SEND - Local offer

Primary specialist hubs will have a maximum of approximately 10 children attending. The secondary specialist hub will accommodate a maximum of 8 students.

Discussions with parent carers about a child’s placement in a hub should be carried out as part of the EHC needs assessment process or the EHC annual review process. Places are limited and subject to change. Upon receipt of the request the Local Authority SEND team will consult with the specialist school (where the children will be on roll) and the host mainstream school (the hub) that has been requested.

This is possible, but a lot of discussion and work will happen between the special school and the child’s parent if this is being considered. Children will not be moved without agreement from parent carers. Provision for children with an EHC plan is reviewed each year through the annual review process and this will be used as the mechanism to consider a change of placement where appropriate.

The hubs will cater for children with complex communication and interaction needs, including Autism and associated cognition and learning difficulties and cognition and learning needs. Further detail about the type of needs ‘hub provision’ will cater for, and entry/exit criteria, is provided in the link below. A child does not require a medical diagnosis of a condition for entry into hub provision. Rather the combination of need and impact on a child’s learning will be used to determine the appropriateness of entry into a hub.

For children who attend the hub provision both sets of staffing groups will support the children.

The exit criteria can be found here. All placements for children with an EHC plan are reviewed as part of the annual review process.