SEND Policy — Part 2

Haydon Bridge High School

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Policy (Part 2)

Version Number	001
Status	Approved June 2026
Publication Date
Policy Owner/Author	SENCO
Review Date	September 2026
Approved/Ratified by	Interim Executive Board (IEB)        Date:

1. Introduction – Aims, Objectives and Intentions

It is the intention of Haydon Bridge High School (HBHS) to meet the aims and objectives outlined in Part 1 of this Policy, through the school’s Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Policy Part 2 and 3. HBHS aims to support the needs of all pupils/students academically, socially, and emotionally and provide opportunities which are accessible and made available to all pupils.

2. Roles and Responsibilities

2.1   Within the Interim Executive Board (IEB), there is a Governor with responsibility for Inclusion and Learning Provision. They will be linked to the school’s SENCO.

2.2   The Headteacher will ensure that this policy is implemented and managed across the school community.

2.3   The SENCO is responsible for the strategic development of Learning Provision which includes SEND and SENCO responsibilities. The deployment of support resources, including human resources, is flexible and agreed between the SENCO and the Headteacher. The SENCO and Headteacher will play a key role in the training and development of school staff to ensure that the Special Educational Needs of the current cohort are met effectively. The SENCO is responsible for all pupils on the Code of Practice register.

2.4   The Headteacher, supported by the SENCO, is responsible for ensuring that any necessary physical intervention for those pupils with social, emotional, and mental health difficulties will, where necessary, be supported by a Positive Handling Plan and risk assessment which considers their SEND.

3. Specialist Provision

3.1   Teaching Assistants (TAs) are strategically deployed. Specialist intervention and support is given as identified and as part of the school’s Assess, Plan, Do and Review process. The outcomes of these interventions are monitored by the SENCO supported by the Headteacher.

3.2   The school environment is fully accessible to wheelchair users with reasonable adjustment.

3.3   Additional training, advice and guidance is provided through CPD (Continued Professional Development).

Intimate Care

When it is agreed that a pupil requires intimate care, in addition to the care given as appropriate for the pupil’s chronological development, an Intimate Care Plan or Health Care Plan will reflect the need for this additional care. Intimate care will be given only with the consent of the parent and, wherever possible, the consent of the student. Staff providing this care will be discreet in their actions, considering the dignity of the pupil at all times. Intimate care plans will be discussed and agreed with parents where needed.

4. Information about the school’s policy for identification, assessment, tracking, and review for all pupils with SEND

4.1   Pupils may have SEND at any point in their academic career. The Teachers, TAs, and SENCO, supported by the Headteacher, will work together to ensure pupils who may need additional or different support, to that normally supported through adaptations and personalised learning within the classroom, are identified as early as possible. HBHS ensures all pupils have access to inclusive planning, teaching, and learning and an inclusive assessment procedure which take account of the type and extent of the difficulty experienced by the pupil. The SENCO will seek the assistance of relevant specialists as necessary to conduct further assessments as identified through the classroom assessment and monitoring process.

4.2   Progress will be monitored through the classroom monitoring process and reviewed at least termly. Pupils will be placed on the Code of Practice (SEND) register at K (additional support is identified) if an adjustment to the delivery of the lesson is needed or additional intervention is deemed necessary to support progress.

4.3   If we have evidence that a student is making insufficient progress despite support and intervention at School Action (K), the SENCO may seek further advice from external specialists through the SEND Early Help Assessment process. The SEND EHA allows advice to be sought from the Local Authority services such as the Specialist Advisory Teaching Service and Educational Psychologists. The classroom teachers and SENCO will keep parents and pupils fully involved and informed about any proposed interventions and outcomes of these.

4.4   All staff are expected to plan for a student’s Special Educational Needs and/or Disability, enabling them to participate effectively in all curriculum, assessment, extra-curricular activities and the broader aspect of school life as far as is reasonably possible in order to support and encourage pupils to develop confidence and self-esteem and to recognise the value of their own contributions to their learning and to support and encourage pupils/students to be fully involved in their learning.

Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

If we have evidence that a student is making insufficient progress despite support and intervention at K Action, the school and parents or other professional bodies may decide to refer for a statutory assessment of the student’s SEND through consideration of statutory assessment. This may lead to an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) (see Chapter 9, Code of Practice 0 to 25 years 2015). The SENCO will work effectively with external agencies and the community to deliver the necessary support, aiming for timely contribution to the assessment, support, monitoring, and review process.

Pupils with an EHCP will, in addition to the school’s rigorous tracking and progress assessment for all, be the subject of an Annual Review Meeting to which parents and the multi-agencies involved in the support for the student will be invited. This is to ensure a holistic approach to their progress and support needs. Additional lesson assessment records will monitor and record actions and outcomes of the specialist support and intervention. The EHCP will identify key stage and transition objectives, which will be reviewed each term. The opportunity to meet with school staff will also be available at least termly. Parents and agencies will be formally invited to a review meeting twice a year, one of them being the Annual Review.

Following the Annual Review meeting, the school will provide a report containing recommendations from the parents, pupils, where appropriate, and professionals to the Local Authority (LA). The Local Authority’s decision following the meeting must be notified to the parents within four weeks of the review meeting. The Local Authority may cease an EHCP in line with Section 9.199 of the Code of Practice 0 to 25 years 2015.

The school will liaise with the receiving organisation when a pupil with SEND is due to transfer and will forward to them as early as possible all relevant information to enable an effective transfer with the consent of the pupil and/or parents. The school is guided by Chapter 8 of the Code of Practice 0 to 25 years 2015 for this process.

