Residential Ethos

It is the philosophy of Sunnydown School that as much learning should take place for the pupils outside the classroom as within it. We aim to assist and support the pupils to grow and develop physically, emotionally and socially within the safe, consistent, enjoyable learning environment that is boarding.

Sharing, co-operating, being clean, tidy and polite, taking part in additional learning and recreational activities, are all things in which all boarding pupils are expected to participate. We consider that these areas provide a good foundation, which better enables the pupils’ to work towards achieving their full potential. Education is a life-long experience and we aim to prepare the pupil for a world beyond compulsory schooling.

The offer of a residential placement is not a statutory or compulsory offer, unless stated on an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP), and may not be appropriate for all pupils. Unless written into the EHCP there is no automatic right to boarding. To determine whether a place is offered we assess a pupil's needs for a residential placement based on a number of factors. These include:

• Impact of distance and journey time from home to school (via taxi).
• Pupil’s Individual Education Plan targets (this identifies the need to support his personal, social, emotional and educational development).
• The pupil’s personal, social and emotional needs as deemed by school and parents / carers.
• Medical needs of the pupil.
• Pupils that have ‘Top Up’ services e.g. Pupil Premium.
• Suitability of place, given needs of other boarders.
• Staffing levels and staff to pupil ratio.

All potential boarders will be subject to an individual risk assessment of their behaviour and needs before a place is offered, and then at least every term during their placement, to ensure the residential provision is still appropriate.

All placements will be discussed at annual review. Please note, place allocation is not permanent and it may be necessary to rotate some placements to give other pupils fair access and opportunity.

Our Sunnydown criteria will remain in place until Surrey release their own, or provide new direction, at which point we will re-evaluate our document.

The residential provision at Sunnydown School is subject to rigorous annual inspection by OFSTED using the National Minimum Care Standards, and half termly Standard 20 Inspections.