New specialist resource provisions proposed for September 2025
Following the successful development of a suite of Specialist Resource Provisions across the county, providing additional support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to access a mainstream curriculum, two new facilities are proposed to open in primary schools in Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead from September 2025.
Hertfordshire County Councillors were presented with the findings from the initial consultations to open the SRPs at Cabinet on Wednesday 15 January 2025. They decided to authorise the Executive Director of Children’s Services to issue statutory notices to open specialist resource provisions at Featherstone Wood Primary School and Brockswood Primary and Nursery School. These will provide new places for up to 12 pupils at each site to receive additional support to thrive at school. So far, nine SRPs across Hertfordshire have already opened.
There are currently five attached to primary schools in the county; the two new ones will increase the spread of support for primary pupils with communication, speech, language and autism. 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.
Cllr Caroline Clapper, Executive Member for Education at Hertfordshire County Council, said: “We want all children in Hertfordshire including those with SEND to have their needs met with a range of inclusive provision available through our mainstream schools, specialist resource provision, alternative and special school provision. We’re committed to providing the right education in the right place at the right time, and we know there is a need to create more provision in Hertfordshire so that our children and young people with SEND can attend the most appropriate education setting, and achieve the best possible outcomes, as close to their home and community as possible.”
Our recent video explains how pupils are supported in Specialist Resource Provisions across the county:
YouTube.com: Supporting SEND students in the heart of Hertfordshire’s schools
More information is also available at:
https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/microsites/localoffer/education-support/education-options/specialist-resource-provision-for-pupils-withspeech-language-and-communication-needs-and-autism.asp