What is a SENDCo?

Overview

You might be interested in applying for the role of a SENDCo at your school. SENDCo stands for special educational needs & disabilities (SEND) co-ordinator. The role is often included in the senior leadership team.

This article outlines the main responsibilities of the role and links to examples of job description to provide an overview of the role.

What are the key responsibilities of a SENDCo?

The SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years explains the duties of local authorities, schools and colleges to provide for those with special educational needs under part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

The SEND Code of Practice outlines the role of SENDCos in schools. It explains that governing bodies of maintained mainstream schools and the proprietors of mainstream academy schools (including free schools) must ensure that there is a qualified teacher designated as SENDCo for the school. 

The key responsibilities of the SENDCo may include:

• Overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEND policy
• Coordinating provision for children with SEND
• Liaising with the relevant Designated Teacher where a looked after pupil has SEND
• Advising on the graduated approach to providing SEND support 
• Advising on the deployment of the school’s delegated budget and other resources to meet pupils’ needs effectively
• Liaising with parents of pupils with SEND
• Liaising with early years providers, other schools, educational psychologists, health and social care professionals, and independent or voluntary bodies
• Being a key point of contact with external agencies, especially the local authority and its support services
• Liaising with potential next providers of education to ensure a pupil and their parents are informed about options and a smooth transition is planned
• Working with the headteacher and school governors to ensure that the school meets its responsibilities under the Equality Act (2010) with regard to reasonable adjustments and access arrangements. We’ve written another article about the Equality Act here.
• Ensuring that the school keeps the records of all pupils with SEN up to date

Who can be a SENDCo?

The Code of Conduct states that SENDCos must be a qualified teacher working at the school. A newly appointed SENDCo must be a qualified teacher and, where they have not previously been the SENCO at that or any other relevant school for a total period of more than twelve months, they must achieve a National Award in Special Educational Needs Coordination within three years of appointment.

What role do they hold within school?

The SENDCo has an important role to play with the headteacher and governing body, in determining the strategic development of SEND policy and provision in the school. They will be most effective in that role if they are part of the school leadership team.

The SENDCo has day-to-day responsibility for the operation of SEND policy and coordination of specific provisions made to support individual pupils with SEND, including those who have EHC plans.

The SENDCo provides professional guidance to colleagues and will work closely with staff, parents and other agencies. The SENDCo should be aware of the provision in the Local Offer and be able to work with professionals providing a support role to families to ensure that pupils with SEND receive appropriate support and high quality teaching.

Can small primary schools share a SENDCo?

The SEND Code of Practice explains it may be appropriate for a number of smaller primary schools to share a SENDCo employed to work across the individual schools. Schools can consider this arrangement where it secures sufficient time away from teaching and sufficient administrative support to enable the SENDCo to fulfil the role effectively for the total registered pupil population across all of the schools involved.

Where such a shared approach is taken the SENDCo should not normally have a significant class teaching commitment. Such a shared SENDCo role should not be carried out by a headteacher at one of the schools. Schools should review the effectiveness of such a shared SENDCo role regularly and should not persist with it where there is evidence of a negative impact on the quality of SEND provision, or the progress of pupils with SEND.

Examples of job descriptions

Arthur Terry Learning Partnership has a job description for the SENDCo role at the school.

It cites the job purpose as :

“Strategic development of the school’s Special Educational Needs (SEND) provision and oversight of the day-to-day operation of that policy with the aim of raising SEND pupil achievement”.