The Job Of A SENCo Is To Change A School’s Culture
Dr Rona Tutt OBE examines how the government’s recent SEND reforms have tasked SENCOs with bringing about a major cultural shift within schools…
- by Teachwire
Since the role of SEN Co-ordinator was established by the first SEN Code of Practice in 1994, it has become a key post in all types of schools, aside from special schools (where SENCos are optional, since all pupils will have SEND).
Few realise that the SENCo is one of only two roles a school must have, the other being the headteacher – and of those, only the SENCo has to be a qualified teacher. Despite the 2001 SEN Code of Practice describing the SENCo’s role as being a strategic one, it hasn’t been until the more recent SEND Reforms and 2015 SEND Code of Practice that this side of the role has been given a fresh impetus.
Significant changes
From the start, the government made it clear that said reforms were about more than simply changing structures. Yes, we saw a move from Statements to Education, Health and Care Plans, a new requirement for local authorities to produce a Local Offer and a new responsibility for schools to produce a SEN Information Report. The move from School Action and School Action Plus to SEN support, and the expansion of ‘SEND’ support to cover individuals from birth to 25 years of age, were further significant changes, but behind them all lies an attempt to change a culture – from one where professionals make the decisions, to one where the wishes, views and aspirations of young people and their families contribute to the decisionmaking process. This approach applies whether a pupil is on SEN support, is having an assessment of their needs, or already has an EHC plan.
The process of getting these new structures in place, including transferring those with Statements to EHCPs, is due to be completed by the end of March 2018, but the government has recognised that cultural shifts can take rather longer. Within school settings SENCos have a key role to play in bringing about this cultural change, whereby teachers will not only see themselves as being responsible for the progress of all the pupils they teach, but also take on board the wishes and ideas of pupils and their families.
Some pupils with SEND will need encouragement to express their ideas, and may need to do so in different ways. In either case, it is important to involve them in discussions about what helps them to learn and how they prefer to receive any support they are entitled to. Part of the SENCo’s newer strategic role involves ensuring that other school staff recognise that pupils with SEND need to feel that their views matter, that their voices will be heard and that their ideas can make a difference.
Unexpected benefits
It is equally important that parents and carers are involved in any decisions regarding how their child’s progress will be assessed, monitored and supported. As pupils become older and families have less contact with the school this may become more difficult to achieve, but the same principle of engagement applies. This may mean, for instance, that parents are not informed after a school has decided what to do, but rather that every effort is made to involve them in any decisions that affect them and their child.
In the same way that asking a pupil what helps them to learn can throw up some unexpected responses, listening to parents and being open to their ideas can also yield unexpected benefits. After all, it is parents and carers who are the experts when it comes to knowing their child. Of course, there will be some parents who do not have the time or ability to be as fully involved as they or the school would like, but SENCos should always encourage staff to see what more can be done.
As well as helping to embed various structural changes, the SEND reforms of recent years have given SENCos a key role in changing attitudes towards pupils with SEND and their families, so that the needs of the child are now always at the centre of decision making. Depending on how the school has operated in the past, this may or may not be easy – yet working together in this way is one of the most effective ways there is of ensuring that pupils who may struggle to learn have a positive experience of school.
About the author
Dr Rona Tutt OBE is a former chair of the NAHT Special Education Needs Committee
