Skip to main contentAccessibility Statement
Back

Northamptonshire Hospital and Outreach Education

Northamptonshire Hospital and Outreach Education logo

Address

Delapre Learning Centre, Alton Street
Northampton
Northamptonshire
NN4 8EN
United Kingdom

Get directions

Description

Service description:

Hospital and Outreach Education (HOE) is an alternative provision academy and is part of the Skylark Partnership Trust. It provides educational support for children and young people with complex medical and/or mental health needs that prevent them from attending school full-time. It covers the whole of Northamptonshire and is organised structurally into three areas that cover North Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health (C.A.M.H.S.) units respectively.

They support pupils at Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals and at three Tier-4 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (C.A.M.H.S.) units in Northampton. There are also two outreach teaching bases - one in Kettering and one in Northampton.

Locations:

Age Range:

  • 5-18 years when in hospital
  • 5-16 years in the Outreach Teaching Service
  • 17-18 years in the Outreach Teaching Service to undertake KS4 studies (GCSEs) when this has been missed due to health needs.

Hospitals and Inpatient Stays:

Teaching will automatically be provided to children and young people resident in the general hospitals or C.A.M.H.S units, depending on their state of their health and the severity of their condition. No charge is made to schools for this service. Children will usually be provided with education from day 3 or from day 1 if they have a medical condition which requires frequent hospital admissions, the pupil has an additional SEND needs, if they are admitted because of their deteriorating mental health or are a Child Looked After.

Outreach Teaching:

If a child or young person aged 5-16 is not attending school due to a complex medical or mental health condition, schools may want to consider a referral to HOE where they are unable to arrange suitable education themselves.

Pupils between 16 and 18 may be eligible for a place in one of our Outreach Teaching bases where they have missed significant amounts of their key stage 4 education due to their medical/mental health difficulties. The aim for these pupils is to achieve level 2 (GCSE) qualifications and enable them to progress onto their next stage of education elsewhere.

Please Note: Only schools can make a request for involvement of the HOE team. Requests need to be accompanied by medical evidence from a suitably qualified medical professional using one of our medical evidence forms. ‘Request for Involvement’ forms and other documentation can be found on the website. Children who are not on a school roll can be referred by North or West Northamptonshire local authorities.

Successful referrals will result in support from HOE which may take the form of:

  • Direct teaching from a qualified teacher or a Higher Level Teaching Assistant, supervised by a teacher. This may take place:
    • In one of their outreach teaching bases
    • In the home
    • In the child’s school
    • In a community location such as a library
  • Remote teaching
  • Direct reintegration support
  • Use of an AV1 telepresence robot that gives remote access to school
  • Telephone advice to the child’s school
  • Safeguarding visits to the home

Advice and Guidance:

HOE advises professionals to phone and discuss any referrals they are considering. It may be that HOE can provide them with appropriate advice and guidance to support the child or young person to remain in school. They should phone the main school number, leave their details and request a call back.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Can parents refer to HOE? No, referrals are taken from schools and must be supported by medical evidence from a suitably qualified medical professional.

Is medical evidence required for a referral to HOE? Yes. Medical evidence is required from an appropriate medical practitioner such as a Consultant Community Paediatrician, Specialist Consultant or CAMHS Clinical Nurse Specialists or Psychologists in association with a Psychiatrist from CAMHS.

How long can a pupil remain with HOE? HOE education support is not long-term. The time spent at HOE depends on the impact of the medical condition and advice from the medical practitioner.

Does HOE always aim to reintegrate pupils back to their home school? All our pupils must have an intention to return to school or to transition to another placement and this is discussed at the set-up meeting. HOE is not a long-term alternative to mainstream education.

Does HOE take pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEND)? Yes - the admission criteria are the same, regardless of the needs of the pupil. The reason the pupil is not attending their school must be their medical need.

Does HOE offer home teaching? Only if a child/young person has medical evidence to say they cannot leave the house. It is much better for children/young people to be taught in small groups at our outreach centres or back in school.

Will a pupil transfer from their school roll to the HOE roll once a referral has been accepted? No, the pupil then becomes dual registered, so both HOE and the school can work together to provide the appropriate educational support.

Does HOE support A Level teaching? We support Post-16 pupils to continue their A Level studies while they are in hospital or inpatients in the CAMHS Units. We do not support A Level teaching in our outreach teaching bases.

Can I request that HOE is named on my child’s EHCP? HOE is not a long term provision and so it is not appropriate for a request to be made for HOE to be named on an EHCP. Access to HOE outreach teaching bases is via referral from a school and pupils remain on that school role as their main school.

Resources:

Additional Information

SENCo: Rebecca Robinson ([email protected])

Accreditations
Ofsted Grade:

Outstanding (2014). TES Schools Award 2020 - “Best use of technology.” 2021 Northamptonshire Education Awards - “SEND School of the Year” and “Overall School of the Year.”

Cost
Schools are charged for outreach teaching but there is no charge for teaching in hospitals.
Locality
  • Brackley Area
  • Corby Area
  • Daventry Area
  • East Northants Area
  • Kettering Area
  • Northampton Area
  • Wellingborough Area
  • North Northamptonshire
  • West Northamptonshire
  • Northamptonshire
Age range
Suitable for ages from 4 years to 18 years
Referral route
Education or School Referral
For people with
  • Medical Conditions
  • Social, Emotional, or Mental Health (SEMH) Needs
Eligibility criteria
  • Age Range - School
  • Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET)
  • Health Condition
  • Diagnosis
  • Special Educational Needs or a Disability (SEND)
Provider category
Specialist Services - For those who require longer-term support
Disclaimer

Publication on the Local Offer does not endorse a provider, so please take reasonable steps to ensure that any service found on the Local Offer is suitable for your family member. For more information, please read our disclaimer.

Last updated 22 March 2024