As we continue to develop the Hackney Education Alternative Learning Service (HEALS), we are responding to questions that we have received directly or at our public engagement sessions.
Vision, strategy and core operations
Is the new three-year plan for all children in Hackney or just those with special needs?
Hackney 3-Year Education Strategic Plan (2026-2029) is an ambitious vision to improve the life chances and well being of every child and young person in Hackney across all communities.
The Strategic Plan sets 5 key priorities:
- Priority 1 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Inclusion: moving towards early intervention and better support
- Priority 2 Alternative Learning Provision: a model to give children the right support at the right time
- Priority 3 Strength and sustainability: ensuring our schools remain financially stable
- Priority 4 Sustainable school improvement: maintaining high standards whilst prioritising child wellbeing
- Priority 5 Equity for children and families: actively dismantling barriers for our Black Caribbean, Turkish, Kurdish, and Charedi communities
Hackney Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Inclusion 3 Year Strategy sits alongside the Education Strategic Plan to offer specific support to children with SEND.
What is HEALS and how do I access the service?
Hackney Education Alternative Learning Service (HEALS) is a borough-wide approach developed by Hackney Council to reduce exclusions, strengthen inclusion, and ensure that every child receives quality, inclusive education.
The approach forms part of a three-year transformation plan (2026–2029) designed to reduce permanent exclusions by working with schools, children, parents, carers and communities to strengthen inclusion in schools, ensure children receive timely and appropriate support, and coordinate suitable education for children who cannot attend mainstream school due to illness, exclusion or any other reason.
HEALS introduces a 3-tiered system of support that provides earlier intervention, targeted inclusion advice and support, and specialist alternative learning pathways.
Tier 1 is in-school preventative and outreach support for children in mainstream schools.
- Prevention and outreach will be delivered by a virtual team of professionals working together and with schools to offer in-school support to children who are facing barriers to learning. This virtual team may comprise education psychologists, SEND specialists, school nurses, SEND coordinator, wellbeing and mental health practitioners, and HEALS outreach and engagement officer.
Tier 2 is short-term offsite interventions designed to address specific behaviours and barriers.
- Short-term offsite Intervention involves a network of local authority and health professionals working together through a formal process to coordinate support to children and their families. This support is initiated in collaboration with parents when schools have exhausted their own efforts to address and support emerging needs and behaviours, and there has not been sufficient change for the child.
Tier 3 is longer-term specialist provision, pathways and transitional support.
- Transitional and longer-term specialist provision and intervention for children with complex needs to either remain in mainstream school, or where remaining, or a return to mainstream school is not immediately appropriate. Specialist intervention is delivered in partnership with New Regents College. New Regents College is the local authority's specialist provision for children unable to attend mainstream school due to exclusion or other reasons.
How to access support.
- Your child’s school remains your first and most important partner. If you have concerns, speak to the Headteacher, Special Education Needs and Disability Coordinator, or Class Teacher. The school will be able to request support from HEALS targeted support after they have worked with their virtual team of professionals allocated to the school to offer in-school support to children who are facing barriers to learning. This virtual team may comprise education psychologists, SEND specialists, school nurses, SEND coordinators, wellbeing and mental health practitioners, and HEALS outreach and engagement officers.
Alternatively you could make a request for targeted early help by completing the request for support form.
Will HEALS replace existing services (SEND, behaviour support, early help)?
HEALS is not a replacement for existing services for children with additional needs. HEALS is a change in approach to supporting school age children who cannot attend school due to illness, exclusion or any other reason by working more effectively together. Removing the "silos" that often makes the system difficult for families to navigate. This ensures that a collaborative effort is made to address barriers to education, and your child's overall wellbeing is seen as a priority alongside their educational journey.
What specific changes are being made to daily culture and staff training?
The HEALS core team based within Hackney Education will be trained to undertake all aspects of early intervention for children, which will ensure that your child and your family are able to get to know your allocated worker. They will work consistently with a small number of schools, to develop strong relationships with children, families, staff and the community that surrounds those schools. This is inline with the Families First agenda and aims to centre our Hackney families in all that we do, and offer a neighbourhood-based approach.
