SENCo's Role

What Is the Role of a SENCo in a School?

A Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENCo) sits at the heart of a school’s SEND policy, working alongside school leaders and the headteacher to ensure every pupil with special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities thrives. Whether you’re in an academy school, a free school, or a maintained setting, the SENCo role involves designing and managing support plans, overseeing EHC plans, and liaising with the local authority and local agencies to secure timely assessments and services.

In practice, a SENCo might split time between classroom-based interventions - co-teaching literacy groups or modelling differentiated lessons - and strategic tasks such as drafting the school’s SEN policy or reviewing annual reviews for pupils with EHC plans. They train teaching staff on inclusive approaches, champion adjustments from seating plans to exam arrangements, and coordinate referrals to speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, or occupational therapists. Across multi-academy trusts, an experienced SENCo may even support colleague coordinators in neighbouring schools, sharing best practice and ensuring consistent implementation of the SEND policy.

It’s a role loaded with responsibility - tracking progress data, allocating resources from the SEN budget, and reporting to governors - but equally rich in reward. You’ll see the impact of a well-crafted support plan when a child’s confidence soars or when barriers to learning finally fall away. If you’re passionate about equity, thrive on problem-solving, and want to shape a school’s approach to inclusion, exploring the SENCo role could be your next big step.

Key Points

• Policy & Planning: Leads development and review of the school’s SEN and SEND policies, drafts EHC plans, and aligns support plans with national and local authority guidance.
• Collaboration & Coordination: Partners with school leaders, class teachers, parents, and external professionals (local agencies) to tailor interventions and secure specialist input.
• Monitoring & Impact: Tracks pupil progress, manages the SEN budget and resources, and evaluates the effectiveness of strategies - whether in a single school or across academy schools.

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Key Responsibilities of a SENCo

A SENCo’s week is a blend of strategic planning, hands-on support, and collaborative problem-solving. Although they often start out as classroom teachers, taking on the SENCo role usually means stepping away from a full teaching timetable to focus entirely on the needs of pupils with SEND. Many SENCos bolster their expertise through specialist training - whether that’s an accredited postgraduate programme or courses from bodies like NASEN - so they can deliver tailored interventions and even train colleagues.

On any given day, you might find a SENCo designing whole-school policy one moment, then observing a pupil’s learning the next. They’ll meet with parents, psychologists, or therapists to share progress and arrange referrals. They’ll also coach teachers on adapting lesson plans and behaviour strategies, and they’ll manage a modest budget to ensure resources match each child’s needs. Behind the scenes, SENCos keep meticulous records, analyse performance data, and stay up to date with changing SEND legislation.

Below is a snapshot of the tasks that typically fill a SENCo’s week:

• Drafting, reviewing, and overseeing the school’s SEND policy and strategy
• Conducting assessments and classroom observations to identify needs and track progress
• Meeting with parents, governors, leadership teams, and external specialists to coordinate support
• Delivering training sessions and one-to-one coaching for teachers and support staff
• Referring pupils to speech therapists, occupational therapists, or social care services as needed
• Managing the SEN budget, resources, and staff deployments
• Maintaining accurate records and using data analysis to inform and refine interventions
• Keeping abreast of local and national SEND regulations and sharing updates with the school community

Key Points

• Strategic Leadership: A SENCo develops and implements the school’s SEND policy, aligning resources and interventions to ensure compliance and impact.
• Collaborative Coordination: They act as the hub between teachers, parents, governors, and external professionals to create and adjust personalized support plans.
• Continuous Improvement: Through data analysis, professional development, and policy review, the SENCo refines approaches to boost outcomes for pupils with SEND.

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Why are leadership skills important for the SENCo?

All the SENCoS play a vital role in their schools, therefore, they need to have a leading status in the school. Some schools don't give enough status to their SENCo even though according to the registered pupil population with SEN, 20% of the total children in each school are likely to have some type of special educational need.

If the leadership team of a school lacks a SENCo, it can make the role of SENCo even more difficult. With status arrives the authority and capacity to bring change whenever needed. Therefore, it is less likely for SENCos to introduce any effective change in the school if they do not have a place in the school's leadership team.

Also, not having any SENCo in the leadership team may raise questions about the school’s belief in inclusion and it may reflect the status of SEN on the school's agenda.

Also, the SENCos must have sufficient time to effectively perform their duties. Their Code of Practice must clearly state that the SENCo needs to have ‘sufficient resources and time to perform their role'. It’s difficult to be precise how much time SENCos will be needing to perform their duties as every school has a different plan.

