Hilary House Specialist Base for Children with Autism

Introduction

Thank you for your interest in Hilary House and welcome to our webpage.

Hilary House is a specialist base for children with autism, catering for children from Reception through to Year 6. Hilary House was established to allow children with autism the opportunity to enjoy the advantages of a specialist base and alongside, have opportunities to take part in mainstream lessons.

 

Admissions to Hilary House

If you would like your child to attend Hilary House there is an alternative admissions system to the general admissions policy for Sacred Heart R.C. Primary School. Parents should be aware that applying through the general admissions system will not allow your child access to Hilary House. Hilary House is open for admissions to children from Reception through to Year 6.

All children who attend Hilary House have an Education, Health and Care Plan, and a formal diagnosis of autism.

Admissions to Hilary House are administered by Wandsworth Council’s Special Needs Assessment Section (SNAS) which is a part of Children and Young People’s Services. SNAS will usually consult Hilary House as part of the EHCP assessment or following an annual review where a formal request for a change of placement has been made.

If you would like your child to be considered for placement at Hilary House you should speak to your child’s case officer at SNAS or the SENDCo at your child’s current placement.

 

Classes

Our children are taught in 2 classes:

  1. Blue Class caters for children in Reception and KS1
  2. Green Class for children in KS2

We have a total of 18 children in our base, split between the two classes. Each class has a class teacher who is supported by a team of teaching assistants as well as our visiting occupational therapist and speech and language therapist.

Our children also attend mainstream classes where they learn with their peers. Our children play and eat together with their friends throughout the school. They attend assemblies, mass, after school clubs and take part in a range of school trips and journeys through the school year.

Hilary House is part of Sacred Heart R.C. Primary School and we encourage our children and their families to take a full and active part in the religious life of the school and support us in all aspects of school life.

 

Transitions

Nursery to Reception

Children join us from a range of different settings; most come from specialist and mainstream nurseries who have identified needs and begun supporting children. We work closely with these colleagues on admissions and making successful transitions. This work may start many months before a child starts with us. We work with the teachers, therapists, medical professionals and parents to ensure children feel happy and safe with us.

 

Primary to Secondary

When children leave Hilary House, we aim to provide them with further opportunities to enjoy mainstream, specialist bases or specialist settings. We work with our colleagues in secondary settings and from Wandsworth Special Needs Assessment Section to ensure that our children’s progression and transition to KS3 is successful, building on the success they have enjoyed with us.

 

Curriculum

We provide a curriculum based around specialist teaching in small groups and individually planned programmes of occupational and speech and language therapy. Children start the day by being welcomed by staff and settling gently into the school day with activities that focus upon feeling safe, emotionally secure and ready to begin learning.

In Hilary House we focus on developing children’s numeracy and literacy skills alongside specific work on social development, language acquisition and emotional regulation.

 

Most of our children will join their mainstream year group in the afternoon where they are able to enjoy a wide range of different subjects:

  • History
  • Geography
  • Art
  • Music
  • P.E.
  • R.E.
  • Science and Languages

As children get older we aim and encourage them to have as much time as possible in mainstream classes as preparation for secondary school.

 

Staff

Hilary House benefits from having a staff team who have expertise and understanding of autism and teaching and working with children who have autism. Each class has its own class teacher and a team of teaching assistants. We have a speech and language therapist and occupational therapist who attend the school each week. The Base has a Lead Teacher to oversee its smooth running and effectiveness.

 

Contact Information

For more information on Hilary House please contact:

Mr Hourigan Head of Base: 02072235611 Ext.: 109

Email: [email protected]