Inclusion and SEND
Happy and Learning
Schools must be places where every child is included and supported to achieve and thrive in their learning, regardless of their needs or background. DfE, 2026
We are proud to offer a supportive and nurturing environment where children can learn happily and reach their potential. Being part of a child's learning journey is a privilege and we take pride in watching them grow in confidence and develop into resilient, independent individuals, who are ready for the next stage in their education and beyond.
Inclusivity is central to our school. We want to ensure that we create a community where every child is valued, understood, and encouraged to become the best version of themselves. To achieve their potential, some children will need extra or different support to learn and progress, academically, socially and/or emotionally, compared with others their age.
All Children
The Universal Offer
Targeted Support
Central to a stronger inclusive mainstream system is a universal offer built on high quality, adaptive teaching and whole-school practices that enable all children, including those who face barriers to learning and participation, to achieve and thrive. DfE, 2026
For children and young people whose needs cannot be met through the universal offer alone, targeted support should be provided to enable them to achieve and thrive. DfE, 2026
Hatton Hill has a strong Universal Offer, which we constantly work to strengthen, with the aim of meeting needs early, before the need for targeted intervention arises. An example, of this would be our high focus on the development of foundational skills.
Hatton Hill supplements its Universal Offer with targeted interventions. Dependent on need, this may range from interventions to develop language skills, such as NELI, to interventions to support emotional regulation, such as yoga.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Our Graduated Approach to SEND
We are committed to providing the right support for children with SEND. We achieve this through a nurturing and graduated response, working in close partnership with parents/carers and relevant professionals.
Our SENDco, Mrs Jones, has additional training and qualifications enabling her to coordinate the care of our SEND pupils. Alongside a child's classteacher, Mrs Jones will:
Coordinate Support: | set up day-to-day help and special learning plans for children who need extra assistance. |
Improve knowledge and provision: | guide and train school staff on how to support children with diverse needs in the classroom. |
Partner with Parents: | talk with families to share progress, listen to concerns, and plan the best path forward. |
Connecting with Outside Experts: | team up with outside specialists—like speech therapists —to access the right care. |
Mrs Jones is supported by our inclusion team:
Mrs Metcalfe - deputy headteacher
Mrs Hickey - Learning Mentor
Miss Edge - Attendance Support Officer
Seeing your child struggling is hard for any parent, but the partnership of Hatton Hill staff, parents and other professionals working together will achieve best outcomes. We have clear processes in place to ensure that children receive the support they need which are consistent, impactful and of quality (based on research).
First steps...
What is SEN support?
What is SEN Support is not enough?
The Local Offer
Parents and carers can raise concerns with a class teacher, who will then work with the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) to decide if SEN support would be helpful. School will follow the assess, plan, do and review process.
SEN support offers extra help for a child with learning, communication, sensory, or behavioural need that is different from or extra to what most children receive. This is personalised to each child's individual needs.
If your child needs more specialised or a higher-level of support, the school may consider an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
Sefton council has a Local Offer of support that it expects to be available in the local area for children and young people with special educational needs and disability (SEND). More information below.
Assess, Plan, Do and Review
If a child or young person has SEN, or a parent/carer or educational setting thinks that they might have SEN, school staff follow this process:
Assess: talk to a child’s parents or the young person themselves to work out what support might be needed.
Plan: once a child or young person’s needs have been identified, staff work together with them and their family to decide what outcomes they want the child or young person to achieve and what support should be put in place to help them achieve those outcomes.
Do: the staff, supported by the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) where relevant, put this support into practice.
Review: the support received by the child or young person will be reviewed by everyone involved to see if it is working. If it is, it might continue. If it is not working, or if the outcomes have been achieved, some of the arrangements might be changed.
Inclusion Strategy
From December 2026, schools will be required to publish an Inclusion Strategy detailing how we are making effective use of the new inclusive mainstream fund (IMF) to alleviate commonly occurring barriers to learning and participation identified across our cohort. This grant will further support our school's ambition to continually secure an environment where all children can access learning, feel valued and safe, build capability and independence, and succeed. The strategy will build on The 7 Principles of Inclusion and will be published by 31st December 2026.
