in art, music, ICT, lifeskills and P.E. These lessons are taught in specialist rooms.
Staff and their classes are divided into key stage teams to allow focused support and team-work regarding separate KS3 and KS4 areas of specialism. For example, whilst KS3 students generally follow National Curriculum-based schemes of work, tailor-made schemes such as ASDAN and ALL, and newly-introduced diplomas begin at KS4 to help students prepare for transition to Haringey’s Sixth Form Centre Foundation Department. It is expected that the Centre will remain the transition route for almost all Riverside students on leaving KS4.
A senior teacher leads each key stage team and separate assemblies are held weekly to recognise the students’ differing needs and approaches according to their age.
