Tag Archives: SENCO

The role of the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO)

Special Educational Needs, Miscellaneous

The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) Is responsible for:

  • the day to day operation of the school’s SEN policy
  • answering requests for advice from teachers
  • the co-ordination of provision, including liaison with all teachers involved
  • maintaining SEN register for all pupils with special needs.
  • establishing and contributing to SEN inset training
  • liaison with external agencies
  • and should keep written notes of all correspondence, tests and contacts with parents and other parties.

When a child is identified (Stage 1) the SENCO should :

  • ensure child is placed on register.
  • help and advise the class teacher on assessing the child

At Stage 2 the SENCO :

  • is primarily responsible for assessing, planning, monitoring and reviewing child’s provision and progress.
  • should consult with outside agencies involved with the child.
  • with the classroom teacher, should draw up an Education Plan (EP)

At Stage 3 the SENCO:

  • still takes a leading role but shares responsibility for the child with the external specialist services.
  • should inform the ELB when a child moves to stage 3.
  • will work with the external specialists and the classroom teacher to draw up a new EP for the child, considering different teaching approaches, support materials and ICT.
  • will make arrangements for monitoring progress against the EP, and will arrange a review of progress, usually within a term.

At Stage 4 the SENCO:

  • will be asked for details of the assessment of, and provision for the child’s special needs during his time at the school.

At Stage 5 the SENCO:

  • or the class teacher, will be required to attend the annual review of a statemented child.
  • will be asked by the principal to provide written information about the child.
  • should, after the review, receive a report summarizing outcomes and targets for the coming year.

Further Information

How to Survive and Succeed as a SENCO LDA £10

Interview with a SENCO

Guidance on Aspects of SEN
Provision Mapping (some ideas on how to make schools more inclusive)
Tips for New SENCOS Record keeping Tips

Role of SENCO – paperwork (pdf) (extracted from materials provided by the Interboard Learning Support Team (N.I.) SENCO job description ( English system)

Case Study: Gifted and Talented

Special Educational Needs, Case Studies

Lisa is 12 and is bilingual speaking German as her mother tongue.  Having moved to Britain a few years ago she never learned to write in German but speaks it fluently.  She has been referred to the SENCO because she was finding it hard to settle in school.  She achieved level 4 in English in her Key Stage 2 (age 10/11) assessments.  She wanted to use her German and so appealed to the Modern Foreign Languages department for help.  One of the teachers volunteered to help her during lunch breaks.
Image of German Text, Gjuten Tag

After six months Lisa and her teacher decided to try the GCSE mock exam in German. She did very well in her coursework and her speaking, listening and reading. However, she had a problem with German spelling as she spelt the words with English phonetics. The teacher has had to devise a way of teaching her to spell German correctly. She sat her GCSE in May when she was 12.5.

In addition to her bilinguality she shows great initiative and diplomatic skills and has made her own arrangements for exam entry and enrolled herself on revision classes given by other teachers in the MFL department.  She uses the Internet to take part in discussions with other German youngsters and makes sure she is aware of and involved in any activities other GCSE German students are doing.

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