The Swan Centre was set up in 2001. Since then, it has been successfully meeting the needs of students with language difficulties and/or autistic spectrum disorders within a busy mainstream secondary, Falmer High School. As a parent or carer, you’ll know how challenging needs like these can be. Our staff have extensive experience in working with students with special needs, helping them to adapt, grow and gain the kind of independence skills they will need for happy and productive lives after secondary school.

B Brown, Manager

Working with you

To ensure good relations, we offer:
Regular phone or e-mail contact.
Termly meetings for all parents.
Home-school programmes.
Liaison with other agencies that may be involved with your family.

Working as part of a team

The Swan Centre works as part of a team of professionals and agencies, like specialist health services. Together, we create and deliver specialist programmes for students - in classes throughout the main body of the school and in the Centre.
We design an individual education programme for each of our students. This programme is shared and reviewed regularly with parents and students at meetings thoughout the year.

 

How does the Swan Centre support its students?

The Centre is calm, comfortable and well resourced. It provides security and helps reduce the stress of a busy mainstream school environment.
We organise sessions with our Speech and Language Therapist. We put specialist teachers or communication assistants into mainstream classes to support Swan Centre students, alongside the class teacher.
We run small group sessions in the Swan Centre aimed at specific areas that our students find difficult, like social skills or vocabulary. We run timetabled sessions to help organise studies and homework
We monitor progress through each student’s Individual Education Plan We run very popular lunchclubs, after school clubs and outdoor activities. We work closely with and take advice from the Educational Psychologist
We run sessions to build relationships, like ‘Circle Of Friends’ and PSHE. We offer a Duke Of Edinburgh Award Scheme tailored for our students We offer a specially designed curriculum for KS4

How do you get a place at the Swan Centre?

In particular, we work with students who need help in: Understanding language and following instructions. Expressing themselves with spoken language. Attention and listening Rigidity, or ‘locked in’ ways of thinking and doing things.
High levels of anxiety Social communication skills. We have a multi agency panel which meets to consider the needs of students whose Annual Review suggests they may need the kind of specialist provision that the Swan Centre offers.
The Brighton and Hove Children and Young Peoples Trust (CYPT) makes the final decision about which students are offered a place.

What happens if your child is offered a place?
Your casework officer will contact you to confirm an offer and will suggest a visit to the Swan Centre to meet us and discuss what we can offer in more detail. We find it helpful to get to know you and your child before their arrival. We will contact your child’s current school to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible.