Experts at Hand

Experts at Hand is a new way of providing SEND support in schools, early years and post-16 settings.  It brings specialists (such as educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists) closer to education settings so that they can support children and young people earlier. 

Experts at Hand is about whole-setting support, rather than providing ongoing one-to-one support for individual children.  By strengthening the confidence of adults around children and young people, schools and settings will be better able to identify and meet their needs. 

The Experts at Hand will work with staff in mainstream schools, early years and post-16 settings to:​

• Observe and assess needs.​
• Advise staff on strategies and support.​
• Deliver short-term group interventions.​
• Build staff knowledge and skills.
• Support parents and carers.​
• Share expertise from specialist and Alternative Provision settings​

The aim is to make sure children get the right support as soon as possible, rather than waiting for a diagnosis or formal assessment. 

The support provided by the Experts at Hand model means that your child may benefit from: 

• Earlier identification of needs and difficulties.
• More support within their setting. 
• Better joined-up working between education, health and SEND professionals.
• Staff having access to specialist advice and expertise.

Your child will not need a diagnosis to benefit from this support. 

If your child or young person has an EHCP, the support detailed in their plan will continue.

Our ambition is to have the first phase of our Hertfordshire Experts at Hand model operating by March 2027. However, we don't want to assume we've got it right first time. We want to test approaches, learn what works, listen to feedback, and continue to refine the model over time. 

We are not starting from scratch. We already have a range of specialist services supporting schools, early years and post-16 settings, and families and young people. In developing the Experts at Hand model we will be increasing capacity in the existing services by recruiting more specialist staff, and will be working in a more joined-up way. The existing services will continue to be available while the new Experts at Hand model is developed.

We are working with families, schools, early years and post-16 settings, families and health professionals to design an Experts at Hand model that meets the needs of Hertfordshire children and young people.

No. Experts at Hand is intended to strengthen support available in mainstream settings and sits alongside existing statutory support. 

If your child or young person has an EHCP, the support detailed in their plan will continue.

No. Experts at Hand is not a service that parents or carers can access or refer to directly.  Specialists work directly with schools, early years and post-16 settings to build their knowledge, skills and confidence in supporting children and young people with SEND. 

If you have concerns about your child's needs, speak to your  SENCo or SEND lead in the first instance.  

Children and young people do not need a diagnosis for their school or setting to benefit from advice and support through Experts at Hand. Parents cannot refer directly to the service.

Whilst the Experts at Hand model is being developed, schools and settings will continue to have access to the existing range of specialist services, including: 

• Speech, Language, Communication and Autism Teachers
• The Deaf and Hearing Support Service
• The Physical and Neurological Impairment Team
• The Visual Impairment Team
• The Multi-Sensory Impairment Team
• Cognition and Learning Advisory Team
• Educational Psychology Service
• Early Years SEND team
• Services for Young People
• Children and young people’s physiotherapy service
• Children and young people’s occupational therapy service
• Children and young people’s speech and language therapy service
• Children and young people’s sensory processing service
• Mental Health Support Teams
• SEND Mental Health Support Team

These services will continue to provide support as Experts at hand is being developed.