Referrals

If you are interested in your child attending the Vanguard School, the first stage is to contact your local authority and indicate your preference for Vanguard School. You can ask them to refer your child’s papers to the school. The School's local authority is Lambeth. 

All referrals should be sent to admissions@vanguardschool.org.uk, the first point of contacts is Francesca Garrett, Senior Administrative Officer and PA to the Principal.

We offer education to autistic children who have been referred by their local authority through a curriculum tailored to suit their needs. In some cases, this means teaching a child from Year 7 to Year 13. The school is a day school taking students from Lambeth and other surrounding local authorities. 

All students must have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan (formerly a Statement of Special Educational Needs) that refers to a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Though no longer recognised in the DSMV, our students’ diagnosis may include Asperger’s or High Functioning Autism.

In addition to their diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder students may also have additional needs, for example obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Students may also have associated needs in the areas of emotional, social and communication and interaction development and/or psychological or mental health difficulties. In addition, students may have sensory, or physical/motor difficulties.

Our students benefit from provision that opens up the depth and breadth of the full mainstream curriculum while recognising that some children need the additional support of our school to manage anxiety arising from their autism, sensory, social and communication difficulties are unable to manage a mainstream school environment.

Students at Vanguard School access a structured environment and high levels of targeted intervention and differentiation throughout the school day. Our students work at broadly age-related levels of attainment and we anticipate that they will gain a range of qualifications, including GCSEs, A-levels and vocational qualifications.

Our admissions chart is a step-by-step guide to help you through the process of getting your child registered for Vanguard School.

Whether you have already included our school in your child’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, or whether you are concerned that your current school is not meeting your child’s needs and are considering other options, we hope you find this chart useful.

If you are in a local community or parent partnership group and would like to find out more, please contact us at office@vanguardschool.org.uk We’d be delighted to share with you our vision for the Vanguard School.

In-Year Applications

Local authorities may approach the school to request a place outside of the normal admissions round which is in time for a place to start at the start of the academic year (September). Where multiple applications are received, and the Academy does not have sufficient places for every child that has applied for one, places will be allocated on the basis of the oversubscription criteria.  

Commissioners

If you are working with a child for whom Vanguard School might be a suitable school, we recommend that you contact us for an initial conversation about the child’s needs and the services we offer. Please email us at admissions@vanguardschool.org.uk