Each school has a different number of students with SEN. A SENCo may need more time than a single day each week to carry out the responsibilities effectively. Relieving this member of staff from classroom teaching duties can provide them with the time they require to support students needs.

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What are the main areas of need for students with SEN?

The code of practice has identified four major areas of need for students with SEN:

• Learning and cognition;
• Interaction and Communication;
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health;
• Physical and Sensory;

An experienced and qualified teacher will need to attend professional development and work with commitment and honesty towards their SENCo status. A SENCo works in partnership with parents, teaching assistants and others to provide the best service possible for the children. A SENCo ensures that any provision or plans agreed for the children with SEN are effectively carried out by their education settings.

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What are the qualities of an effective SENCO?

The most effective teachers who work with children and parents with SEN are well-informed about the provision of the individual child. The family must attend regular review meetings where both SENCo and the family can discuss the progress of the children with SEN. The following are some of the important qualities of a SENCo:

• Emotional intelligence and empathy for children - to carry out identification of children with SEN and be sensitive to their needs;
• Honesty about what is present and what is not being provided;
• Commitment to effective teaching and to improve the service and educational attainment for young people and children with SEN, including working directly with students and supporting other staffs to do so;
• Ability and willingness to gain specialist knowledge and to keep up to date with national and local policy and strategic development;
• Leadership skills - to motivate and inspire other teachers, develop a whole school commitment and model good practice, to supporting individual pupils with special education needs;
• An ability to influence and negotiate- necessary to influence school policy and strategy, securing the provision of essential support from external agencies and co-ordinating provision of sufficient internal resources;
• Interpersonal skills - for creating relationships with other teachers, parents, school leadership team, voluntary bodies, social care professionals and external professionals;
• Communication skills (both oral and written)- for writing and conveying support and learning plans, reports on the progress of pupils, and guidance to colleagues and training for staff;
• Time management and organisational skills - necessary for making reasonable adjustments and balancing and prioritising a varied and busy workload;
• Problem-solving and Analytical skills - needed for analysing national, local, and primary schools data and creating relevant strategies and interventions.

In both primary and secondary school settings, effective SENCoS advocate for children with SEN by understanding their needs and making sure that everyone in the school setting (especially those who work with children with SEN) know the best ways to support them. A SENCo's provision cannot be as good as it should be unless the SENCo works in close contact with the headteacher, who must identify and support the critical strategic leadership role of the SENCo. The school's action plan for SEN should not be an add-on or afterthought  – it must be truly connected to the whole-school priorities.

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9 Common Challenges Facing Senco's 

As we have seen, Special Education Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) play a vital role in schools, ensuring that children with special needs receive appropriate support. However, they face several challenges:

1. Resource Allocation and Management: Balancing limited resources to meet diverse needs can be taxing. SENCOs must ensure that resources are used effectively without compromising the quality of support. A study shows that 40% of SENCOs struggle with this aspect.
2. Inclusive Practice: Creating an inclusive environment requires collaboration with teaching staff. Ensuring that all teachers are equipped to support students with disabilities is a complex task.
3. Legal Compliance and Ethical Considerations: SENCOs must navigate a maze of legal requirements, ensuring that the school complies with all relevant laws and regulations. This includes understanding the legal rights of students with disabilities and implementing them in school practices.
4. Training and Professional Development: Providing ongoing training for staff is essential for inclusive practice. SENCOs must ensure that teachers are equipped with the skills and knowledge to support students with various needs, including Dyslexia.
5. Assessment and Identification of Special Needs: Accurate assessment is crucial for developing an effective individual learning plan. This requires specialized skills and understanding of various disabilities.
6. Impact on Teachers: Managing special education can have a significant impact on teachers. The additional workload and emotional toll on teachers working with special needs students can be overwhelming without proper support.
7. Parental Engagement: Building relationships with parents and involving them in their child's education can be challenging but is essential for success.
8. Academic Skills Development: Ensuring that students with special needs develop essential academic skills requires specialized teaching methods and individualized attention.
9. Dyslexia Support: Dyslexia presents unique challenges, requiring specialized training and resources. A recent survey revealed that 30% of schools feel inadequately equipped to support students with Dyslexia.

These challenges highlight the multifaceted role of the disabilities coordinator in schools. Addressing them requires a comprehensive understanding of special education, collaboration with various stakeholders, and a commitment to continuous improvement in inclusion in school practices.

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