How to Be a Brilliant SENCO

Practical strategies for developing and leading inclusive provision

Helen Curran

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781351037204
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Helen Curran's invaluable book aims to support new and experienced SENCOs with the task of developing and leading special educational needs provision and inclusive practice, through the exploration of practical strategies and approaches.

This book takes a pragmatic approach to the issues which have historically been associated with the role of the SENCO; namely a lack of time, a lack of resources and often a lack of seniority. The book seeks to provide SENCOs with tried and tested ideas and strategies to support both the operational and strategic aspects of the role, to help SENCOs develop their role as a leader in school. The book covers the following areas:

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• The SENCO role in policy and practice

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• The SENCO as a leader

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• Developing relationships with pupils and parents

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• Challenges and opportunities within the role of SENCO

A must read for any SENCO, this book draws upon case studies and real life examples, considering the ways in which SENCOs can shape and develop the status of not only their role, but also SEN and inclusive provision in their setting.

Introduction

The introduction of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reforms in 2014 were hailed, by the then coalition government, as ‘the biggest transformation to SEND support [in schools] for thirty years’ (DfE, 2014a). Whilst the seeds of such change can be traced back in educational policy, the 2006 House of Commons Education and Skills Committee report, Special Educational Needs (House of Commons Education and Skills Committee, 2006), was fundamental in highlighting the failings of the then current SEN system. Whilst the report did not suggest a major review of the system was needed, or indeed planned, the report did conclude that SEN needed to have greater priority within education. Other aspects, such as greater clarity regarding the term inclusion and an increased focus on the role of children and parents, were also stated as a necessary improvement. A series of recommendations were made in light of the findings.

The concerns outlined with the House of Commons Select Committee report (2006) were later echoed in the Lamb Inquiry (DCFS, 2009), which investigated parental confidence in the SEN system. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Review: A Statement is Not Enough further added to this developing narrative stating, ‘the review found widespread weaknesses in the quality of what was provided for children with special educational needs and evidence that the way the system is currently designed contributes to these problems’ (Ofsted, 2010, p. 7). This led to the publication of the Green Paper, Support and Aspiration: A New Approach to SEND (DfE, 2012). The Green Paper set out the coalition government’s vision for the new SEND system and was focused on delivering a system which identified needs early and focused on outcomes for children and young people with a long-term, aspirational view. Central to the SEND reforms was the idea of authentic parental participation, with a specific focus on engaging the views of the child and the child’s parents and carers.

The culmination of this process resulted in the 2014 Children and Families Act. Statutory guidance setting out the legal framework for the execution of this act followed and was published in July 2014; The Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (DfE and DoH, 2014). Small amendments followed with the current version of the SEND Code of Practice published in January 2015 (DfE and DoH, 2015). The requirements of the statutory guidance were due to be implemented in the early years providers, schools and colleges from 1st September 2014. The term SEND reforms has been adopted as an all-encompassing term to refer to the legal and statutory guidance presented to schools.

The central principles of the SEND Code of Practice (DfE and DoH, 2015) state that the system should be outcome focused and aspirational, with children and families at the centre. The guidance aims to create a system which is less confrontational and adversarial, and contains some key changes from the previous 2001 Code (DfES, 2001). These include the extension of focus from 0–25 years, greater collaboration between education, health and care and the replacement of School Action and School Action Plus categories of SEN with a single SEN Support category. Previous statements of SEN were replaced with the more holistic Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. Schools were required to contribute to the local authority (LA) Local Offer, a central repository for transparent and accessible information for parents, and also had to produce a school SEN information report which detailed processes and provision for children with SEN in school, and which is updated annually.

However, despite these changes to the new SEND Code of Practice (DfE and DoH, 2015), the role of the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) remained consistent and central within the guidance. The role is still statutory, and it is still a requirement for SENCOs to gain the National Award for SEN Coordination (NA SENCO) within three years. Expectations regarding both the operational and strategic elements remain and the guidance provides, as per previous Codes (DfE, 1994; DfES, 2001), an overview of the potential responsibilities of the SENCO, all of which relate to the inclusion of children with SEN within mainstream schools. It could also be argued that the introduction of the new SEND Code of Practice highlighted not only the importance of the SENCO role, but also its strategic nature, as SENCOs were required to facilitate the changes related to the new guidance in their settings.

