Perseid School

Perseid is a maintained special school for children with severe and complex learning difficulties, including learners with an additional diagnosis of autism and/or additional physical and/or sensory disabilities.

The school is set on two campuses in Morden - one primary and one secondary. There are 120 places, 60 in the Lower and 60 in the Upper School.

Type of School Community Special School
Gender Mixed
Religious Affiliation None
DfE Number 315 7004

Website

Who to contact

Telephone
020 8648 9737 020 8648 9737
E-mail
office@perseid.merton.sch.uk
Notes

Entry to Perseid School is via an EHCP (Education, Health and Care plan) or Statement of Special Educational Needs. All applications should be made via the Merton SEN Team including those from outside the London Borough of Merton.

Parents and children are welcome to visit the school.

The curriculum is individually tailored to the child’s particular needs.  Please refer to the website for details of some of the school's strategies such as Intensive Interaction, PECS, Signalong, Sensory Integration, and TEACCH.

 

Location

Name
Perseid Lower School and Main Office
Address
Bordesley Road
Morden
Postcode

SM4 5LT

View SM4 5LT on a map

Time / Date Details

Session Information
Monday to Friday

Availability

Referral required
Referral Details

All admissions to Community Special Schools are referrals through the Local Authority. Requests can come from other boroughs local to the area and for parity and fairness, are processed in the same way through London Borough of Merton

A child / student has to have an Education, Health and Care Plan or Statement of SEN to attend Perseid School

Local Offer

Description

Perseid is a community special educational needs school with 120 places (60 in the lower and 60 in the upper school). We provide an outstanding education for pupils, aged 3 – 19 who have severe and complex learning difficulties, including learners with an additional diagnosis of autism and/or additional physical and/or sensory disabilities. Pupils come to Perseid from all parts of the London Borough of Merton as well as some surrounding boroughs. Staff work as part of an inter-disciplinary team, which includes health authority staff

Contact Telephone
020 8648 9737
Contact Email
office@perseid.merton.sch.uk
Links
Policies page

Schools Extended Local Offer Response

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

How Perseid School assesses whether they can meet a child’s needs before they join the school

In order to assess whether the school can meet a child’s needs before they join the school, the LA ‘consults’ with the school by sending a copy of the child’s papers.  Quite often the headteacher will also request to visit the child at their current placement.  It is important that the parents have visited the school prior to this consultation.

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

How to apply to the school, ask for a replacement at the school and referral

  • All pupils will have a statement or EHC plan in order to be considered for admission
  • All pupils must be able to benefit from the provision we make for children and young people with severe or profound learning difficulties including those with an additional diagnosis of autism
  • Informal visits for parents are a useful way of finding out about us and about the process, and families are welcome to phone for an appointment which will be hosted by the headteacher
How will the curriculum be matched to my child's/young person's needs?

Our school website provides lots of information about how our school supports our pupils.  Please see:-

  • Intensive Interaction Booklet, PECS Booklet, Meeting the Needs of Learners with Profound and Multiple Difficulties Booklet, Lower School Information Booklet, Upper School Information Booklet, Working with Parents, Families and Carers Booklet

Education and support plans are developed in partnership with parents and updated or reviewed on a termly basis.

  • Teachers, supported by the leadership team, will make decisions about the appropriate package of support or interventions for your child, based on the child’s preferred learning style, diagnosis, prior achievements and interests.
  • Sometimes extra help is provided by people outside of our immediate school community, for example, the Educational Psychologist, the CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) worker, the Sensory Team.  In these situations, parents’ permission would be sought beforehand.
  • It is important that the whole staff team at Perseid is highly trained so that we can best meet the pupils’ needs.  All our teachers are supported to undertake post-graduate training in special needs at Masters Level.  All our teachers undergo accredited PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) and TEACCH (a structured teaching process designed to support youngsters on the autism continuum) and Intensive Interaction training.
  • Our Governors check the provision that we provide by making visits, receiving reports from our teachers, including pupil reports.
  • We keep our provision under constant review and change and adapt our strategies to ensure that pupils continue to make progress.
How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

The school is organised so that every pupil can receive a curriculum individually tailored to their particular needs.  Please refer to our website for details of some of our strategies:- Intensive Interaction, PECS, Signalong, Sensory Integration, TEACCH.

Sometimes, especially in our Upper School, special equipment is required.  We make every effort to keep this to a minimum, eg swimming and PE kit.  Some families of pupils aged 16 – 19 may apply to receive 16-19 bursary funding to assist with specialist equipment.

