Admissions guide for parents, carers and
families
RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning
(formerly RNIB Rushton School and
Children's Home) offers individually-tailored
education, care, healthcare and therapies to
children and young people with multiple
disabilities and complex health needs who
are blind or partially sighted, from preschool up to the age of 19.
Our education and care are both graded
“Outstanding” by Ofsted. Our nursing care
for children with additional medical needs is
also fully compliant with Care Quality
Commission (CQC) standards.
Admission criteria
Within school, we can support children and young people aged 2 to 19.
Within our care service, we are able to accommodate children and young
people at any age between 0 and 19 years.
Specific needs we cater for include:
 visual impairment
 learning difficulties and disabilities
 Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
 physical disabilities
 communication difficulties
 additional sensory impairment (deafblindness)
 additional healthcare needs, such as epilepsy
 high health and medical needs, including long-term ventilation or lifethreatening or life-limiting conditions
 additional behavioural difficulties.
Logos: RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning, Research Charter Mark,
Inclusion Quality Mark, SEN Specialist School, Ofsted Outstanding School
2012/2013, Ofsted Outstanding Children's Home 2012/2013
Registered charity number 226227
How to apply
1. Get in touch and arrange a visit
Contact us and complete our placement enquiry form to tell us your
needs. We recommend that you and your child visit us to meet our
education, care and therapies team and have a tour of our facilities. If
possible, please bring along your child's statement of special educational
needs (SEN). This will help us to verify whether we could meet your
child's specific needs (subject to a full assessment).
2. Inform your local authority
If you think we may be able to meet your child's needs and you would
like them to be considered for a place, you will then need to get in touch
with your home local authority. If they agree that RNIB Pears Centre
would be a potential placement, they will write to us requesting a full
assessment.
Key people to contact are:
 Sensory Impairment team (education)
 Social Services Children's Services team (for a residential placement)
The following professionals may also support you during the process:
 Connexions advisor (if your child is aged 14 or over)
 Parent Partnership advisor
 Local advocacy service
3. Book a full assessment
Detailed pre-admission assessments of prospective children and young
people are carried out in partnership with parents, carers and families as
well as education, social care and health professionals. These aim to
ensure that we can fully meet the individual young person's needs and
that they are compatible with the needs of other young people we
support. A full assessment helps us to ensure that we can provide a
tailored service for your son or daughter and to make sure that any extra
support, equipment or specialist help can be provided. It also enables us
to provide your local authority with an accurate indication of cost.
What happens when my child is assessed?
During an assessment we aim to find out and understand the
educational, care, communication and health needs of your son or
daughter. It also enables you and your child to have a taste of life here at
RNIB Pears Centre.
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Our team of specialists will observe your son or daughter and record
their responses during various situations and environments. Examples of
the types of factors covered are listed below.
Education
 Cognition
 Learning style
 Participation in class activities
 Access to the curriculum
 Specialist equipment
 Specialist support
Social care
 Morning and evening routines
 Independence at meal times
 Access to leisure activities
 Social interaction
 Relaxation
 Behaviours
 Sleep patterns
 Personal care
Health
 Vision and other senses
 Movement, balance and posture
 Mobility and habilitation
 Diet
 Allergies and medications
 Moving and handling
 Health support
 Physiotherapy and occupational therapy support
Communication
 Use of speech
 Non-verbal communication
 Making requests
 Showing likes and dislikes
 Understanding others (receptive communication)
 Effective/ineffective strategies and methods
 Speech and language therapy support
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We can provide on-site accommodation for the assessment process and
for visits so that there is no need to be apart from your son or daughter
during these times. Our waking night staff can afford you a good rest in
the knowledge that your child is being looked after. This type of support
allows you to choose how much or how little time away you can take.
A detailed report will be provided to you and your local authority following
a full assessment.
4. Apply for funding
If we think we can meet your child's needs based on our full assessment,
we will make a formal offer of a place with cost breakdown. Your home
local authority needs to approve funding for the placement and formally
request the place in writing.
5. Plan admission and transition
Once we have received a written request for a place from your local
authority, we will work with you and your child's current school and other
service providers (eg respite) to plan and manage the
admission/transition process ready for an agreed start date.
Contact us
RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning
Wheelwright Lane
Ash Green
Coventry
CV7 9RA
Telephone 024 7636 9500
Email pearscentre@rnib.org.uk
Website www.rnib.org.uk/pearscentre
Other useful contacts
 RNIB helpline 0303 123 9999
 Parents' Place website: www.rnib.org.uk/parents
 Blind Children UK family support: helpline 0800 781 1444
email services@blindchildrenuk.org
website www.blindchildrenuk.org
 IPSEA (Independent Parent Special Education Advice):
advice line 0800 018 4016, website www.ipsea.org.uk
 Sense is a national charity supporting and campaigning for deafblind
people, 0300 330 9256, website www.sense.org.uk
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