SEN0146

Written evidence submitted by National SENCo Advocacy Network

 

Introduction

This submission is a response to the call for evidence to stabilise the SEND system with connection to the following concerns:

Each of these concerns can be addressed through a consideration of the role of the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo), their remit in schools, their training, expertise, and ability to lead on SEND improvement.

The evidence provided in this report is drawn from a national SENCo survey carried out during the summer of 2024 led by the National SENCo Advocacy Network with an aim of identifying the key barriers and enablers for effective SEND support in schools.

The National SENCo Advocacy Network is a national group originally formed by providers of the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination (NASENCo) with a vision to lead on SENCo policy and practice, to act as a voice for SENCos and as advocates for improving SEND practice through collaborating and sharing policy, practice and research.

Our evidence-based view is that, by making key changes to aspects of the SENCo role/designation and training, school based SEND provision and support for pupils with additional needs can be improved significantly.

 

Context

In recent years there has been a rise in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in schools (Department for Education, 2024). The number of pupils with Educational Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), now sits at around 5% of all pupils (National Statistics, 2024) and there has been an increase in Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs nationally (e.g. National Statistics, 2024; NICE, 2022)​. Despite a recent increase in funding for SEND this remains an area of contention within schools. The majority of funding (circa £6.6billion) follows children outside of mainstream schools into special schools and alternative provision (AP) leaving schools with comparatively little funding (circa £2.2billion) to support the needs of a increasingly challenging pupil population (Sibieta and Snape, 2024).

Within this complex landscape the role of the SENCo is vital to ensure effective SEND practice in the classroom and beyond. However, it is a role that is not clearly understood in schools or given the importance, time, or resource to be carried out effectively. 60% of SENCos feel that their role is not manageable, and 75% of SENCos are routinely pulled away from their role to take on other duties (Boddison, Curran and Moloney, 2021). It is not surprising that ‘an estimated 14% of SENCOs [are] leaving the role every year’ (p.20) and this is almost certainly an underestimation. 

The aim of this research was to gain insight into the lived experience of SENCos in England, to identify the key challenges SENCos are facing today and recommendations for change. At a policy level the SENCO is required to work strategically, operationally and in an advisory capacity (DfE and DoH, 2015, p.108); however, the CoP does not mandate a senior leadership role for the SENCO.

As a result, the SEND landscape is variable, with different levels of SEND need in schools, variable funding, leadership roles and provision in schools. As a result, the requirements of the SENCo are shifting without an increase in guidance or resources. SENCos are fundamental to effective SEND support across the 0-25 age range in the early years, schools, and in further education (FE), examining their experiences remains crucial in understanding how to best support and equip SENCos moving forward.

Methodology

An online survey was shared with SENCos via the 42 delivery partners for the NASENCo programme across the country to gain insight into the experiences of SENCos across a wide geographical range. 110 responses were received representing 36 local authority areas across England. The majority of respondents (60%) were based in primary schools, 17% in secondary schools, 8% in early years and the remainder in further education and special schools.

Ethical approval was granted by Nottingham Trent University and the University of Plymouth and followed BERA’s Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (2024). Participant information was shared at the start of the survey, explaining the research context, how the data collected would be used, right to withdraw, and right to anonymity. The quotations used in this report are labelled according to participant role, and location, e.g. (SENCo, Devon).

Respondents were generous with their reflections and comments in the survey, going into detail about the enablers and challenges of the SENCo role and the key themes arising related to their role and position in the school, workload, funding and resources, and access to appropriate professional development as explored below.

 

The SENCo role

It was clear that the SENCo role varied across settings and whilst they were passionate about SEND and wanted to be available to support teachers and pupils with a strategic oversight on SEND improvement, they identified many barriers to the day-to-day role of the SENCo.

‘The SENCo’s role is demanding and multifaceted, requiring them to balance a significant workload of administrative responsibilities, staff training, and direct support for [pupils], all while ensuring that the school’s SEND provisions are effective and inclusive’ (SENCo, Walsall).

SENCos identified many activities in their daily working as less strategic and more administrative, such as organising staff and monitoring pupil behaviour. While SENCos wanted to be in classrooms more, they were spending an increasing amount of their time on paperwork.

‘When I took on the role I wanted to be in the classroom as much as possible, working with [pupils] and supporting teachers. This rarely happens. Mainly in my office, completing paperwork, referrals and meeting with parents’ (SENCo, Cornwall).

‘My strategic role is very much secondary to the day-to-day firefighting, admin etc’ (SENCo, Northamptonshire).

‘I don't really have time for strategy as I'm spending so long doing EHCP applications, admin, responding to consults, inclusion liaison’ (SENCo, Leicestershire).

In addition to paperwork, ‘firefighting’ and admin, SENCos spent time supporting mental health, behaviour management and safeguarding. These experiences reflect the rise in SEMH needs nationally (e.g. National Statistics, 2024; NICE, 2022)​ and emphasise how demand on a SENCos time is increasing.

While SENCos are the experts on SEND in the school they are spending their time firefighting. Being a strategic leader of SEND has taken a backseat to administration and meetings. As such, SENCos are working beyond their capacity and many have limited, or no opportunities to focus on effective SEND practice and driving school improvement.

 

The SENCo as a strategic leader

The current SEND CoP 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’ (DfE and DoH, 2015, p.108).

However, 35% of the SENCos who participated in this survey were not on the school Senior Leadership Team (SLT). This meant that they felt undervalued and misunderstood by the SLT and that strategic decisions were being made that did not necessarily support SEND improvement.

‘I battle with SLT and the trust in regard to appropriate provision. I do not have much of a sphere of influence and always have to go from pillar to post to get things done and need approval for anything I want to implement’ (SENCo, Newham).

‘All decisions are done to us, and we then have to defend them’ (SENCo, Cornwall).

Being a SENCo who is not on the SLT has been referred to as a ‘battle’, where advocating for SEND is difficult, not prioritised and not considered as part of a whole school approach within some settings. In comparison, those SENCos that were on the SLT could see the benefits:

‘I am lucky that, as a member of the senior leadership team, I am able to make                             changes that drive improvements in SEND across the whole of my setting’ (SENCo,                             Somerset).

'I think it is crucial to be on the Senior Leadership team as SENCo as it is allows you to be more strategic in your setting. Without it I think teachers and other leaders will often see it as not as important. In a very busy environment it can be put too far down the list if you do not have a strong SLT SENCo’ (SENCo, Leicestershire).

Being within the SLT meant that SENCos were able to be more strategic, proactive and to implement improvement strategies.

SENCos are experts in SEND, they know and understand the legislative backdrop to the SEND CoP, their statutory responsibilities towards children and young people with SEND, and what this looks like in practice. Without this expertise feeding into strategic decisions, schools are at risk of failing their pupils and missing out on opportunities to make a difference for their future lives. By being part of the school SLT SENCos are able to influence future strategy and the development of inclusive educational practices that meet the needs of all pupils.

 

Managing workload

SENCos do not have legally protected time to carry out their role and their experiences are vastly different, from teaching to non-teaching and no admin support to having a deputy SENCo and admin support. The SEND CoP (DfE and DoH, 2015, p.109) states:

'The school should ensure that the SENCO has sufficient time and resources to carry out these functions. This should include providing the SENCO with sufficient administrative support and time away from teaching to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities in a similar way to other important strategic roles within a school.’

This data suggested that the SENCo role on the ground is diverse and inconsistent across settings, with many working across more than one school and in more than one role with less time to dedicate to the SENCo role.

Of note was that SENCos reported spending a lot of time working with Teaching Assistants (TAs), but less time working directly with teachers. We know that TAs typically spend more time than teachers in supporting SEND (Skipp and Hopwood, 2019), and this has been identified as creating the conditions for pupils to work at their own pace and has seen an improvement in educational outcomes if they are appropriately supported (Sharples, Webster and Blatchford, 2018). However, when pupils are spending a lot of their time working directly with TAs without specialist knowledge and appropriate training this can have negative educational and social implications, and reduces the time they have with the more qualified teacher (Sharples, Webster and Blatchford, 2018). If teachers have the support and training they need to provide a fully inclusive classroom there will be less need for one to one TA support.

Funding and resources

A lack of funding in mainstream schools was identified as a core challenge for SEND and the effectiveness of the SENCo role in terms of the employment of TAs, access to specialist teaching resources, interventions, and external support from other professionals. Without adequate resource and staffing, pupils with SEND are less likely to receive the support they need, and this has a negative impact on the wellbeing of staff, pupils and their families.

‘Lack of funding and resources in our school causing anxiety and stress to senior leaders due to extreme deficit budgets. […] The considerable paperwork needed to be completed to get an EHCP needs assessment, and the battle to get the appropriate level of Top Up funding is exhausting.’ (SENCo, Cornwall)

Our deficit has matched the number of EHCPs multiplied by £6000 for the last 4 years! Funding the high level of need in our school impacts what we have available to spend on all the other children (SENCo, Cornwall)

‘The inequality in the banding funds between mainstream and specialist settings set mainstream pupils up to fail and increase the numbers needing specialist provision, when funding them appropriately could keep them in mainstream education. The increase in teacher salary has been great but as this was unfunded for schools, it has left schools in a precarious position. We have a daily battle to provide the staffing needed to keep our pupils safe - let alone to educate them’ (SENCo, Somerset).

