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The Hope Centre

Helping students achieve their potential

Teacher with boy learning in classroom

The Hope Centre is the name of our specialist educational provision. It is based in a purpose-built and well resourced building in North West London.

Who do we support?

Children and young people aged 3–19 with a wide range of learning disabilities and educational needs
Gifted underachievers, so that they can achieve their learning potential.

What do we do at the Hope Centre?

Boy studying at Hope

The Hope Centre provides holistic, multi-disciplinary assessments and runs intervention programmes, all designed to meet each student’s needs. Our highly experienced team is made up of teachers, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists. They work together to identify the student’s needs and to devise and monitor joint targets. This approach gives parents, as well as other professionals, a comprehensive picture of the child which helps ensure that every student makes the best possible progress.

Playground at Hope

The Hope Centre specialises in developing children’s thinking skills. All our teachers and therapists are trained in specialist approaches, designed to help children become confident and independent learners. This work is based on a unique methodology devised by Professor Reuven Feuerstein and includes the structured programmes he developed. It also uses programmes which have evolved from Feuerstein’s pioneering work.

At the Hope Centre, every student is an active participant in the learning process. We help each child to become more consciously aware of their own thinking processes. This is,so that he/she will be better equipped to adjust and refine those processes, which will lead to more efficient and flexible thinking.

With us, students develop fundamental cognitive skills such as how to stay focussed, plan, compare and prioritise. These skills are essential for studying subjects that are part of the curriculum as well as for everyday life.

What services do we provide?

Assessments

Specialist multi-disciplinary assessment. This includes Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Educational Psychology
Dynamic Assessment, which assesses a student’s learning potential and identifies strategies which will enable them to optimise their learning
Occupational Therapy
Speech and Language Therapy
Educational Psychology Assessments.

Intervention

Mediated Learning. A specialist teaching approach which can be used on a one-to-one basis or in small groups
Instrumental Enrichment (IE). A structured thinking skills programme which strengthens cognitive functions (the ‘building blocks’ of thinking). It helps people become more efficient, flexible and motivated thinkers
Occupational Therapy. This includes specialist programmes such as Sensory Integration and Listening with the Whole Body
Speech and Language Therapy, including parent-child interaction
Specialist Literacy and Numeracy Support
Philosophy for Children. An approach which encourages children to think more deeply and critically
Thinking maps. A series of graphic organisers with carefully targeted cognitive purpose
Training and workshops. For teachers, psychologists, LSAs, parents and carers, both at the centre and in the form of bespoke INSET training in schools
Workshops and courses. For parents/carers, teaching assistants and teaching professionals. Each year we deliver an ‘Introduction to Thinking Skills’ course to support parents in developing independent thinking in their children
Whole School Thinking Skills Projects. Run within schools, this includes INSET training, co-teaching with staff and small groups for children at risk of failure.

Information about our courses

Workshop - "Understanding how to setup sensory diets at home and school"

Wednesday 22nd May
Read more

Women and girl pulling string and smiling

Term dates

Summer Term 2013

INSET: Monday 15th April
Students begin: Tuesday 16th April
Bank Holiday Monday 6th May
Half Term: Monday 27th May – Friday 31st May (inclusive)
Students begin: Monday 3rdh June
Last day of Term: Tuesday 23rd July
INSET: Wednesday 24th July

Autumn Term 2013

INSET: Monday 9th & Tuesday 10th September
Students begin: Wednesday 11th September
Half Term: Monday 28th October – Friday 1st November (inclusive)
Students begin: Monday 4th November
Last day of Term: Friday 20th December

Spring Term 2014

INSET: Thursday 2nd January
Students begin: Friday 3rd January
Half Term: Monday February – Friday 21st February (inclusive)
Students begin: Monday 24th February
Last day of Term: Friday 4th April

Summer Term 2014

INSET: Tuesday 22nd April
Students begin: Wednesday 23rd April
Last day of Term: Friday 23rd May
Half Term: Monday 26th May – Friday 30tht May (inclusive)
Students begin: Monday 2nd June
Last day of Term: Wednesday 23rd July
INSET: Thursday 24th and Friday 25th July