The school will be guided by Section 9.211 of the Code of Practice 0 to 25 years 2015 when disclosing or sharing information from an EHCP.

A request for Personal Budgets for an EHCP can be made in line with Sections 9.95 to 9.142 (Code of Practice 0 to 25 years 2015).

4.5   Through the classroom assessment process, referrals, data analysis and SEND assessments, pupils are identified as having Special Educational Needs and Disability.

4.6   Many children who have SEND may have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 – that is ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. The term ‘long-term’ is defined as ‘a year or more’ and ‘substantial’ is defined as ‘more than minor or trivial’. This definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight or hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and cancer.

Children with such conditions do not necessarily have SEN, but there is significant overlap between children with disabilities and those with SEN.

Where a child with a disability requires special educational provision, they will also be covered by the SEN definition.

4.7   Aspects which may impact on progress and attainment but are not considered SEND are:

• Disability (though there may be some overlap with SEN)
• Attendance and punctuality
• Health and welfare
• EAL (English as an Additional Language)
• Being in receipt of Pupil Premium Grant
• Being a Looked After Child
• Being a child of a Serviceman/woman

5. Complaints Procedure

5.1   The school’s Complaints Procedures are set out on the school website.

5.2   From September 2014, the majority of Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014, its associated regulations and this code of practice is in force subject to transition arrangements. Local Authorities must continue to comply with elements of the Education Act 1996 and the Learning and Skills Act 2000.

5.3   Where a parent disagrees with the Local Authority’s decision to cease their EHC Plan, they may appeal to the Tribunal (see Sections 9.209 and 11, Code of Practice 0 to 25 years 2015).

5.4   The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) can investigate complaints that the special educational provision set out in the plan is not being delivered (see Section 11.89, Code of Practice 0 to 25 years 2015).

6. Allocation of Resources

6.1   The Headteacher, assisted by the SENCO, is responsible for the operational management of the specified and agreed resourcing for special needs provision within the school, including the provision for pupils with EHCPs.

6.2   The Headteacher and/or SENCO will inform the Interim Executive Board of how the funding allocated to support SEND has been deployed through provision mapping.

7. Access to the Curriculum

HBHS is an advocate of inclusive education and as such aims to ensure equality of opportunity for all stakeholders; this includes a suitable transition pathway into the next stage of education and into adult life for all pupils.

7.1   All pupils have an entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum, which is adapted to enable pupils to:

• Understand the relevance and purpose of learning activities.
• Learn within their zone of proximal development.
• Experience levels of understanding and rates of progress that bring feelings of success and achievement.
• Have a personalised next step approach in every subject by accessing continually improved provision and in turn outcomes to meet all academic and aspirational outcomes of all pupils.

7.2   Teachers use a range of strategies to meet pupils’ Special Educational Needs and disabilities. Lessons have clear learning objectives which are adapted and personalised. Assessment is used to inform the next stage of learning.

7.3   Individual plans and intervention programmes will identify a small number of objectives, ideally three or four, designed to enable the pupil to make progress towards independent learning within the classroom.

7.4   Wherever possible, we do not withdraw pupils from the classroom during the teaching of core subjects. This reflects the school’s acknowledgement that all pupils have an entitlement to share the same learning experiences as their peers and have access to quality first teaching. However, there are times when, to maximise progress with learning, we teach pupils in small groups or on a one-to-one basis outside the classroom.

7.5   The SENCO and Headteacher aim to meet weekly.

7.6   The teaching of SMSC and British Values considers the SEND need and is adapted accordingly.

7.7   Led by the SENCO and Engagement and Wellbeing team, HBHS has student support structures which aim to support the needs of all pupils academically, socially, and emotionally and provide opportunities which are accessible and made available to pupils/students.

8. Partnership with Parents

8.1   All staff work closely with parents throughout their child’s education. There is additional communication available as necessary in a form best suited to individual circumstances, for those pupils with identified SEND.

8.2   If you feel that your child is experiencing difficulties or not making progress with their learning, please contact the classroom teacher in the first instance.

8.3   Where there are persistent difficulties regarding family or social circumstances, the school may, with the consent of parents, complete an Early Help Assessment to identify any additional support.

8.4   An independent Parent Advice Service (SENDIAS) is available from the Local Authority for all pupils with SEND. Contact details can be provided on request or obtained from the Local Authority website, The Local Offer.

9. Community and Partnership Links

9.1   When your child is starting school, you will be invited to meet key staff. Regular communication, both in person and written, will provide the necessary information. Additional transition visits can be arranged if necessary for those with SEND.

9.2   A school Local Offer will be made available and accessible for all. This will be regularly reviewed.

9.3   The school will support any additional transition reviews and visits as identified and agreed.

9.4   HBHS has links with local support groups for pupils with Speech and Language difficulties, Physical/Medical difficulties, ASC (Autistic Spectrum Condition), and SLD (Severe Learning Difficulties). Information will be distributed from these groups when it is available.

9.5   When pupils move to another school, their SEND records are transferred within 15 days of ceasing to be registered with HBHS.

9.6   All records of pupils with SEND are stored, shared, and preserved in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation.

HBHS is an advocate of inclusive education and as such aims to ensure equality of opportunity for all stakeholders; this includes a suitable transition pathway into adult life for all pupils/students.

Document Control – Record of Changes

Version Number:	Publication Date:	Nature of, and Reason for, Change(s)
001		Original.