Please find below a copy of the above guidance for schools. This has been compiled by a number of senior Children & Young People's Department staff. Initial versions of the guidelines have been refined to incorporate the helpful comments received from the primary and secondary headteacher representatives who serve on the Pupil Services Consultative Groups.
As several colleagues will know from their own experience, this is a potentially difficult and contentious area of decision-making for schools and local authorities. The West Sussex guidance has been developed, therefore, to fulfill the following aims:
- to help schools make appropriate decisions on behalf of individual children after careful consideration of all relevant information
- to avoid decisions which could have major consequences in future years for individual pupils and their schools and
- to facilitate partnership with parents and avoid unnecessary disputes over decisions relating to individual pupils.
The proformas attached to the guidelines provide a checklist of questions to be addressed when either backclassing
or acceleration is being considered. Their use by schools should help to ensure that sound educational decisions are made
following careful consideration of all relevant matters by both the school and the local authority.
I hope that these guidelines will be helpful to school staff on those relatively rare occasions when backclassing or acceleration
may need to be considered for an individual pupil.
If you require clarification about the contents of the guidelines, please contact Secretary to Helen Powell on 01293 895303, or email secretary.access@westsussex.gov.uk
Any formal requests for decisions must be made in writing to:
Helen Powell
Education Office (North)
Centenary House, County Buildings
Woodfield Road, Crawley, RH10 8GP
You can view copies of the documents by clicking the attachments at the bottom of this page.