Sencos: the government’s plans for Send reform in England hinge on these overworked school staff

“Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock Sencos – special educational needs coordinators – play a vital role in maintained mainstream English schools, nursery schools and sixth forms. If you are a parent, you may encounter them if you have concerns about your child’s progress or the support available, or during review meetings. Children may meet them through assessments, pupil interviews or informal check-ins. They are teachers who take on additional leadership responsibility for special educational needs and disabilities across the school. In many cases, they continue to teach classes, but in larger schools the role is increasingly non-class based due to its scale and demands. Despite its importance, the Senco role is often hampered by excessive workload, inconsistent status – many Sencos are still not part of school leadership teams as this is not a requirement in legislation – and a limited understanding of its scope. These factors affect both effectiveness and retention. The government’s recent policy proposals for special educational needs and disabilities support make frequent mention of Sencos and the role they play in schools. As a former Senco, and as someone who has worked in Senco professional development for almost twenty years, I have scoured the proposals to understand what they mean for the profession. Statutory support The reforms – still under consultation and not yet law – formalise much of what Sencos already do. However, they also signal a profound shift. The role is set to become more data-driven and more central to whole-school development than before. Sencos oversee Sen Support – internal school provision for learners with special educational needs. They also oversee support for children with education, health and care plans (EHCPs). EHCPs are legal documents issued and funded by local authorities for children with more complex needs. They outline a child’s needs, required provision and targeted outcomes across education, health and care. Sencos often are not part of a school’s senior leadership team. fizkes/Shutterstock The recent policy proposal sets out a system of school-based individual support plans for every child and young person identified with special educational needs. These digital plans would be statutory, monitored and reviewed annually at minimum. Sencos would therefore be responsible for ensuring that each individual support plan accurately identifies any barriers to learning (such as sensory needs or a specific learning difference), and records support and reasonable adjustments (such as adapted materials or additional processing time). While the terminology may be new, this practice is not. Individual support plans largely formalise what Sencos already do for learners at Sen Support. However, the statutory nature of individual support plans represents an expansion of legal accountability, borrowing from policy implemented in recent years in Wales. Whereas EHCPs apply to a small proportion of pupils in schools, statutory individual support plans could apply to a greater percentage of the school population. This risks creating a compliance-heavy model of inclusion. Sencos may spend increasing amounts of time on producing evidence rather than working directly with teachers and families. EHCPs will remain for a smaller number of children – those with the most complex needs – who will receive specialist support packages. The definition of complex needs has not yet been defined in the policy proposals, which may be an area for contention. By tightening access to EHCPs while expanding individual support plans, the reforms shift the pressure point from local authorities to schools. Sencos may become the public face of a rationed system. They will need to mediate between school resources, parental expectations and local authorities, as well as colleagues working in health and care. There is the risk that trust in Sencos may decline unless schools are given the capacity to deliver the promised support. At the same time, Sencos will have to navigate families’ worries about tighter access to EHCPs . Overseeing mainstream support A central message of the policy proposals is that mainstream education must be strengthened in terms of its ability to include pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. This is a laudable aim, but it requires significant investment in teacher expertise, curriculum flexibility and environmental adaptation. For Sencos, it will mean leading whole-school early identification and targeted support. They will need to build teacher confidence in adaptive and inclusive education and provide more robust evidence when specialist placements are requested. They will lead in helping families school provision. This shift may increase contested decisions and appeals, with Sencos becoming the key point of contact for families navigating changing legal boundaries. One of the government’s most ambitious proposals is the Experts at Hand service. This is designed to give schools quicker access to educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and other specialists. It’s likely to place the Senco at the centre of multi-agency work, coordinating referrals, implementing specialist advice and contributing to wider planning. What’s more, every member of school staff will complete a national special educational needs training programme . It’s likely that Sencos will take a lead in delivering much of this professional development . This will elevate the Senco as a driver of whole-school pedagogy. The proposals amount to a significant widening of the Senco remit. Their success hinges on whether the Senco role is finally given the leadership status, time and support it requires. Without structural changes such as protected leadership time, a place on leadership teams, administrative support and clear career pathways, the reforms risk accelerating burnout. However, with the right support and sufficient resourcing, Sencos can be leaders shaping the cultures, systems and partnerships that help every child to learn and flourish. With sincere thanks to Christopher Robertson, the Co-ordinator of the SENCo Forum, who shared his insights with me as I was writing this article.

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