Admissions

At The Ladder School, we recognise that mainstream school does not suit all young people and we are here to offer a second chance. We work on a commissioning basis, which means that a school, or the Local Authority must approach The Ladder School to place a student. Referrals may be made at any time throughout the year, but unfortunately, we cannot accept direct referrals from parents/carers.

The school specialises in providing places for:

Students who have become disengaged in mainstream provision and exhibit persistently disruptive behaviour within a mainstream setting;
Students who have failed to reengage with mainstream schooling through a managed move to a different school;
Students who are at risk of permanent exclusion;
Students who have been permanently excluded;
Students who do not have a school place and mainstream education is not appropriate.

Students who attend will be dual rolled. In certain instances, we will take students on roll completely. All places are full time and our aim is that each student will achieve 5 – 8 GCSE (or equivalent) qualifications (depending on the length of time they are with us).

From September 2023 our commission fees will be as follows:

Band	Placement Type	Day Rate
Band 1	Standard Placement	£65
Band 2	Student with an EHCP, in the process of being awarded and EHCP, or a student that has been Permanently Excluded	£100
Band 3	Student requiring a bespoke package of support	Price agreed at application

Please note:

all placements will be charged £1,000 non-refundable deposit, that will include the admissions costs, meetings, assessments, and visits required to ensure a successful admission and induction into The Ladder School.
there will be a discount available for any commissioners making an advance purchase of 5 places, or more per academic year.

All costs will be calculated from when a student is placed on roll with us until they leave and removed from our roll. Please note that placements in Year 11 will be charged until the end of the academic year to enable effective transition onto appropriate post-16 destinations. Commissioners will be charged for days of planned provision irrespective of student attendance on those days.

The school’s admissions portal makes the admissions process swift and easy to follow, and our dedicated team are always on hand to help in any way we can.