Grange Park School
Admissions
All requests for admissions for Grange Park, across all sites must come via Kent County Council.
KCC will consult with us as to whether we can meet the needs of an individual pupil, and we will review each set of consultation papers on an individual basis.
Admissions Information
Grange Park School caters for pupils with an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and associated learning difficulties aged between 9 -19 years. All pupils will have an Education Health Care Plan and are referred to the school for admission from Kent County Council SEN Assessment and Placement Service. There are admissions criteria for each special school that are applied in order to determine if a particular special school would be a suitable placement.
Pupils will normally be admitted to Grange Park School at the beginning of the academic year at Year 5 and after Key Stage 2 (Primary/Secondary transfer) and after Key Stage 4 (to Key Stage 5 education). In addition, pupils may also be admitted at the end of Key Stage 3 in order to access the courses on offer, particularly accreditation and vocational work. Pupils who apply for places during the academic year e.g. if they move to Kent from another LA will be considered according to the admissions criteria.
Places – Updated September 2025
|
Year 5 |
Spaces |
|
Year 6 |
Limited number of spaces |
|
Year 7 |
No spaces |
|
Year 8 |
Limited number of spaces |
|
Year 9 |
No spaces |
|
Year 10 |
No spaces |
|
Year 11 |
Limited number of spaces |
|
Key Stage 5 (Years 12, 13 & 14) |
Limited number of spaces |
Secondary Transfer
The local authority has amended the process for secondary transfer. Parents will be contacted by the local authority advising them the window is open to provide their parental preference. Parents will be asked to provide one preference only. If Grange Park School has been requested SEN will consult the school providing a copy of the child's Education Health Care (EHC) Plan and all the supporting reports listed in Section K of the EHC Plan. Grange Park School will consider all the information provided alongside a comprehensive questionnaire completed by the current school which allows us to find out more about the child, their need and how they are currently supported. A response will be provided to the local authority and these will be discussed at a special school panel. The local authority will make a decision and then coordinate all responses and notify parents and the school of their decision by the 15th February 2026.
For those pupils who have been offered a place the school will be in contact to arrange transition and baseline interviews.
Post 16
Similar to the secondary transfer process parents and young people will be contacted by the local authority advising them the window is open to provide their parental preference. These can also be recorded in the Annual Review prior to the Post 16 phase transfer. The school will consider any requests for Post 16 places at our Wrotham and College sites for September 2026 and respond to the local authority who will then make the decision. Parents and school will then be notified of their decision by 31st March 2026
The Process
The local authority will send documentation to the school and the school will be expected to respond within 15 days. The headteacher will review the paperwork and if the child meets the admissions criteria an assessment is made of all new pupils’ needs by the SALT and a member of the Extended Leadership Team and is based on:
- The information in the Educational Health Care Plan
- Previous school information
- Early review of available documentation, this may include reports by professionals
- Classroom observation/School visit
- A questionnaire completed by the current setting
- Baseline Assessment Tests
It is essential that the curriculum on offer at Grange Park School meets the needs of the pupils. In order to facilitate efficiency of learning, there should be an appropriate peer group and a vacancy in the Year Group. It is also essential that pupils are able to work in classrooms and transition between rooms.
Additional criteria will be:
- Distance, allied to the nearest appropriate school
- Balance of gender
- Severity related to a number of needs
Grange Park School does not offer 1:1 support. Each class however has TA support.
We understand that selecting the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions you will make. Once we are able to accommodate onsite visits, if you would like to visit the school please call the school office where they will take some details and book a tour 01732 882 111. When you call, the office will ask for key information to ensure that you are booked on the correct tour.
We ask parents to attend a tour specific to their child's year group and these tours are led by key staff who have specific responsibility for the age range.
The first tour is for parents and will be during school hours. Tours are run on a Wednesday morning at our Stansted site, and Wednesday afternoon at our Wrotham site.
KCC Admissions Contact and Advice
The named officer in the relevant Special Educational Needs Teams explains the arrangements for admission to parents and carers as part of the statutory assessment process or as part of any school transition process but further advice is available directly from the Special Educational Needs Teams.
Information, support and advice for special educational needs can also be found by following the link below:
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you require hard copies of any of our policies, please contact the School Office on 01732 882111