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What are Specific learning difficulties (SpLD)?

Specific learning difficulties (SpLD) is an umbrella term for a certain group of learning difficulties. This includes a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.

These difficulties can occur alone or together in people across all ages and can range from mild to severe.

Who do we support?

We support children and young people who may experience difficulties in learning to:

  • read
  • write
  • spell
  • use and understand numbers

Despite extra help in school, they often don’t do well in these areas.

They may also experience problems with:

  • how quickly they're able to process information
  • remembering things
  • organising themselves
  • their physical co-ordination
  • phonological awareness - the sound structure of words.

In an average classroom or setting there will be a number of children and young people who have SpLD, it's very unlikely your child will be the only one.

What does the service aim to provide?

There's a range of strategies to help children and young people manage their needs. These vary according to how severe the difficulties are.

We provide:

  • Advice to schools on suitable resources, strategies and interventions.
  • Access to specialist training for teachers, SENCos and teaching assistants.
  • Support to schools in making changes based on assessments.

If a learner has more significant and persistent difficulties, and progress remains slow, schools and parents can request further support.

This can include:

  • Further assessments to identify underlying barriers to progress.
  • Advice and targets to meet the needs of the learner in school.
  • Help making adjustments to support the pupil's progress and improve access across the curriculum.
  • Observation of teaching to enable us to give tailored advice.

How to access the service?

No diagnosis is needed for schools to access our service, but only schools can request it, usually via the SENCO. 

**Please note that we are not currently taking on new referrals as we are under consultation**

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If you're concerned about your child's progress, speak to your child's teacher or arrange a meeting with the school's Special Needs Co-ordinator or SENCO. Your child’s teacher can tell you who this is and you can work with them to access the support your child needs.

Can any organisations support me?

If you'd like someone to support you when meeting the school, SENDIASS provide an impartial information service for parents, carers and young people.

The Dyslexia-SpLD-Trust, or the Trust, is a collaboration of voluntary and community organisations with funding from the Department for Education to provide reliable information to parents, teachers, schools and the wider sector.

Information and videos on dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and ADHD.

SpLD training offer for school professionals

From January 2024 the Specialist Advisory Teachers from the SpLD team will be offering training to school professionals. 

For all bookings and enquiries, please email the team at SpLDTeam@hertfordshire.gov.uk.

Cookies

Like many other websites, we place small information files called 'cookies' on your computer.

Why do we use cookies?

To remember your settings, for example your language and location. This means you don’t have to keep entering these details when you visit a new page.

To find out how you use the site to help us update and improve it.

How do I change my cookie settings?

You can change the settings of your web browser so that it won’t accept cookies. For more information visit AboutCookies.org.

But, doing this may stop you from using some of the online features and services on this website. 

Cookies we use

Cookies do a lot of different jobs, and we use 2 types of cookies:

Required functionality cookies – these cookies are essential for the website to work.

Performance and feature cookies – these cookies help to improve the performance and feel of this website, for example providing you with personalised services.


Take a look at a list of cookies we use on our website:

NameTypeHow we use itHow long we use the information for

ASP.Net_Sessions

 

Required functionality

An automatic cookie set by our software. 

Just for the time you are on our website.

ServerID

 

Required functionality

An automatic cookie set by our software. 

Just for the time you are on our website.

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Required functionality

To track the effectiveness of our website using Google Analytics. 

2 years

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Performance and feature

To save the pages that you visit by clicking the heart at the top of the page. 

1 month

geoPostcode

Performance and feature

This stores your postcode (or partial postcode) when we ask you for your location.

Just for the time you are on our website or 30 days (you choose this).

geoCoordinates

Performance and feature

This stores your location as a pair of latitude / longitude coordinates.

Just for the time you are on our website or 30 days (you choose this).

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Performance and feature

This keeps a history of all answers submitted to the ready reckoner.

This is set in the control for each ready reckoner. If you haven't interacted with the ready reckoner for the set amount of days, the cookies are deleted.

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Performance and feature

This keeps a history of what content cards are clicked on when using the ready reckoner.

This is set in the control for each ready reckoner. If you haven't interacted with the ready reckoner for the set amount of days, the cookies are deleted.

SQ_SYSTEM_SESSION

Required functionality

This used to track user sessions on forms hosted on eservices.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Just for the time you are on our website.


Third party cookies

There are links and content from other sites and services on our website. These sites and services set their own cookies.

Below are a list of cookies that the other sites and services use:

Service namePurposeMore information

Google analytics (_utma/b/c/z)

These are used to compile reports for us on how people use this site.

Cookies of the same names are also used for the same purpose by other websites such as Building FuturesCountryside Management Service and Hertfordshire LIS.

Visit the Google Analytics website for more information about the cookies they use.

You can prevent data from being collected and used by Google Analytics by installing Google's Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Google Translation - googtrans

This cookie is used to remember which language to translate each page into if you have chosen to do so.

It expires at the end of your browser session.

Bing

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Google

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We have a YouTube channel, which we may link to. YouTube may set some of its own cookies if you follow those links.

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This ASP.NET_Sessionid cookie is essential for the Netloan secure online payments website to work, and is set when you arrive to the site. This cookie is deleted when you close your browser.

 

HotJar

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Siteimprove

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