The Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo)

Senco-involvement

'There were indeed extenuating circumstances, but this did not appease an irate mother who had to listen to the staff's uninformed opinions on her daughter's abilities!'

A SENCo or special educational needs co-ordinator is the person who will advise you of how the school can/will meet your child's additional requirements.
They play a pivotal role in coordinating the help and support a child needs - we explain how.

When to consult a SENCo

If you have a child with special needs, whether the merest niggle of a speech problem or more grave and inhibiting difficulties, consider any visit to a school incomplete without a chat to the head (find out what they really feel about SEN, rather than what they have to say in order to stay within the confines of the law) and a meeting with the SENCo. If your child's needs amount to more than a minor concern, the SENCo may well be the person you spend copious amounts of time phoning, chasing, talking to... Any SENCo worth their salt will at the very least have an empathetic ear and a man-sized box of tissues.

The role of the SENCo?

A really good SENCo will listen to others, especially parents!

In a nutshell most try hard to ensure a child with SEN has their needs met as fully as possible. As with all, there are the good, the bad and the ugly, but fortunately (in our experience) the vast majority of SENCos fall into the first category. However, the reality of budgetary and other constraints can make life hard for both you and them.

Once your child is placed in a school they may be assigned help from someone other than the SENCo. However, the SENCo will still be involved and should have a good understanding of a child's needs and requirements. The SENCo takes responsibility for what should be the effective operation and implementation of the school's SEN policy. This is done by identifying, assessing, planning for, monitoring, managing and supporting SEN.

In English state schools a SENCo will ensure all staff follow the code of practice. They will ensure that regular observations of children with SEN take place and are acted on. This may involve the development of support programmes to meet needs and break down barriers to learning. For some children an individual education plan (IEP) or individual learning programme (ILP) will be deemed appropriate. These should be monitored and reviewed regularly.

Records of all children with SEN should be kept up to date with relevant background information added.A child does not need to have a statement or record of need to be supported by the SENCo.

In English state schools it is likely a child in need of SEN support will be placed on School Action or School Action Plus.

Competent SENCos consult and liaise with staff, parents and carers, external agencies and appropriate professionals and voluntary bodies to ensure support is co-ordinated and targeted appropriately. They manage learning support staff, and advise and support other practitioners (therapists etc). Usually they will provide professional guidance to staff who support children with SEN and often they contribute to appropriate in-service training.

One SENCo's story

Maureen Munro, former SENCo of Malsis Prep School, North Yorkshire

When my daughter was 8 years old she had the luck to encounter a new teacher, with a new type of training, who immediately pointed out that my daughter was dyslexic.

Feeling remorseful over the three years of unbelievable friction during homework sessions and wracked by memories of children who had passed through my care (as a primary school teacher) who could possibly have been aided by the type of teaching advocated by the Dyslexia Institute, I was fired up with determination to do my best in this sphere of education. I set out to further improve my, obviously at that point, inadequate teaching skills by studying for the British Dyslexia Association Diploma and my daughter and I became best friends.

Once upon a time....

The work of a SENCo

In the early days the SENCo could be spotted fairly easily in the staff room. This was the teacher in the corner, on their knees, in an attitude of fervent prayer.

The role was often foisted on an unsuspecting member of staff whose only qualifications for the post were a kind heart and willing nature. They battled against staff of the 'old school' whose type of teaching did not lend itself to differentiation, meaning that the whole class had to fit into the lesson plan whether it was suitable for them or not.

Today's SENCo

Fortunately things have changed dramatically. Independent schools are required to take note of legislation, which previously they could ignore. Excellent guidelines are now in place for the adoption of a whole-school special needs policy and it would be remarkable to find an independent school that does not attend carefully to the drawing up and execution of such a document; even a highly academic school cannot be exempt from a special needs policy, which is there to benefit all children - the gifted and talented, students with Asperger's syndrome and the highly intelligent 'hidden' dyslexics all will need this security if they are to make the most of their potential and leave school as well-balanced individuals.

Training is now readily available for the role of SENCo and this training is usually best undertaken by a learning support teacher who has gained experience of teaching children with special needs and is confident enough to take on the staff. Less of a battleground atmosphere exists nowadays thanks to far better awareness, but staff will often require the same comfort and guidance as the children on the special needs register.

Having one child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder within the class can mean minute-by-minute monitoring on the part of the teacher who has already differentiated the lesson to suit other children with special needs.

A kind heart and willing nature continue to be good assets, but are complemented by training to give support wherever it is needed: to the children, the staff and the parents.

Ensuring your child will receive the full care necessary to proceed down the academic road requires diligent homework and detailed, searching questions during interview. My daughter's senior schoolteachers were blissfully unaware that she was dyslexic until the first parent/staff meeting during her third term. This lack of communication between head and staff was regrettable. There were indeed extenuating circumstances, but this did not appease an irate mother who had to listen to the staff's uninformed opinions on her daughter's abilities!

Two-way street

A conscientious SENCo will do their best to ensure that all staff are informed and updated about children on the SEN register and that all have an understanding of how best to help the child. A SENCo will help individual staff draw up IEPs if appropriate ensure they are regularly reviewed, and keep everyone - you and your child as well as teachers - informed and involved. The SENCo will also work closely with support staff and outside agencies, therapists and other professionals to ensure a child's needs are met.

SENCos rely on parents' help and support too: if you are aware that your child has any kind of difficulty, inform the staff at the earliest opportunity (preferably before the child starts at the school) and hand over all relevant documentation. This will give staff time to put plans in place to ensure a smooth integration into the new school environment.

If you think there may be something holding your child back, express those concerns.

Pre-testing can highlight hindrances to learning that can usually be addressed. This openness will be much appreciated, especially by the SENCo.

Maureen Munro was, until her recent retirement, Head of Learning Support and the SENCo of Malsis Prep School (a Good Schools Guide school), a school praised for its excellent SEN provision in its Independent Schools Inspectorate report.