See below some questions, and responses in italics, that have been raised about the new special school for Croydon.

Q1. Will there be a swimming pool? Unfortunately, the new building project does not include a swimming pool.

Q2. Will children from out of the Croydon borough attend the new school? The school is being built to meet the demand in Croydon. However, it may be possible for out of borough children to attend.

Q3. Will there be breakfast clubs and after school clubs? When the Headteacher is in place he/she will engage with the families and young people to determine the clubs that will be offered.

Q4. Is the new school just for children and young people with Autism? The school will also provide for complex learning difficulties.

Q5. Is the planned curriculum at the School geared towards high or low functioning learners? The planned curriculum would be for low functioning learners in core subjects (literacy/numeracy) who have difficulty accessing a mainstream curriculum. This does not mean students wouldn’t have talents in other areas; for example, we would anticipate students may have higher ability in the arts, sport or IT etc.

Q6. What qualification pathways will you be proposing, i.e. functional skills or GCSEs? Qualifications would depend on the profile of each learner and would be personalised to their curriculum pathway. This would include entry level qualifications, functional skills, life skills, ASDAN and GCSEs in certain subjects. We would ensure students were engaged, inspired and challenged to be aspirational in their outcomes. The young people attending are more likely to be following a functional skills curriculum.