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall well being?

Pupils’ attainment and progress is monitored at least termly via the pupil’s Key Learning Targets (Perseid’s version of the Individual Education Plan).  Updated KLTs are shared with parents at the start of each term and parents are invited to discuss proposals with the class or pathway teacher at that time.

At Perseid, the month of June is designated assessment month, whereby teachers undertake in-depth assessments of pupils and set targets for the forthcoming year.  Pupils’ progress and attainment in PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) and communication as well as in English and Maths.

What specialist services and expertise are avaliable at or accessed by the setting/school/college?
  • Annual Review meetings are chaired by the Headteacher or Associate Headteacher.  All those involved in supporting your child are invited.  Annual Reviews are usually held on Thursday mornings, and invitations are sent to parents with at least 2 months’ notice.  All those involved with your child, including parents, are invited to make a written contribution
  • The Annual Review meeting starts with a short picture/film presentation of your child’s learning
  • In addition to the child’s statutory Annual Review, parents are invited to discuss their child’s progress at the start of each term.  Parents’ evenings are also held twice per year, and all pupils have home/school diaries to aid the sharing of information between home and school
What training have the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had? Are any being trained currently?
  • All pupils have home/school diaries to aid the sharing of information between home and school
  • The school hosts regular workshops and support groups each term, on topics of interest, and these are published in the twice-termly newsletters as well as on the website.
  • The composition of our Governing Body includes provision for three parent representatives, whose contributions ensure that the parental view is strongly represented
How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

Pupils’ well-being is as important as their educational achievement, and our support systems include written Personal Well Being Plans for each pupil, (detailing the support a pupil may need with personal care, eating, drinking, toileting) along with Behaviour Support Plans for pupils who require additional support for their behaviour, and Healthcare Plans for those who require this.

The full time school nursing team, Merton CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) (Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions), the Early Support Team, dieticians, paediatricians, Education Welfare Officer, the Hearing Impairment and the Visual Impairment advisory teams all work closely with us to ensure pupil attendance, behaviour, healthcare and safeguarding needs are well met.

How accessible is the setting/school/college enviroment?
  • Governors place great importance on ensuring that pupils’ views are heard, and accordingly meet with the school council annually to receive feedback from the pupils.
  • 6th Form pupils attend their Annual Review and those pupils for whom it is meaningful, make a written contribution. 
  • At lower school a ‘buddy’ system operates whereby Year 5 & 6 pupils may be given the opportunity to support nursery pupils during play times
How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?
  • All our teachers hold a minimum post graduate diploma in special needs, with over 50% holding master’s degree in Special Education Needs/Autism/Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities/Multiple Disability, Visual Impairment.
  • The school employs an Occupational Therapist specialising in Sensory Integration and a Speech and Language Therapist, and the health therapy team includes physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, (for eating and drinking and high-tech communication devices) orthotics, dieticians and specialist nursing.
  • CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) provide input for 1.5 days per week.
  • Referrals can be made for Education Psychology input and for support from children’s social care, eg short breaks.
  • All families are encouraged to make contact with the school’s Family Support Worker
How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?
  • It is important to us to ensure that our staff are trained in the relevant areas.
  • All teachers are funded to undertake a postgraduate diploma in special education needs, certified PECS course, TEACHH course and comprehensive school-based induction.
  • All level 3 teaching assistants undertake certified PECS training and the school-based induction.
  • All level 1 teaching assistants undertake the school based induction programme
  • Our 5 days annually of mandatory training includes regular updates in behaviour support, moving and handling, PECS, Signalong and safeguarding as well as specific development focus areas (eg the MOVE  curriculum - a curriculum to support pupils with a physical disability - eating disorders, the use of i-Pads)
How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?
  • Learning outside the classroom is not only motivating for the pupils, but it helps consolidate and generate class-based learning. 
  • Educational visits are therefore a regular feature of our provision.
  • Risk assessment is undertaken prior to the visit to ensure that all pupils are enabled to safely access the activity.
How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?
  • As we are a special school our buildings are fully wheelchair accessible, including the provision of hoists to all areas.
  • Some pupils require additional specialist equipment due to their physical disability eg. Specialist seating and specialist positioning equipment.  Such equipment is usually provided by Health, following a request from the relevant therapist.
  • Interpretation and translation can be provided for those families for whom English is a second language.

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