Intent
At our federation, inclusion is at the very core of all we do. Our values of ‘community, compassion, and courage’ are embedded for all pupils to ensure they can thrive regardless of their starting points. All children deserve an exceptional education which supports their growth and empowers them to fulfil their potential.
Inclusion in our federation is ‘guided by love’ and is about everyone, not just the pupils identified with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND). We believe in identifying and removing barriers to learning wherever they stem from to ensure every child can succeed.
Our Vision: ‘Growing together, guided by love’
This vision underpins everything we do. "Togetherness" reflects our whole-school strategies and support systems, meaning our learning environments are designed to benefit all learners. We want all of our pupils to access, engage with, and excel in their learning.
We achieve this through a relentless focus on high-quality classroom teaching, targeted support, and strong pastoral care. Inclusion is not a separate policy for us—it is embedded into every aspect of school life. Our staff work closely with families and external professionals to tailor provisions to what our pupils need, prioritising early identification.
We weave equity, care, and excellence into everything we do. In our schools, every child is recognised for their unique strengths, wrapped in the support they need, and cheered on at every stage of their personal journey.
Our Commitments to Our Pupils and Families
To deliver on our vision, we pledge to:
- Make Reasonable Adjustments: We proactively increase access to the curriculum, the physical school environment, and printed information for pupils with disabilities.
- Promote True Integration: We ensure that children and young people with SEND fully engage in all school activities alongside their peers.
- Reduce Barriers to Progress: We systematically embed the principles of the National Curriculum Inclusion Statement into everyday teaching.
- Provide Targeted Support: We work alongside parents to secure provision that is "additional to and different from" the standard curriculum, tailored to the four broad areas of need: Communication and Interaction; Cognition and Learning; Social, Emotional and Mental Health; and Sensory/Physical.
- Champion Co-Production: We regularly request, monitor, and respond to the views of parents, carers, and pupils to build strong, trusting partnerships.
- Invest in Staff Expertise: We ensure a high tier of staff expertise to meet diverse pupil needs through targeted, professional learning.
- Support Medical Conditions: We enable full inclusion in all school activities by collaborating closely with health and social care professionals.
- Form Strong Partnerships: We work cooperatively with the Local Authority and outside agencies to guarantee a joined-up, multi-professional approach for all vulnerable learners.
Implementation:
Across our federation, we tailor support to meet children's unique needs. We provide specific educational support that is “additional to and different from” our standard classroom curriculum, ensuring every child is supported across the four main areas of need:
1. Communication and interaction
3. Social, emotional, and mental health
To ensure all children thrive, we use a continuous, four-stage cycle called the Graduated Approach to identify and support pupils with Special Educational Needs: Assess, Plan, Do, and Review.
We hold the highest expectations for every child. Everyday classroom learning begins with High-Quality Teaching, where teachers use their deep understanding of each pupil's needs to provide tailored resources and scaffolds. This empowers our pupils with SEND to make excellent progress and aim for the highest possible outcomes. To support this, our staff have instant access to practical classroom resources which can be accessed by all learners as supportive tools.
When a child is identified as having SEND, their class teacher creates a personalised Individual Support Plan (ISP) in close partnership with both the pupil and their parents.
To help children achieve the targets in their ISP, they may take part in focused intervention groups. The length of these interventions varies depending on each child's unique needs, and wherever possible, this targeted support takes place right inside the classroom so children don't miss out on daily school life. These targets and interventions are regularly reviewed together by staff, parents, and the pupil to celebrate successes, measure effectiveness, and carefully plan the next steps.
Our SENDCO and school teams work closely with a wide range of external specialists to ensure our pupils receive the best possible support. We work in partnership with:
- North Yorkshire SEND Hubs (NY SENDhub): Providing multidisciplinary specialist advice and inclusion support.
- CAMHS: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
- Specialist Sensory Teams: Including both the Hearing Impairment and Visual Impairment advisory services.
- Speech and Language Therapy (SALT): Supporting communication and interaction needs.
- Paediatric Services: Including specialised Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy.
- Educational Psychologists: Collaborating with us for expert guidance, including support during the Education, Health and Care Assessment (EHCAR) process.
Our Impact: Tracking and Celebrating Progress
Early Years & Primary Assessment When children join us in Reception, they complete the statutory Reception Baseline Assessment within their first six weeks. Following this, we map their progress and development through careful termly assessments.
Throughout Years 1 to 6, we regularly look at reading, writing, and maths to see how pupils are progressing toward Age-Related Expectations (ARE). For our pupils with SEND who are working toward these milestones, we tailor our assessments directly to their current learning point. We recognise that progress might happen in smaller, incremental steps, and we are deeply committed to celebrating every single success.
Reviewing Support Plans (ISPs) For pupils with an Individual Support Plan (ISP), we measure progress directly against their personalised targets. We host half-termly progress meetings with parents to discuss the real-world impact of our support and map out next steps. Throughout each half-term, our teaching staff collaborate closely with the SENDCo to review progress and highlight areas where extra support might be needed.
Achieving Success & Further Support Our pupils with SEND consistently achieve well against their individual targets. If a child continues to face significant barriers to progress despite high levels of support, our SENDCo will meet with parents to discuss requesting an Education, Health, and Care (EHC) needs assessment from the Local Authority.
In line with the Children and Families Act 2014, this is a detailed look at a pupil's unique requirements. If appropriate, the Local Authority may issue an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP). This legal document describes a child’s specific education, health, and social care needs, details the exact provision required to support them, and outlines the positive outcomes they will be empowered to achieve.
The federation’s special needs lead (SENDCo) is Mrs Elouise Foster, please contact the school administrator to arrange a meeting with her.
SEND Governor: Dr Michael Harrison. Mrs Foster can be contacted via email at efoster@rbk.n-yorks.sch.uk
Please click on the links below to find our statutory documentations alongside signposts for support.
Policy
Accessibility Plan
Information Report
The SEN information report covers our provision and support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The information we include is set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 Schedule 1.
SEND - Local Offer
All North Yorkshire maintained schools have a similar approach to meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND.) They are supported by the Local Authority to ensure that all pupils, whatever their specific needs, make the best possible progress in school. The Local Authority publishes its Local Offer which provides information for children and young people with special educational needs (SEND) and their parents or carers in a single place.
Service Children and SEND
Federation-Sourced Alternative Provisions:
Nidderdale High School Physical Education / Niddventure Link
Support for Parents/Carers
SENDIASS
SENDIASS is a free confidential and impartial information, advice and support service for parents/carers as well as young people themselves. Follow the link below to find out more how SENDIASS can support you.
https://sendiassnorthyorkshire.co.uk/
Parent Carer Voice
Parent Carer Voice aims to inform, empower and represent the collective voice of families with children and young people with SEND across North Yorkshire. They provide support from other parent carers, useful information and links, events and training to help your journey through the SEND services and beyond.
https://www.parentcarervoiceuk.org/
CAMHS - Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
Access to CAMHS is usually through your GP. For all routine referrals to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (Harrogate & Rural District, Scarborough, Whitby, Ryedale, Hambleton and Richmondshire) please contact CAMHS on 0300 013 4778 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) for advice and a referral form.
Compass Phoenix
The aim of the Compass Phoenix service is to improve outcomes for children and young people in relation to their emotional wellbeing and mental health by strengthening the range of mental health support available to children and young people.
North Yorkshire (Compass Phoenix) - Compass
Early Help
Early Help is North Yorkshire’s new approach to ensure children, young people and their families receive the right support at the right time to stop problems escalating.