The HEALS partnership will be made up of our key partners (Child & Mental Health Service (CAMHS), schools, Early Help, Social Care), all of whom share a commitment to serving our community and recognise that children have a right to be in their community schools and to feel that they belong there.
We will work together as one single team to get to know you and your child, identify the barriers and challenges you are experiencing, and ensure we work with you to design a plan that is owned by you, and is coordinated by your allocated worker to reduce, or remove these barriers. The plan will be held within HEALS so that we can draw in additional support from relevant agencies as your and your child’s needs change. The idea of this approach is that we revolve around the family and the child, and through this professional consistency we are more likely to better support you in a way that meets your needs and is positively impactful.
HEALS work will be delivered from a trauma-informed approach to understand your lived experience; anti-racist in its practice to recognise bias, and address discrimination; and systemic to ensure sustainable impact and positive change. Systemic practice recognises that families and their wider networks are individual, and that we must work in a way that focuses on family We as practitioners are also individuals and bring our own sets of experiences, values and beliefs to our work, and this may impact families.
The HEALS core team will all undergo a full induction process, with training that is designed to be inline with the values of the new service.
HEALS will provide a full training programme to all Hackney schools which will include consistent topics (such as safeguarding, peer on peer abuse and creating safe spaces) as well as responding to local issues as they arise - for instance, adultification and race-based trauma).
Will HEALS focus on intervention or prevention (for example, calmer environments)?
HEALS is a 3- tiered approach to prevention and intervention for children experiencing barriers to education.
Prevention efforts will be delivered by a virtual team of professionals working together to offer in-school support to children who are facing barriers to learning. This virtual team may comprise education psychologists, SEND specialists, school nurses, SEND coordinators, wellbeing and mental health practitioners, and HEALS outreach and engagement officers.
In-school support is what we refer to as Tier 1 support.
Intervention involves a network of local authority professionals working together and with schools to coordinate support to children and their families. This support is initiated when schools have exhausted their own efforts to address and support emerging needs and behaviours, and there has not been sufficient change for the child.
This coordinated support may include short term off-site interventions at alternative provision designed to address specific barriers.
Time limited intervention placements outside of mainstream school is what we refer to as Tier 2 support.
Specialist intervention will consider long-term specialist provision, intervention and transition assistance for children with complex needs to either remain in mainstream school, or where a return to mainstream school is not immediately appropriate.
This specialist intervention is delivered in partnership with New Regents School, and is what we refer to as Tier 3 support.
Does Hackney plan to create a learning centre for 1:1 and small group sessions?
We are considering a learning centre which is something we are scoping out and, if it is realistic, achievable and will benefit our children, we will follow the usual processes to have it considered as an option.
Equity, accountability and monitoring
How will you ensure Black children are not sent to these provisions as a "punishment" and that policies are administered fairly?
We understand the context of this; we acknowledge the lived experience of our Hackney residents that are racialised daily as part of their interactions with institutions - including the Council.
Discussions about individual children (both internally and externally) will consider the impact that racial trauma may have had on that child, alongside racial bias that we as professionals may be holding that may impact our response. We are committed to disassembling racism and oppressive practices, and HEALS staff are on an ongoing journey through training and day to day processes, to be part of this.
At a broader level, we will produce data at school and child level that is considered according to the race and vulnerabilities of the children it reports on, and we will use this to inform strategic responses to work towards a fair and equitable education community.
Family engagement and partnership
What will “working in partnership with parents” look like in practice when parents raise concerns that are wellbeing-based rather than academic?
We acknowledge that parents and children are the experts when we are looking to understand how a child is feeling and experiencing school. HEALS is committed to hearing and taking into account the voice of the child and their family at all points of support, from early identification to more sustained and intensive support.
We will be guided by what you feel is best for your child, and use this to inform support plans and adjustments that will allow your child to access the curriculum effectively, and to thrive in their setting.
We will be working in a shared partnership with you, your child and your child’s home school.
The usual feedback channels to your child’s school will continue to be available to you, and HEALS will not supersede these.