At Hera House, we offer education placements to students aged 5-14 years old, who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Places at the school are offered in an fair, clear and objective manner and are based on whether we are able to meet the child or young person’s needs adequately, according to their EHCP. The school offers education placements to students with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. However, all of our students are characterised by their vulnerability. Their behavioural problems are usually secondary, caused by their other difficulties or diagnoses, and are usually not their primary need.

We hold regular open days throughout the year for any prospective parents/carers to come and look round the school. We ask that families book onto those days where possible so that our existing students are not disrupted too often.

We work with a number of different local authorities and have students that travel a considerable distance. However, we do take distance into account when considering a placement offer and would not offer a placement to a child or young person who had to travel more than an hour to the school. For younger children, we would be unlikely to offer a placement where the travel distance is more than 45 minutes.

Referral is usually through the Local Authorities’ Special Needs Department, following an EHCP review. The SEND department will approach us if, in their opinion, we can meet the needs of a particular student. This is often following a decision by their current school or setting that the student’s needs are not being met or, in some cases, where a student is unable or unwilling to
access their current setting.

If another school or educational setting feels that they have a student that would benefit by being placed within our school, then they should call an EHCP review, inviting a member of the Authority to discuss the way forward, before approaching us. We are unable to take applications or referrals directly from parents/carers, schools or other settings.

All students are integrated slowly into the school, to enable them to settle into the routine and to cause as little disruption as possible to the current students. This can take 6-8 weeks but is taken at the child’s pace. We will offer a phased entry plan based on the child’s age and previous level of attendance but this may be adapted if needed.

We have three pathways of study, Discoverers, Adventurers and Explorers. Students will be placed into the pathway most appropriate to their needs and assigned a key worker before their first day. We also send out a Welcome Pack with information for both the student and their family and the key worker will make contact with the family within the first week.

For more information or to book onto our next available open day, please telephone the school on 01652 228202 or email [email protected]. You can also view our full Admissions Policy on our Statutory Information page.