A trust-wide SEND strategy is a multi-academy trust’s coordinated approach to SEND across all its schools: shared identification, expertise, resourcing and board oversight, not each academy acting alone. SEND here means special educational needs and disabilities. It is a leadership and governance term, not a statutory one, and that distinction matters more than the top search results let on.
The duty sits with each academy, not the strategy
There is no law that says a trust must hold a single “trust-wide SEND strategy” document, and the phrase is not defined in statute. The binding duties land on each academy’s proprietor — the trust as the legal body — school by school. Where a registered pupil has SEN, the appropriate authority for the school must use its best endeavours to secure the provision their needs call for, and for an academy that authority is the proprietor Children and Families Act 2014, s.66. The board must also have regard to the SEND Code of Practice 2015 and make sure a teacher or the headteacher is designated as SENCO, gaining the mandatory NPQ SENCO within three years of appointment DfE Academy trust governance guide. A trust-wide strategy is the voluntary layer a trust puts on top to meet those duties consistently, not the source of the duty.
What one typically contains
Because it is a practice tool rather than a legal form, the shape is yours to set. Most trust strategies, and the sector’s recognised framework for reviewing them, cover the same components:
- Consistent identification of need across the four broad areas, so a pupil is recognised the same way in any of the trust’s schools;
- Shared SEND expertise and CPD — a central SEND lead, networked SENCOs, common training;
- Fair resource allocation across schools rather than each academy bidding alone;
- Common systems and data so the trust can see provision and outcomes across the group;
- Strategic governance — a trustee or committee with specific oversight of SEND.
The recognised tool for evaluating this is the Whole School SEND MAT SEND Review Guide, revised in May 2025, which trusts use to judge identification and the fair allocation of resources across their schools.
Why the practice-not-statute point matters
Knowing the duty sits with each proprietor changes how you write the strategy. It cannot dilute or override what any single academy owes its pupils; it can only make meeting those obligations more consistent and efficient at scale. So a defensible strategy aligns provision without stripping individual schools of the flexibility to meet a pupil’s needs. One reform note for forward planning: the 2026 Schools White Paper and the Education for All Bill propose a statutory Individual Support Plan duty on every school, with no changes expected before 2030 and current EHCP holders protected. Write the strategy to anticipate that direction of travel, but do not treat the proposed duty as if it were already law.
Where the law comes from
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This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.