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Specialist Resource Provisions are currently being developed in Hertfordshire and will be opening gradually between Sep 2022 and Sep 2024. Initially, places in the SRPs will be filled by those children already attending SLCN bases, before taking on new pupils. 

When will the SRPs be ready?

What are Specialist Resource Provisions (SRPs)?

Specialist Resource Provisions (SRPs) are centres attached to secondary and primary mainstream settings across Hertfordshire. Pupils attending the SRPs have access to a mainstream curriculum, but the stress of a mainstream environment is reduced and they have a safe space to be in where their needs are met. The staff and teachers at the SRPs will be trained to support the children and young people's emotional wellbeing and self-regulation, alongside their social and communication needs. As pupils in the SRPs gain confidence and independence, the aim is that they will spend an increasing amount of time within mainstream lessons, alongside their peers and with access to the wider variety of opportunities available to them there.

Who are the SRPs for?

The SRPs are for those children with speech, language, communication needs and autism, who don't need a special school, but they need additional support so that they can access learning in a mainstream school. 

The SRPs are for children and young people with:

  • a developmental language disorder and / or a severe motor speech disorder (developmental verbal dyspraxia)
  • a social communication and social interaction difficulty who may acquire a diagnosis of autism

What kind of support will SRPs offer?

Support in SRPs is tailored to each individual pupil. The number of places are kept small, with higher ratios of staff, to allow this tailoring to happen. Support will look different for every pupil, and the aim for each pupil is to help them develop their social and communication skills and confidence, to allow them to increase the time they are able to access mainstream classes.

For example, a pupil starting in an SRP may begin by spending 80% of their time in the SRP and 20% with their mainstream class. As their confidence and skills develop, they may be able to increase the amount of time spent in mainstream classes, with the aim that they can eventually access mainstream full time with confidence and happiness. All pupils will have individual goals and journeys.

If a pupil is not able to access mainstream classes at all, it might be that special school is a more appropriate setting for them.

Specialist Resource Provisions will offer children and young people the following types of support: 

  • small group based learning
  • an environment that feels safe and nurturing
  • help to organise the necessary speech and language therapies
  • individual tailored learning strategies
  • staff with specialist training and expertise, such as Specialist Advisory Teachers, Speech and Language Therapists and Educational Psychologists
  • an environment with lots of visual learning support and language adaptations 

How are the places for SRPs allocated?

A team of professionals from different areas including health and education will consider the needs of all of those pupils whose annual review suggests they may need the kind of specialist provision offered by SRPs. Children and young people with social communication difficulties will not need a medical diagnosis of autism to apply, as access is needs-led. However, children with developmental language disorder and severe motor speech disorders will be identified by a speech and language therapy lead clinician, ahead of being recommended to the admissions panel. 

Initially the places in the SRPs will be filled by those children already attending bases. If your child is currently attending one of these bases, you will be contacted by your EHCP Coordinator and staff will work together to ensure the transition to the new setting is as smooth as possible.

If you feel that an SRP would be the most suitable setting for your child, your first step would be to speak to your child's current school.  

When will the SRPs be ready and how many places will there be?

We will be creating a total of 188 SRP places, with 4 secondary SRPs (80 places) and the proposed creation of 9 primary SRPs (108 places).  The SRPs will replace the existing 96 places in Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) bases in mainstream settings, to meet the needs of those children who have a broader level of need, including social communication and social interaction difficulties often with an accompanying diagnosis of autism.  

Secondary SRPS

Over the next few years, we are creating 4 SRPs in secondary schools, each for up to 20 pupils 

  • The Priory school, Hitchin (opened Sep 2022)
  • Bushey Meads school, Bushey (to be opened in Sep 2023)
  • Avanti Grange, Bishops Stortford (to be implemented Sep 2023, subject to Regional School Commissioner approval)
  • Longdean school, Hemel Hempstead (this school currently operates a speech, language and communication base, to be changed to a SRP in April 2024, subject to DfE Regional Director approval)

Initially we have opened 1 Specialist Resource Provision for secondary children, in the academic year starting September 2022. 2 additional SRPs for secondary children will open in 2023, and another in 2024.  

The places in each of the SRPs will be spaced evenly across the school years at each setting. Initially the places in the SRPs will be filled by those children already attending bases. If your child is currently attending one of these bases, you will be contacted by your EHCP Coordinator and staff will work together to ensure the transition to the new setting is as smooth as possible.

Primary SRPs

Locations for 7 of the 9 primary SRPs have been identified. We are currently working with our mainstream primary settings in North Herts and Stevenage to identify 2 schools for SRPs in the area. It is proposed that 6 of the primary SRPs will be delivered from September 2023, with the remaining 1 opening from September 2024.

Delivery of the SRPs will involve; the replacement of some SLCN bases to SRPs, the creation of new SRPs and the closure of SLCN bases. The following sites have been identified for the primary SRPs:

  • Downfield Primary School, Cheshunt (re-designation of SLCN base)
  • Avanti Brook Primary School, Bishop's Stortford  
  • Sauncey Wood Primary School, Harpenden (re-designation of SLCN base)
  • Margaret Wix Primary School, St Albans
  • Maple Grove Primary School, Hemel Hempstead
  • Warren Dell Primary School, South Oxhey
  • Cowley Hill Primary School, Borehamwood (re-designation of SLCN base) 

A final decision on the delivery of the primary SRPs will be made in the spring term 2023.

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