Special Educational Needs

SEND Information Report Download icon

Hampshire Local Offer

Access arrangements for exams Useful Information  Contact us

Special Educational Needs Department (SEND)

The department provides different levels of support dependent upon the SEND need. This could involve specific targeted teaching, individualised learning programmes, interventions and provision or enrichment opportunities. Our experienced team of Teaching Assistants (TAs) also provide in-class support based on the principles of;

  • helping students to scaffold their work,
  • supporting independence skills,
  • encouraging resilience and
  • praising progress, both big and small.

TAs and Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs) each have a subject area of specialism and support SEND students that have lessons in these specific subjects. 

Examples of SEND support include:

  • In-class support
  • Diagnostic testing and screening
  • Targeted interventions to develop a specific need identified
  • Pastoral support and Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs)
  • Wellbeing Hub
  • Support resources such as overlays/filters/laptops
  • Social skills development programmes
  • Anger management programme
  • Small group teaching
  • Alternative curriculum
  • Transition support
  • Aspire programme
  • Bespoke ‘Pupil Passport’
  • A range of scaffolding strategies to support independence
  • Links to external agencies including referrals to Educational Psychologist

For details on admission arrangements and accessibility, please refer to our SEND Policy and Accessibility Policy and Plan, which is available on request.

Back to top

Guidelines for students who are eligible for Access Arrangements 

This information is for students who are allowed access arrangements in GCSE, NVQ, Entry Level & Key Skills assessments. The main access arrangements are:

  • Extra time for candidates who show evidence of having processing skills as an area of need
  • Rest breaks for candidates who have potential physical needs and attention deficit needs
  • Readers for candidates who have a reading age significantly below their actual age
  • Reading aloud for those who have reading skills below their actual age
  • Scribes for candidates who are unable to write at an age related pace/speed or have significant fine motor skills effecting accuracy and precision
  • Word processors/laptops for students who are unable to write at an age appropriate speed, but may be able to type at a quicker pace
  • Coloured exam papers for those students who have been screened and evidence proves this is beneficial to them
  • Prompters for candidates who lose concentration easily/quickly in assessments
  • Oral Language Modifiers for candidates who have problems with comprehension
  • Bilingual Dictionary for candidates who have English as an additional language

To qualify for access arrangements, the college must provide multiple pieces of evidence to the examination board. This will include evidence through Lucid Exact Testing, which is typically completed in the summer term of Year 9, as well as evidence of classroom work. In short, access arrangements must be based on the students’ normal way of working.

Back to top

Useful information

Hampshire SENDIASS offers information, advice and support on issues relating to a child or young person’s special educational needs or disability. The service is free, confidential and impartial. You can click here to watch videos that explain more about how they work with families.  Sometimes information alone is not enough and you may want help to gather information, make sense of it and apply it to your own situation. Hampshire SENDIASS is there to provide advice, which they can offer by email, on the telephone and through work with groups. 

Their opening hours are Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm, and on Fridays 9am-4pm.  You can contact them on 0808 164 5504 or via email info@hampshiresendiass.co.uk external link icon.  

Hampshire Parent Carer Network (HPCN) offers parent/carers of children and young people aged 0-25 with additional needs (diagnosed or not) or disability the opportunity to tell the Local Authority, Health and other services what life is really like.  When you join as a member of HPCN, you can access sessions, events and training opportunities. There is a monthly newsletter full of information and ways to get involved, and you get to choose how involved you wish to become. You can complete a survey here and there, come to a local session or join as a parent representative.   To join, go to: https://hpcn.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2f04c431b9ff23f7fe135d9b0&id=411d1c1d1b external link icon

Parent Reps and Steering Group - Parent representatives attend several meetings and work streams with Hampshire County Council and other key stakeholders, such as health practitioners. Parent/carers attend these meetings to share their first-hand experiences and give input to the decision makers, representing the views of parents across Hampshire. Full training is given and the team will support you. If you would be interested in participating directly, please do email participation@hpcn.org.uk for a chat.

There is also a steering group who manage the strategic running of the forum and future direction. Again, if this interests you or you would like to find out more, email participation@hpcn.org.uk.

Social media - There is a very active Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HampshireParentCarerNetwork external link icon.  This page is updated regularly with helpful information, such as consultations, session dates and more. However, as well as this, there are 8 local pages across the districts in the county. On these pages, parents are able to offer peer support, share experiences and share local information. To find your district, search 'HPCN Share Together', followed by your district (e.g. New Forest, Havant, East Hants).

Events - HPCN run regular events to support parent/carers and to share ideas and experiences. Full details of events can be found on their website: http://www.hpcn.org.uk/events-meetings/ external link icon

These include:

  • Get-togethers - a way to meet and share ideas with other parents in your local area over tea or coffee. With occasional guest speakers, these sessions provide an opportunity to have your say in a relaxed environment. http://www.hpcn.org.uk/what-we-do/ external link icon
  • Future in Mind - support and information for parents with children or young people who are struggling with their mental health. If your child is attending or waiting to attend CAMHS, these meetings allow you to share strategies and experiences with other parents and help keep up to date with CAMHS. http://www.hpcn.org.uk/information/ External link icon
  • Meet the SEN Team - an opportunity to meet and ask questions to representatives from education, health and social care sectors.  Workshop training and opportunities to learn more about matters, such as the EHCP process and annual reviews.
Back to top
UPDATED: 6 June 2023

Aspire

AchievementSupportPerseveranceIndividualityRespectExcellence