Admissions process
Riverston Nursery and Pre-School:
We welcome enquiries for the Nursery and Pre-School at all times of the school year and will contact parents or carers to make an appointment to view the facility and meet the staff upon receipt. We arrange ’settles’, or time for the child to meet the staff and children in the Nursery and to become familiar with their surroundings, before joining. Our aim is to make the transition from home to the Nursery environment as smooth as possible. Nursery sessions will be agreed with the Head of Early Years.
Riverston Senior School and College:
Choosing the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions a family can make. At Riverston School, we aim to make the admissions process as personal, transparent and supportive as possible.
Admissions Criteria
Riverston caters for students from Year 7 to Year 15. We require students to be able to access our curriculum and therefore be working at no more than 3 to 4 years behind their chronological age. Our aspirational curriculum means we are also able to cater for academically gifted young people. We have limited wheelchair access and many stairs and step access, so if your child has mobility challenges, we suggest you visit before considering Riverston. The majority of students have an EHCP, but we do accept privately funded students.
There is no entrance exam and children can join at any stage of the school term or academic year. It is our aim, and the ethos of Riverston School, that we provide a bespoke education, focusing on each child, through a multi-disciplinary approach.
Our Process
If you are interested in learning more about the school, or visiting on one of our open mornings, please get in touch by email: admissions@riverstonschool.co.uk or by telephone on 020 8318 4327. We will be happy to help.
Applying for a place
EHCPs
If your child has an EHCP, you can apply through your SEN caseworker (often within the Annual Review framework or at the Draft EHCP stage). Once the LEA has consulted with us, we will review your child’s paperwork during our weekly admissions meeting. If we feel we may be able to meet academic, social and emotional needs, we will offer taster days before making the final decision of a placement.
Private Fee Payers
Please send through any documentation and an up-to-date Educational Psychologist report for us to consider at our admissions meeting. For more information about our current fees, please contact admissions@riverstonschool.co.uk.
Taster Days
As part of our admissions process we offer two-day taster sessions to see how your child settles at school.
This is for us to learn how they manage our school day and how they interact with peers and staff. We understand that this is a difficult process for many young people and we take into account how challenging experiencing a new school can be. Our Key Stage Co-ordinators will prepare the trial days in a way that works for your child.
However, the taster days are a very important part of our decision-making process, especially if an EHCP or professional reports are more than a year out of date or not a true reflection of the young person as they are now. This will inform our consultation response and funding proposition.
Taster days may look different depending on the needs of the young person. Generally, they follow the normal school day. Students are assigned a buddy and will complete CAT4 baseline tests. During the taster days, we gather feedback from teachers and LSAs, and our therapists conduct observations. Once we have all documentation, and our own experiences and observations, we will make our final decision at our Admissions Meeting.
Final Step
EHCPs: If we feel we can meet needs, we will submit our consultation response to offer a place through the Local Authority and respond to them directly and they will make the final decision.
Private Fee Payers: Following a successful taster day, we will confirm fees and start date. Our Admissions Team will guide you through every step.
Personalised
We recognise that every child is different, and that they will develop, grow and learn at different rates and in different ways. Our teaching, support, encouragement and motivation for each child recognises these differences and is personalised and individualised for them.
Multi-disciplinary
Our highly qualified and experienced teachers work alongside speech and language therapists, our occupational therapists, counsellor and learning support specialists to meet any additional learning needs that a child may require at specific times in their development and school career.
Aspirational
We believe that every child has talents and abilities that should be nurtured and developed. We will stretch and challenge every child whilst supporting and encouraging them to achieve more than they might believe possible.