SENCO. Coordinator or Leader?  Follows on from a presentation I delivered at the School and Academies Show in November 2020, where I was asked to talk about SEND leadership. What are your thoughts on this role?

The job of work around learners with SEND in a mainstream school, is often seen as a standalone role, working in an individualised way with named learners with SEND. It is described as that of a coordinator (SENCO) rather than as a subject specialist and is often not integrated within a leadership role, such as a Deputy or Assistant Headship. But it is the only role in the school which is mandatory (except that of the Head Teacher) and the only one which requires a post graduate qualification (NASENCO).

The SENCO role was named for the first time in the initial Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice in 1994, following statutory regulations set out in Part III of the previous year’s Education Act. The suggested responsibilities, indicated that it was an operational role, with a remit to undertake the ‘day-to-day operation of the School’s SEN policy’ focusing on individual pupil needs, whilst supporting staff through an advisory type role and liaising on their behalf with other agencies.

Little has changed in regards to these suggested duties. The statutory responsibility for learners with SEND, continues to be delegated to a SENCO or the Head teacher of a Specialist setting, but there is now a suggestion that it should be a leadership role,

‘The SENCO has an important role to play with the headteacher and governing body, in determining the strategic development of SEN policy and provision in the school. They will be most effective in that role if they are part of the school leadership team’ DFE (2015: 6.87)

Recent data sets show however, that only 38.2% of SENCOs are on the national defined leadership scale, indicating that it is not common practice within school to have SENCOs as members of Senior Leadership teams. The now national SEND Workforce Surveys, undertaken by nasen and Bath Spa University present a similar picture and highlight differences in roles and responsibilities across schools.

 In a number of schools, named SENCOs are not only undertaking a variety of non-related tasks, such as staff cover, head of year, and mentor for newly qualified teachers, there are also different interpretations of the role, with some operating as senior leaders involved in school decision making, and leading on other aspects of inclusion, including attendance and mental health, and others showing frustration with the operational breadth and unique expectations of the role.

SENCO as role seems to be underestimated in terms of its preparation for leadership roles and its place within a leadership structure. It’s likely that at the start of any leadership role, that some preparation is required in terms of understanding what leadership looks like, but if SENCO as a term was removed and SEND Leader was introduced, then the definition could move away from that of a coordinator, who organisers, plans and negotiates with others to get things to done, to that of an individual who can model, influence and change practice within an organisation.

The SENCO role could be described as sharing more characteristics with safeguarding and child protection which is ‘everyone’s business’ then other roles in schools, and each school has to appoint a designated safeguarding lead (DSL) who is a member of the senior leadership team. This appointment, however, does not absolve all school staff from safeguarding responsibilities, in the same way that the appointment of a SEND Leader, who could carry the same status and be part of a leadership team, should not absolve school leadership teams and class teachers from their statutory responsibilities in terms of learners with SEND, as these learners are also ‘everyone’s business’.

Kearns (2005) research into SENCO practice, provides a possible model of development of the SENCO role, which could provide a performance management structure or Continuing professional Development (CPD) model to develop the SENCO from coordinator to that of a SEND leader. The arbiter, is the beginner SENCO and could be described as a coordinator, monitoring individual programmes whilst not having any influence on the management structures in the school, likewise both the rescuer and auditor work with teachers, complete operational tasks but do not influence leadership and management, as they are unlikely to be in these positions.

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These are SENCOs who may spend time on paperwork and procedures whereas the collaborator and expert demonstrate wider school influence and autonomy in their roles, suggestive of more experience and knowledge and more deserving of the title of SEND Leader.

The arbiter, rescuer and auditor, can all progress on a leadership journey and there is no reason why, they cannot start in a leadership structure, however they may be the SENCOs, that leave their current schools because the role has been miscast, as one sitting in middle leadership one, and once experience is gained, Arbiter SENCOs may move to promoted positions where they can act as senior leaders.

To ensure that the SENCO role is a Senior leadership one, and that SENCOs remain as leaders within their schools, more SEND responsibility should be given to class and subject teachers, as all teachers should be ‘teachers of SEND’. The responsibility of SEND in classrooms should be delegated teachers and the Teacher Standards (DFE 2012) agree, when they state that teachers can ‘Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils’, and lists learners with SEND as one of the groups of pupils who may need adaptation.

Teachers therefore should be able identify SEND and provide for SEND learners in their classrooms and if they cannot, then the SENCO can provide the support to enable them to do so. This delegation, does not only provide a monitoring role in terms of teaching and learning led by the SENCO, it changes the role of the SENCO, to a manager of provision rather than a provider of it and develops SEND specialism across a wider group of teachers. It maybe that a SENCO may feel unequipped to take on a leadership responsibility, but if there was a clear career structure which builds leadership into all teacher’s career journeys, then the SENCO role would be no exception.

5 ways to be build leadership into the SENCO Role

1. Provide access to a leadership mentor from within school and a professional coach from outside the immediate organisation.
2. Be part of the development and monitoring of the School Development Plan, across all phases of the plan, including policy, planning and assessment
3. Build a culture that includes succession planning into its development plan, and provide opportunities to shadow other members of the leadership team undertaking their roles
4. Develop a structure which develops ‘teachers as teachers of SEND’ through a recognised teacher of SEND programme, which is designed, led and managed by the SENCO.
5. Undertake additional roles which may be related to the role, or share similarities, such as Deputy Safeguarding Lead or mentor for trainee teachers on placement.