A mainstream school with special support

Raymon van den Berg, director

Helder havo/vwo is a school for students who have been diagnosed on the autism spectrum: ADD, ADHD or with a similar support need.

Our school was set up about eighteen years ago at the request of the region, because we saw that at secondary (havo/vwo) level these students were dropping out of the school system and ending up at home, and we saw that they were significantly underperforming.

We offer them a place where they can get their education in a safe and structured way - a mainstream school with special guidance.

Maarten van der Velden - teacher

Helder is a school where structure and clarity are important for our target group.

That begins by starting each day with a ‘day start’, in which the mentor and the coach immediately make contact with the students, with their own mentees, to see how they are doing.

It’s to go through the day in a predictable way: to look through the schedule, check whether they have all their things with them, whether their homework is done, what tests there are on that day or whether there are any classroom changes.

Davida de Maat - student

At my old school there was much less contact with the mentor – that’s the first big difference. Yeah, because at this school we now have a half-hour ‘day start’ every morning, in which you can just talk to your mentor and you can bring questions and if you need help, then they are there for you.

Maarten van der Velden - teacher

In the day start and in the mentor sessions, there is very explicit focus on how they should interact with each other. This is also necessary for this target group, who need clear frameworks and boundaries and don’t always know how to coordinate with each other. 

We often do this in the form of activities such as games, and in those games the students are then grouped together, and the mentor supervises the game in such a way that they also learn how to work together.  

Raymon van den Berg, director

Every day has a similar structure: fixed start time, fixed end time, schedules do not change, lessons do not get cancelled. And within this structure we work together.

In addition to this, we have a very large safety net of extra support in the social-emotional area, so that they can perform optimally cognitively and are socially-emotionally equipped to make the step to a fully mainstream school where the extra support is not or is much less present.

Selma Simonis - parent

I think the strong points of Helder include the clarity they are given in their weekly schedule, their daily timetable. A child knows exactly what is expected of them when they come in, and understand them before the first lessons start, and any issues can then be smoothed out.

Hanneke Groenewegen - teacher

What matters most to us is that the parent-student-school triangle functions well. And of course, that we also have very good collaboration with the support that our students receive outside of our school.

I think the most important thing is that the students learn to handle themselves, their own behavior. And I think that is very important for children who are on the spectrum (in one way or another), but all children should be able to do that.

Maarten van der Velden - teacher

As a school, we are a place where students are allowed to make mistakes, where they can learn. And of course that also happens outside of school, but here, especially with the guidance of our expertise as teachers, it’s good that they can make those mistakes.

And definitely if you have autism or ADHD, and you do not always fully understand how the world works, it is nice if there is a listening ear here who can help you, step by step, to gain understanding of the world.

Selma Simonis - parent

You see that there is also less overstimulation. So a child goes more calmly to school and comes more calmly home, and is therefore better able to learn.

Davida de Maat - student

I really see a bright future and I think everything will be OK. I gained a lot of tools here and learned how to deal with situations. And I do have confidence that I can do it alone and that it will be okay.