These comments emphasise that SEND wait times, funding and resources must move beyond the bare minimum of completing EHCPs in order to get pupils into special schools. Improved in-school funding and wider SEND support should enable pupils with SEND to have positive educational and social outcomes in mainstream settings. For this to happen we need rapid intervention, funding for specialist resources and support staff in mainstream schools. SENCos need to be enabled to act as strategic leaders in order to develop and encourage whole-school approaches to SEND.

 

Professional Development

The impact of the ‘SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan’ (HM Government, 2023) is yet to be seen but a significant concern for SEND has been the change of statutory qualification from the NASENCo to the SENCo NPQ. Not only has the roll-out of the qualification change been rushed, it has been disconnected from the changing SEND landscape.

Despite the SENCo NPQ being positioned as a leadership qualification, the language used within the overall NPQs programme neglects the complexity of SEND. In so doing, inadvertently or otherwise, the SENCo role has been repositioned from one of senior leadership to that of a SEND practitioner, and with a concomitant downgrading the importance of SEND provision in schools.

‘I completed the [NASENCo] award during my first year and it did prepare me well, it is a very thorough, relevant and purposeful qualification. I am sad to see the introduction of the NPQ.’ (SENCo, Southampton)

‘[The NASENCo] has been supportive and created a great network for local SENCos. The knowledge and research part has been crucial as I can speak to teachers/SLT/parents with a greater depth of knowledge and understanding of areas of the SEND and [am] up-to-date with current research. This would otherwise be impossible to do on the job’ (SENCo, Leicestershire)

‘Deeper understanding of SEN needs and leadership has helped me with - identifying needs - supporting colleagues – enhancing processes and systems in school - working with parents - increasing pupil voice opportunities for children with SEN and getting colleagues to draw on those views in their decision making - making strategic decisions and plans and lobbying for SEN with SLT’ (SENCo, Gloucestershire)

The lack of time and support from settings was the main barrier to completing statutory training or engaging in continuous professional development (CPD), even though the need for high quality professional training is recognised. 

‘[Completing training] has been a real concern and at times frustration trying to fit the time to study/write assignments around a full-time stressful job with no extra time granted to complete it. The information I have learnt is important to my role and has helped me build confidence and a better ability to evaluate our own provision’ (SENCo, Leicestershire)

Through regular networking and post-graduate training opportunities, SENCos are better placed to develop their knowledge, critical thinking, analytical abilities, leadership, management and communication skills. This will become more important as the SENCo NPQ lacks the academic rigour required of strategic leadership. They are also able to share their expertise and experience with other settings which in turn reduces feelings of isolation and improves well-being.

 

Recommendations

This survey has highlighted a number of challenges to the effectiveness of the SENCo role and together these have had an adverse impact on the availability of consistent and high quality SEND support in schools, early identification of need, the effectiveness of multi-agency working and the effective use of funding.

A solution is to put SEND Support for all pupils and the SENCo role on a statutory footing through updating SEND legislation, relevant regulations and the Code of Practice as set out in the following five key recommendations and in so doing contribute to short-term SEND system stabilisation. These changes would impact positively on long-term SEND system sustainability, the development of inclusive educational provision and better outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

 

 

Table 1: Recommendations

 

 

January 2025

References

 

Boddison, A., Curran, H. and Moloney, H. (2021) National SENCo Workforce Survey 2020: Time to review 2018-2020. Staffordshire: NASEN. Available.

 

British Educational Research Association (BERA) (2024) Ethical guidelines for educational research. London: BERA.

 

Curran, H. (2021) 'Developing SENCO resilience: understanding and meeting the challenge of the role'.  in Beaton, M., Codina, G. and Wharton, J. (eds.) Leading on inclusion: the role of the SENCO. Abingdon: Routledge, 17 17 pp 171-180.

 

Department for Education (2024) Special educational needs and disability: an analysis and summary of data sources. London: Department for Education. Available.

 

Department for Education and Department of Health (2015) Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years Statutory guidance for organisations which work with and support children and young people who have special educational needs or disabilities. Department for Education UK: Department for Education,.

 

HM Government (2023) Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan. Right Support, Right Place, Right Time. London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office. Available.

 

National Statistics (2024) 'Special educational needs in England'. Department for Education. [Online]. Available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england (Accessed: 31/12/24).

 

NICE (2022) 'Social, emotional and mental wellbeing in primary and secondary education'. NICE,. [Online]. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng223 (Accessed: 31/12/24).

 

Sharples, J., Webster, R. and Blatchford, P. (2018) Making the best use of teaching assistants. London: Education Endowment Foundation. Available.

 

Sibieta, L. and Snape, D. (2024) Spending on special educational needs in England: something has to change. London: lnstitute for Fiscal Studies. Available.

 

Skipp, A. and Hopwood, V. (2019) Deployment of Teaching Assistants in schools. London: Department of Education. Available.

 

9