Admissions

The bespoke package of teaching, with highly skilled teachers, enables pupils to make strong progress in their learning and to develop skills in a range of areas. ... Each pupil has an individual timetable which focuses on what they will need to fulfil for the next stage in their education and life. - Ofsted

James Marks Academy is an alternative provision for pupils with autism and/or social, emotional, mental health difficulties.  Pupils placed with us will primarily have difficulties including:

Disrupted / unusual emotional or social development.

Autism.

ADHD, ADD, ODD or similar medically diagnosed disorders.

Diagnosed mental health conditions and difficulties.

Typically pupils will join us following Hertfordshire's SEND process for requesting a place at a special school, which assesses their individual needs against what we are able to provide.

All pupils MUST have an EHC plan to be considered for a place.

Pupils' ability range is often wide, as is their functioning range, covering a cognitive span from low ability to gifted and talented.  All pupils join us because they haven't thrived in previous settings, due to associated anxiety levels and/or mental health concerns. Typically, our pupils would join James Marks Academy when a plethora of support from a range of specialists has failed to have the desired impact on their learning and or social and emotional well-being.

Exit guidance

Most pupils are so successful in our specialist settling that transition to a mainstream school or post 16 college is the outcome; a minority are able to re-join their original school to access A levels, such is the progress made whilst with us. Onward transition is always at the forefront of our minds, because successful placements must be reflective of a pupil's needs, hopes and aspirations.  In some cases, dual placements with mainstream schools provide the means to support pupils and assess whether they are able to function successfully in a new environment.

Our aim is for pupils to leave the provision with the qualifications, skills and attributes to succeed in their adult lives along with an agreed onward placement that matches their interests and aspirations.

• Build relationships with peers and adults.
• Make positive choices.
• Operate in various social contexts.
• Cope with different situations and make independent transition successfully (e.g. from smaller to larger groups).
• Overcome resistance to and fear of learning.
• Maintain relationships as adults.