It’s a popular refrain that SENDCOs should be on SLT. So, in order to ensure effective leadership of SEND, should schools be placing their SENDCO on SLT? I wonder if that’s not only over-simplistic as a solution – it may even be that we’re asking the wrong question in the first place.
Tag Archives: senco
The flex: reasonable adjustment in the classroom for pupils with SEND
When it comes to getting classroom teaching right for pupils with SEND, it isn’t always about funding. It isn’t always about having years and years of specialist SEND training. It’s about the flex.
SEND provision: Intelligent trial and error?
The SENDCO role in a mainstream school is invaluable, especially when supporting pupils with complex needs. External specialists can be equally as invaluable.
Are there times though when the presence of a specialist – the SENDCO, an Educational Psychologist – can delay teachers and TAs from making good decisions for pupils? In relation to the use of specialists within SEND, care must be taken to ensure colleagues are supported but not disempowered.
The SEND and AP Improvement Plan: 3 things that could feel different for SENDCOs
I don’t know a SENDCO who thinks the SEND system is helping them to work efficiently, focus on the right things and consistently have impact. I don’t know many parents who speak glowingly of their experience of getting an EHCP. I don’t know any Local Authorities who aren’t consumed and overwhelmed by workload.
So something needs to change. But what is going to change for schools? What does the SEN and AP Improvement Plan tell us change is going to look like, and how might that change the SENDCO role?
A signpost for SENDCOs
I’m about to publish my tenth SEND and SENDCO-related blog on another website, which I hope people here might find useful. I’ve therefore created one blogpost here, with links to the first 9.
The summer term SENDCO
Consider these 8 areas as potential priorities for the summer term, which broadly fit into 2 categories: doing the summer term well and preparing to do next year well
Why everyone should want to be a SENDCO
All teachers should want to be a SENDCO. Whether for the professional development it brings, for the difference it can make to pupils who otherwise might struggle, or just to step up to a whole-school role, ambitious colleagues should view it as an essential step on their own route to leadership.
Seeing without observing: how to be a visible SENDCO without adding to school scrutiny
As a SENDCO, you need to know what is going on in class. You need to make sure students are receiving quality-first teaching. You need to be able to diagnose where this isn’t happening so you can support teachers to develop their practice. You also need to do this without creating a culture of fear.Continue reading “Seeing without observing: how to be a visible SENDCO without adding to school scrutiny”
New to the SENDCO role/new to a school? Try to tick off these things by the end of September
Rather than try to master everything in the first month, this list gives 10 ideas for things to try and tick off by September 30th. Each should be manageable alongside teaching and other responsibilities; it should be broad enough to cover many elements of the role, without expecting you to master everything in just over 4 weeks.
The Spring term SENDCO
It’s a strange time of year. Too late to set an initiative up for the academic year; too early to write something off until next academic year. Here’s 7 things to be considering as you embark on the Spring term as a SENDCO. Think back to the Autumn term and all that went well. RememberContinue reading “The Spring term SENDCO”
SEND Matters 