The 7 Principles of Inclusion:
ambitious leadership and governance that embeds inclusion
evidence-based support prioritising early intervention
high quality adaptive teaching with curriculum designed for all learners
enriching provision beyond the classroom that all children can access
a safe and respectful culture fostering belonging, attendance, and participation in learning
strong partnerships with families and wider services
inclusive environments with continuous improvements to accessibility
Testimonials
Parent of Infant Children
"I feel my children are well supported at Hatton Hill and that I am taken seriously as a parent when I want to discuss their needs and how to best meet them at school. Mrs Jones and the class teachers will always make time for me if I have any worries or updates, and I find staff are extremely proactive in putting adjustments in place and have gone above and beyond my expectations in what they provide for my children. Due to the care and nurturing nature of the adults who work with my children, they are thriving at school and genuinely enjoy attending."
From Sefton Inclusion Check Report, October 2026
"Leaders described how information relating to pupils' learning, wellbeing, attendance and safeguarding is shared across the team to support the early identification of need.
Leaders and staff described a joined-up and proactive approach to identifying needs, with information shared across inclusion, attendance, pastoral and safeguarding systems to ensure emerging concerns can be discussed and monitored.
The school described a proactive approach to working with families, including daily wellbeing check-ins and regular communication where concerns arise. Examples shared suggested this helps staff identify emerging wellbeing needs and respond in a timely way. Parents echoed communication was accessible."
Parent of Junior Child
"My child is in year 3 now. When he started in nursery, I was most grateful for the fact that Hatton Hill are good at early identification of needs. Things were swiftly put in place for my child to succeed. At Hatton Hill, I also like that parents are sent information about courses. I did the National Autistic Society Earlybird course and recently attended an online workshop with the MHST for anxiety. That's so helpful."
Ofsted
Pupils with SEND have their need identified quickly and accurately by leaders.
Leaders with responsibility for SEND are tenacious in quickly securing the extra support that pupils may need.
Leaders ensure pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as their classmates and achieve well. Leaders ensure that pupils with SEND are included in all aspects of school life. (2022)
Signposts to Support
The Sefton Directory has lots of information for families, including families supporting children with SEND. Follow this link:
https://www.seftondirectory.com/kb5/sefton/directory/localoffer.page?localofferchannel=0
We have included links to other support agencies below:
Attachment and Trauma Sensitive School
The Attachment and Trauma Sensitive Schools Award (ATSSA) is a UK-based accreditation framework that recognizes educational settings for embedding a compassionate, nurture-based culture to support children and young people who have experienced trauma or adversity.
Accredited by Jennifer Nock Training and Consultancy, the award helps schools build staff awareness and operational strategies so vulnerable pupils can achieve a state of "learning readiness".
Core goals:
Knowledge & Training: Ensures all staff understand the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and childhood trauma on brain development and behavior.
Relationships First: Prioritizes emotional well-being, co-regulation, empathy, and safe spaces over punitive behavior management.
Inclusion: Removes barriers to learning and encourages active participation in all aspects of school life.
Hatton Hill is proud to have achieved Silver accreditation, recognising active implementation of trauma-informed strategies, ongoing professional discussions, and inclusive practices.
Here are some highlight from our assessment:
"Relationships are placed front and centre, providing social buffering, especially for those children who struggle to form social bonds because of their experiences and their lack of trust in adults. Staff strive to develop self-esteem, self-efficacy and self-confidence in the children."
"Staff have taken deliberate and thoughtful steps to act on their observations and have adapted their approaches to ensure that children are not only listened to, but are actively involved in shaping decisions that affect them. This includes creating safer, more inclusive spaces for expression, offering genuine choices, and supporting children to initiate ideas and share power in decision-making. Too often lip-service is paid to hearing pupil voice, but at Hatton Hill Primary School, there is an authentic and passionate desire to truly ‘hear’ and ‘see’ the children, staff are truly curious about what matters to the pupils. This is a particular strength of the school."