Special Schools

St Georges is designated a secondary school for pupils from year 7 to year 14. The Medina House site is designated a primary school for children of nursery age to year 6.

The two Special Schools take pupils from all over the island. We assess each child’s needs in full before we offer them a place. All pupils in special schools have a statement of special educational needs and this is a condition for entry.

A range of professionals may be involved in recommending your child for a place in a special school, but you and your child will also be involved equally. You are welcome to visit the schools before you make a decision. An educational psychologist is always involved in the assessment process and is available throughout your child’s school life to give advice and to carry out a reassessment if necessary.

Both schools actively support pupils to help them take part in the communities they live in. This is often through visits to a mainstream school, taking part in shared projects or working towards going full time to the local school.

We arrange transport to the special schools.

The Special Schools 

We have two special schools both of which are in Newport.

• Medina House for children aged up to 11 (Reception to Year 6) with severe and complex learning difficulties.
• St Georges for children aged 11 upwards (Year 7 to 14) with severe and complex learning difficulties.

Medina House School
Medina House School currently caters for around 90 pupils aged from 2 to 19 with severe learning difficulties.

What if these schools cannot meet my child’s special educational needs?

A few children have special needs which are so severe or complex that they cannot be supported properly in our schools. In these cases we may agree a place in an independent special school, with special facilities.

We will only make a decision about an independent special school after a very detailed assessment. And we will only consider specialist boarding schools approved by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). We take great care to make sure that a
suitable school is selected. This involves detailed discussions between us and the child’s family.