SEN & Disabilities

After a rigorous assessment process we are pleased to announce that Harris Academy Chafford Hundred was awarded the SENDIA award in recognition of the excellent support given to pupils with Special Educational Needs.  

Welcome to our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Information Report. Harris Academy Chafford Hundred is committed to providing brilliant education to all the children living in our local area. 

We believe that all children, including those identified as having special educational needs and disabilities have a common entitlement to a broad and balanced academic and social curriculum, which is accessible to them, and to be fully included in all aspects of school life. 
 
Harris Chafford Hundred is committed to promoting inclusion and removing barriers to learning. We believe that all children should be equally valued in school. We will strive to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, and to develop an environment where all children can flourish and feel safe in a mainstream classroom environment.

• Our Assistant Principal and SENDCo is Matt Niner

• Our SEND Executive Learning Support Manager is Tania Sneddon. 

• Our Assistant Learning Support Manager is Pam Colston. 

• Our SEND Administrator is Cydney Parkes

• Our SLCN resource base manager is Zehra Goral. 

If your child has a disability and you would like to know more about what we offer at Harris Academy Chafford Hundred contact us on 01375484580 or email us HERE. 
 
Our SEND Policy can be downloaded below. 

Further information about other services in Thurrock can be found by following the link to Thurrock Council SEND Local offer: 

http://www.askthurrock.org.uk/kb5/thurrock/fis/localoffer.page 

The Parent Advisory Team Thurrock: http://www.patt.org.uk/ 

Special Educational Needs & Disability Advisory & Support Service 

 

Special educational needs support for parents:

https://www.snapcharity.org/

Autism

https://www.autism.org.uk/

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance

Dyslexia

https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/

ADHD

https://adhdfoundation.org.uk/ 

Speech, Language and Communication 

https://www.afasic.org.uk/about-talking/what-are-speech-language-and-communication-needs-slcn/

Emotional and Mental Health 

https://youngminds.org.uk/

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/for-children-and-young-people/ 

https://healthyyoungmindspennine.nhs.uk/resource-centre/external-links/kooth/ 

What should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs 

A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she: 

• has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or 

• has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post 16 institutions. 

At HACH, staff and parents/carers will work together to support students identified as having SEN. Parents’ evenings provide regular opportunities to discuss concerns and progress. Parents/carers are also able to make other appointments on request. An appointment can also be requested to meet with our team if there are concerns relating to special educational needs. 

 

What should I do if the school and I disagree? 

If a parent wishes to complain about the provision or the policy, they should in the first instance, raise it with the SEND team, who will try to resolve the situation. If the issue cannot be resolved within 10 working days, the parent can submit a formal complaint to the Principal in writing or any other accessible format. The Principal will reply in 10 working days. Any issues that remain unresolved at this stage will be managed according to the school’s complaints procedure. 

 

What specialist services and expertise are available or accessed by the school? 

Some of our staff have additional qualifications and specialisms which can be used in the individual planning to help students access the curriculum. These qualifications are: 

• Moving and Handling in Educational Environment

• First Aid and Defibrillator trained

• School Medical officer 

• Bereavement Counselling 

• Managing Conflict and Aggressive Behaviour 

• Family Mentoring

• Developing social skills 

• English as an Additional Language 

• Secondary Language Link talk fitness 

• Speech, Language and Communication Needs 

• ASD 

• ELKLAN language training level 3 

• All Learning Support Tutors are NVQ level 3 qualified or have a degree or specialism * Higher Level Teaching Assistants

• Assessing (PAPAA qualified to level 7) for exam access consideration

• Supporting students with hearing impairment 

• Dyslexia training and screening 

• Read Write Inc phonics and reading programme 

• Learning Support Tutors 

• Senior Learning Support Tutors for KS3/KS4 

The SEND department and Pastoral Team liaises frequently with a number of other outside agencies, for example: 

1. NHS Community Nurse
2. Supporting Teacher of the Deaf 
3. Specialist Visual Impaired Advisory Team 
4. Mobility support 
5. Speech and Language Consultant 
6. Outreach ICT Consultant 
7. Treetops Outreach Services 
8. Beacon Hill Specialist school 
9. Community Paediatrician 
10. Speech Therapy 
11. Educational Psychologist 
12. Social Services 
13. Local Authority SEND team 
14. Education Welfare Services 
15. Parent Advisory Team Thurrock (PATT) 
16. CaPa Parent Participation Forum Thurrock. 
17. Church Youth Worker 
18. Occupational Therapy and Physio Therapy Team 

 

Accessibility 

HACH is a recently-built single site school therefore it is 100% accessible to any person with physical disabilities. The school is built on three levels with stairs from the ground floor or first floor. Entrance to the building is level and therefore suitable for wheelchair access. Classrooms are accessed by corridors from which there is also wheelchair access. The school also has three lifts. 

There are disabled parking bays leading to automatic wheelchair accessible doors. There are six disabled toilets in the school. We have made sure that there are good lighting and safety arrangements (for example, markings on steps) for all visually impaired pupils. Our classrooms provide good acoustic conditions so that the effects of hearing difficulties are minimised (part-carpeting, blinds, quiet areas). Children requiring equipment due to impairment will be assessed in order to gain the support that they require. 

The School Health Officer supports with the provision of students' medical needs via individual care plans and liaising with parents and agencies working with the child/ young person. 

Our full accessibility plan can be found within our inclusion policy, which can be downloaded below.  

Our SEND Information Report, SLCN Local Offer, 6th Form Local Offer and HACH SEN Information Report Local Offer can be downloaded below.