Such prominence of the role in education makes this book not only timely, but also relevant. The SEND Code of Practice (DfE and DoH, 2015) is based on inclusive principles, with provision for vulnerable learners, including those with SEN, a priority for all teachers; this is a principle echoed by the national curriculum (DfE, 2014b). It is also underpinned by principles related to the importance of parent and child choice, participation and decision making. These are arguably principles which require whole-school recognition and development to be fully implemented. Therefore, this further highlights the importance and responsibility of the SENCO role.

Aims of the book

The book seeks to provide practical ‘how to’ guidance which provides predominantly new, but also experienced, SENCOs with tried and tested tips, strategies and case studies to enable them to ‘get the job done’, from both an operational and a strategic perspective. The mission of the book is to support SENCOs in developing ways of working which enable them to move beyond ‘firefighting’ and support them to enact the role in a considered, strategic manner. The book considers the issue of whether the SENCO is part of the senior leadership team (SLT), but acknowledges that this is different in many settings, and therefore seeks to present ways in which status can be developed to enable the SENCO to effect change regardless of the seniority of their position within the school. This book aims to consider, and pragmatically accept, the known barriers to the role, including a lack of time, but equally seeks to present an alternative way of executing the role within these known barriers so SENCOs can not only ‘get the job done’, but do so in a strategically effective manner.

I have spent most of my professional life working with SENCOs in one guise or another. The book is based on my experiences as a SENCO, a local authority SEN Advisor, SEN Consultant and, latterly, a lecturer on the NA SENCO. Through my work on the NA SENCO I have had the privilege to work with over 350 SENCOs. During our sessions we have explored issues related to the facilitation of the SENCO role, we have discussed and debated tried and tested strategies and tips, as well as developed our own. The book is also based on my research which has explored how SENCOs effectively implement policy in their settings and how they manage their workload. For me, this is the most important role in school, because good inclusive practice is good practice for all.

Organisation of the book

The book is organised into the following chapters:

• The SENCO role in policy and practice: beginnings to present day.

• The SENCO as a leader: your role, your school, your ethos.

• The SENCO as a leader: to be or not to be on SLT.

• Leading and supporting colleagues.

• Developing relationships: pupils and parents.

• Managing your role: challenges and opportunities.

• The future SENCO role.

Within each chapter you will find:

• Ideas in action: examples, case studies and/or practical advice on how to enact specific strategies or how to approach particular problems.

• Something to think about: questions, comments and moments of reflection to encourage you to think about your own setting and consider the actions or changes you could make to improve practice.

A note of caution

The book is intended to be used as a toolbox. The book is intentionally filled with actions and strategies, processes and changes you can introduce to effectively facilitate the role of the SENCO in your school and, as a consequence, improve inclusive practice and outcomes for children and young people with SEN. However, this is not intended as a ‘tick list’. Read the chapter which is most relevant to you currently. Consider the ideas and pick two or three which you can try out – save the rest for later. The idea is to view the development of SEN and inclusive practice in the longer term.

Note: the following terms are used interchangeably throughout the book:

• Child/children/young person/pupil.

• Parent/carer/families.

References

Children and Families Act 2014, ch. 6. Available at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/pdfs/ukpga_20140006_en.pdf (Accessed 1st August 2014).

Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCFS) (2009) The Lamb Inquiry: Special Educational Needs and Parental Confidence. Available at: webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/01143-2009DOM-EN.pdf (Accessed 2nd February 2013).

Department for Education (DfE) (1994) The code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs. London: HMSO.

Department for Education (DfE) (2012) Support and Aspiration: A New Approach to Special Educational Needs and Disability. Available at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/198141/Support_and_Aspiration_Green-Paper-SEN.pdf (Accessed 15th March 2015).

Department for Education (DfE) (2014a) Parents Feel More Supported Ahead of Radical SEND Reforms. [Press Release]. 15th August 2014. Available at: www.gov.uk/government/news/parents-feel-more-supported-ahead-of-radical-send-reforms (Accessed 1st September 2014).

Department for Education (DfE) (2014b) National Curriculum in England: Framework for Key Stages 1 to 4. Available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-framework-for-key-stages-1-to-4/the-national-curriculum-in-england-framework-for-key-stages-1-to-4 (Accessed 4th September 2014).

Department for Education (DfE) and Department of Health (DoH) (2014) Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0–25 years. Available at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/342440/SEND_Code_of_Practice_approved_by_Parliament_29.07.14.pdf (Accessed 10th September 2014).

Department for Education (DfE) and Department of Health (DoH) (2015) Special Educational Ne...