Children's Services

Percy Hedley Children's Services meet the needs of children with cerebral palsy, children with hearing or visual impairments and children with speech, language and communication difficulties. As a regional specialist provider we do not belong to any local education authority and admit children from anywhere in the country, but predominantly from the North of England. We do not make a profit and are part of the Percy Hedley Foundation, a registered charity.

A brief introduction to our services

Day Nursery and Children's Centre

Hillcrest Northern Counties Nursery, has been established in response to the need expressed by parents of disabled children for a specialist all day nursery for babies from three months to five year old pre-school children (7.30am - 6pm). Our nursery is one of the few in the country to operate on a fully integrated basis to meet the needs of all of its children, whether or not they have physical disabilities, sensory impairments, or healthcare and nursing needs. We believe that all of our children benefit from learning and playing together with the structured support provided by our staff.

Our nursery is based within spacious and completely refurbished accommodation and has easy access to secure soft play and out door play areas. The school has extensive grounds which are enjoyed by all the children. Children with special educational needs will also have access to the excellent hydrotherapy pool. The nursery is divided into three areas for babies aged three months to two years, two to three year olds and a preschool section.

The nursery provides a wide range of respite services for children up to 8 years and their families - including day care and holiday provision, with nursing and therapy support.

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Foundation Schools

The Percy Hedley Foundation maintains two schools on three sites, Percy Hedley Primary Department, Percy Hedley Secondary Department and Northern Counties School. Our schools work with children aged six months to 19 years. We provide day end five-day boarding education with high-quality care, respite and independence training for pupils on a full or part-time basis.

Percy Hedley School specialises in working with three distinct groups of children. Our work with children who have cerebral palsy is based on Conductive Education as practised at the Peto Institute in Budapest. Specialist teachers and therapists provide an integrated approach to working with children who have speech, language and communication difficulties and complex difficulties including dyspraxia, dyslexia and ADHD. The school has considerable experience of working with children on the autistic spectrum who show the potential to access a group approach with support. Following our merger with Northern Counties School we have launched a new, highly specialised education provision for children with hearing impairment based at our secondary school provision.

Northern Counties School has a national reputation for excellent practice and provides education, therapy and care for children with hearing and visual impairment, complex needs and autism. The school specialises in a total communication approach.

Assessment Services

Percy Hedley Children's Services offer a free assessment service to local authorities and parents from across the Northern region to help them make decisions about meeting the needs of children with complex special needs.

Read more about our Assessment Service ...