Contents
Introduction
Welcome to the role of SENCo! Whether you have moved into the role within your current setting, moved to a new setting or relocated to Devon to take on a SENCo role, your underlying motivation is most likely to have been your passion and commitment to wanting to make a difference and ensure the very best possible outcomes for children and young people with SEND and their families.
Arguably, the SENCo role is one of the most rewarding roles in schools, when you see the impact that high quality support and provision can have for a child or young person. However, it can also be one of the most challenging and overwhelming roles dues to the breadth of the role, the depth of knowledge and understanding that is required and the demands on your time from all sides, including staff, pupils, families, outside agencies, LA.
The top tips below are intended to help you navigate through your first term as a SENCo, and beyond. They are not an exhaustive list of all SENCo responsibilities and, it is important to recognise that every school context is different and will have different priorities, however these activities will provide a good starting point and should guide you as you begin your SENCo journey.
1. Familiarise yourself with the key laws and statutory guidance
Familiarise yourself with the key laws and statutory guidance that underpin policy, practices and provision for pupils with special education needs:
- Children and Families Act (2014)
- Equality Act (2010)
- The SEN Code of Practice (2015)
The Code of Practice should be your go to document in school, especially chapter 6. Print this out, have it in your office, refer to it regularly, direct other staff to it.
2. Get to know the SEND profile of your school
How many pupils are identified with SEND? How many are at SEN Support and how many have an EHCP? What is the primary need across the school/phase/key stage?
Familiarise yourself with the SEND register and any school-based pupil plans e.g. one page profiles, individual learning plans, relational support plans. Read one professional report for each child. Begin to get to know the needs of the children and what support should be in place.
Make sure you know which children have an EHCP. Read through the EHCPs and familiarise yourself with the provision that should be in place in section F. Visit these children in class to see what is being provided for them.
3. Get to know the parents
Building strong parental relationships is key to being a SENCo. It is statutory to meet parents of those receiving SEN support 3 times a year (CoP 6.65), although this doesn’t have to be with the SENCo. However, more importantly, parents often know their child best and can give useful insight into their strengths and talents as well as things they find more challenging. Some parents find navigating the world of SEND very challenging at times, so forming strong working partnerships from the outset is vital.
Find a way to introduce yourself. This could be through a letter or email, an introduction in the school newsletter, personally phoning them to say hello or holding parent drop-in sessions (with cake!) so that they can come and meet you.
4. Get to know the team your team
Senior Leadership team (SLT) – The Code of Practice states that 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’ (6.87). If you are not on the SLT, discuss with your Head Teacher how you can work closely with them to ensure SEND has a voice in whole school decision making and planning. Perhaps SEN could be a regular agenda item for SLT meetings, and you attend for this part?
Teachers – get to know the staff well. Spend time with them in the staffroom, have a conversation in the corridor, ask how their weekend was etc. The more they see you as being approachable, the more likely they are to seek you out for advice and be accepting of any support and challenge. As often as you can, drop into classes, work with the children, get a feel for what is going on.
Teaching Assistants – get to know them. How are they deployed? Who works where, when, with who? What interventions are they responsible for? If you are line managing the TAs, arrange to meet them 1:1 or in a group to listen to them about what is going well, what their training needs are, concerns they may have.
SEND governor – ideally you should meet with your SEND governor termly. Arrange an introductory meeting to discuss their understanding of SEND provision and practices across the school and key priorities areas. The SEND governor should provide you with support and a link to the governing body, to ensure SEND is always considered, as well as challenge within your role.
5. Be visible
It can be very easy as a SENCo to get trapped in your office dealing with paperwork, phone calls, meetings etc. However, one of the best things you can do as a SENCo is to be visible ‘on the ground’. Walk the corridors, interact with the children, drop into classes, be present on the school gates and at playtimes/lunchtimes (not all the time, just sometimes), spend time in the staffroom. Get a feel for what is going on in your school.
Make sure you plan time into your diary to be visible. Make it a priority.
6. Familiarise yourself with the Devon referral processes
Familiarise yourself with the referral processes for different services in Devon and have the up-to-date referral forms at your fingertips.
The Devon SEN Support service provide educational support and advice to schools around identifying and removing barriers for children and young people with a wide range of needs. Support is delivered through specialist advisory teachers in the Communication and Interaction Team, Social, Emotional, Mental Health team and the Sensory and Physical team. More information and the referral form can be found here Request for access to SEND support – guidance – Support for schools and settings (devon.gov.uk).
Health related advice and support is accessed through Children and Family Health Devon home – Children and Family Health (childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk). This may relate to Speech and Language therapy, Occupational therapy, Autism assessment, CAMHS, Disabled Children’s services, Early Years complex needs service. The referral is submitted via the SPA (single point of access).
Information about Early Help can be found here Early Help information for Professionals – Devon Children and Families Partnership (dcfp.org.uk).
7. Establish a support network
As rewarding and fulfilling as the SENCo role can be, some can find it isolating or lonely at times as you are often the only person doing the role in your setting and are the go-to expert on all matters SEND, for staff and parents. It is important to ensure you have a supportive network around you, both from within school and externally.
Establish who your confidants are in school; this may be your line manager or a member of SLT. Try to have regular conversations with them.
Establish supportive links outside of your school setting. If you are in a MAT, you will probably have regular SEND meetings with SENCos from the other schools but if you are in a federation or LA maintained school you may need to find out if anything happens in your locality. Devon run termly SEND network meetings which are a great opportunity to meet with colleagues, discuss issues and share good practice. This is for LA and MAT schools SEND network meeting | DES (devoneducationservices.co.uk)
Establish links with key outside professionals e.g. Educational Psychologist, C&I team, SEMH team, school nurse, SALT. These will be the people who come into your setting most often to offer support and advice for individual, and sometimes, wider school needs. Ensure you have contact email addresses and phone numbers for them. Agree when they will be coming into school. Arrange a planning meeting with them if appropriate.
8. Sign up to the SEND updates
This is a fortnightly email that provides schools with key SEND updates, news and information from a wide range of Devon teams and services. It also includes training and networking events.
Sign up here SEND updates – Support for schools and settings (devon.gov.uk)
9. Establish clear priorities
The role of SENCo is vast and there are many different elements to it. You won’t be able to focus on everything at once. The key is to balance being strategic with being operational. Identify what’s working well in the school and where improvements/changes are needed. Discuss this with your Head teacher and SLT. What are the school’s key priorities and how can SEND be woven through these?
10. Look after yourself
SENCos carry a huge workload and often wear many different hats. It can often feel like you a spinning lots of plates at the same time. Don’t be afraid to say “No” if something isn’t within your job remit, or “I’ll get back to you,” if you have been put on the spot about something and want to give a more considered response.
Establish clear working boundaries (e.g. what time you will leave school, checking emails outside of school) and stick to these as best you can. Ensure you prioritise your own wellbeing and factor in time at evenings or weekends to do the things you like doing.