Dear Families
We have started gathering information from all of you, but particularly the families of our Pathway 1 pupils regarding the opening of our second site, Northwood Road. In case you haven't already had an opportunity to look at some of the frequently asked questions about this development, I have included them here below.
Q: Why is the Northwood Road site being added to the school?
A: Meadow is a popular school and each year we have more pupils wanting to come to the school than we can take. The second site will allow more children to benefit from attending Meadow High School.
Q: Why have Pathway 1 pupils been chosen to move rather than any other group?
A: There were two groups that were initially identified as possibilities: Pathway 1 and 6th Form. However, the 6th Form group includes many pupils who travel to school independently using public transport. This would have severely disadvantaged them should they have been moved to Northwood Road.
Q: Does this mean that children in Pathway 1 will never be independent travellers?
A: No, absolutely not. We will continue to develop pupils skills and will work with families to get their child to the best level of independent travel they are capable of. However, the current cohort of Pathway 1 pupils does not include anyone who travels fully independently to and from school.
Q: Is moving this cohort of pupils disability discrimination?
A: No. Careful consideration was given to which cohort of pupils it was most appropriate to move to this site.
Q: Where is the Northwood Road site?
A: The Northwood Road site is in Harefield and is next to, but not part of, Harefield Academy.
Q: I don’t drive, how can I get there?
A: The 331 bus serves the Northwood Road site and this connects directly to Ruislip, Northwood and Uxbridge.
Q: Why can’t you make two mixed schools on both sites e.g. pupils from all Pathways?
A: Due to the way our timetable is constructed for Pathway 2 and 3 pupils, this would have meant that subject specialist staff would be required to move between the sites. This was not economically viable.
Q: Will my child still get transport to school?
A: Yes, should you still want it. We are currently confirming whether this is for a fixed period or the remainder of your child's education at Meadow High School.
Q: We live very near to Royal Lane and my child doesn’t like going on school transport?
A: We would work with your child to overcome this. We have supported many pupils in the past to adapt to travelling on home to school transport.
Q: How will you make sure the Therapists are shared appropriately between the two sites?
A: The allocation of Therapy and Rehab Assistant time is based on the requirements of the pupils EHCP. To reduce the impact of travel time between sites, we are currently exploring whether we can have a site specific Therapy Team.
Q: Are the staff moving with the children?
A: Yes, that is the intention. However, until we have completed the formal staff consultation, we cannot confirm if all Pathway 1 staff will be making this move. During our informal process, we believe that the vast majority of Pathway 1 staff do intend to move across to the new site.
Q: What happens if I say no and don’t want my child to relocate to the Northwood Road site?
A: Your child has been placed at Meadow High School because the school can meet the needs outlined in your child's EHCP. This would not change due to the location of your child's education, so the Local Authority would take the view that the placement would remain appropriate.
Q: Will we have an opportunity to see the building design?
A: Yes. The work to finalise the building design is approaching a final stage. Representatives from the school have been involved at all stages. Once there is a final design, this will be shared with all stakeholders.
Q: Will we have an opportunity to visit the site before my child starts attending there?
A: No. It is unlikely that we will be able to have safe access until after completion of the works. We will welcome parents to tour and view the facilities once we are able, but this is likely to be after handover. Updates to how the works are progressing will be shared with families throughout the process. Should we be able to facilitate a site visit, we will of course invite families.
Q: Is the site secure and separate from Harefield Academy?
A: Yes. This is a separate site with its own boundary fencing. There will be no mixing of the schools populations unless planned.
Q: Will my child's curriculum stay the same?
A: Yes. The approaches and techniques will be the same. There may be some changes over time however due to new facilities on offer at the new site offering opportunities to enrich the existing curriculum further, e.g. horticulture, increased access to Food Technology and more bespoke play/sports equipment.
Q: Will the facilities be as good as at the current school?
A: Yes. As a minimum they will be the same but due to the bespoke design of the building and the tailoring to the Pathway 1 population there will be areas that are greatly improved.
Q: Will my child's school uniform stay the same?
A: Yes, your child will still attend Meadow High School so the uniform, Bulletin and all other services will be the same.
Q: How will you support my child to prepare them for this move?
A: Your child will be supported as needed on an individual basis. All the students will have access to social stories and information sessions to help prepare them.
Q: Is it worth my child transferring to Northwood Road if they only have one or two years left at Meadow?
A: Yes. If you are concerned about additional transitions for your child please consider that this is a transition with familiar people and pupils. It will be good practice for your child prior to them making a transition to a new provision with unfamiliar people. Additionally, pupils have been supported to make a successful transition to this new building on the Royal Lane site. We don’t anticipate the move to Northwood Road presenting any greater difficulties.
Q: Will Teddy the dog be moving to Northwood Road?
A: Teddy tends to follow Miss Willis wherever she goes! Once the staff consultation is complete it is anticipated we will know for sure which staff are moving to the Northwood Road school.
We will add to this document as more questions arise and you can find a copy of it on our website.
Best wishes to you and your family for a lovely weekend in the sunshine.
