Getting the best from your SENCo
A Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) is a teacher who coordinates the provision for children with special educational needs or disabilities in schools. They are required to have qualified teacher status, and within three years of taking up post, must have completed the Masters level National SENCo Award qualification (for SENCos appointed after 2009).
With 46% of SENCos feeling that their role was understood by senior leaders, how can you get the best out of your SENCo?
National surveys conducted with headteachers suggest that recruiting a SENCo is far from easy and turnover can be an issue. Results from a recent study carried out by nasen (national association for special educational needs) and Bath Spa University found that, while nearly three quarters surveyed said they enjoyed their role, when asked whether they intended to be in post in five years, 30% said not, with 49% citing workload as the primary reason.
In terms of time allocation, 47% of primary and 36% of secondary SENCos, stated that they had two days or less per week to focus on the role. Overall, 70% of SENCos did not feel they had enough time allocated to the role.
Here are a few tips for heads to attract and retain the best SEND leadership:
1. Ensure the SENCo is on the Leadership Team, playing a strategic role within the school.
2. Make sure SEND leadership is embedded across the school and is seen as a ‘whole school responsibility’ by taking opportunities through staff meetings, teacher days, and staff communications to continually reinforce this message. The SENCo is there to support all staff to be ‘Teachers of SEND’ rather than to do the job for them.
3. Protect the SENCo’s time. A new SENCo will need even more time and will benefit from support from more experienced SENCos within your MAT, cluster, consortium etc. Heads can also request this support via the Specialist Teaching Service.
4. Ensure the SENCo is freed up to play a strategic role and is not spending a disproportionate amount of time on admin tasks, which could be done at a more appropriate level. Make sure, for example, your SENCo has time to undertake paired observations with yourself or another senior leader, looking specifically at the quality of teaching for SEND learners.
5. Encourage your SENCo to attend the Local Authority’s termly SENCo network meetings, which provide opportunities for professional development and sharing evidence-based good practice. These also provide valuable opportunities for SENCos who are new to the area or new to role, who may feel isolated or are coming across situations that they have not faced before. For more information, SENCos should email melindatwells@warwickshire.gov.uk
6. Visit the SEND gateway website for essential resources. The DfE has invested heavily in the SEND Gateway and Whole School SEND. SENCos can find essential tools, model policies, training, webinars and research, which will help save valuable time.
7. To be effective, the SENCo and SEND Governor need to understand how SEND is funded, and be a part of the process for planning expenditure of the SEND notional budget, as well as accounting for progress against that budget. WES Governor Services regularly run courses for the SEND Governor and SENCo to attend together where SEND Funding is covered. Please encourage your SENCo and Governor to attend.
For additional support, Primary SENCos can contact Liz Lee at lizlee@warwickshire.gov.uk and Secondary SENCos can contact Maggie Hawker at maggiehawker@warwickshire.gov.uk
Half day free event for Heads and SENCos: Jonathan Jones HMI
Jonathan Jones HMI will be coming to Warwickshire on Monday 8 April to talk about 'Whole School SEND: the strategic role of the SENCo', referring to lessons learned from both school and local area SEND inspections. The half-day event, free to all Warwickshire schools, will also include the launch of the Local Authority's new Inclusion Quality Mark.
The event starts at 1.30pm and will be held at Dunchurch Park Hotel & Conference Centre, Rugby Road, Dunchurch, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV22 6QW.
Jonathan Jones is one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and Ofsted's specialist adviser for education and special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Prior to working for Ofsted he gained extensive senior leadership experience across a number of educational phases and has had experience outside of education. Jonathan inspects the full range of provisions. He regularly leads the local area SEND inspections and the survey evaluations of multi-academy trusts.
Jonathan is a member of the quality assurance team and investigates complaints against Ofsted. He is also a remit trainer. Jonathan has worked and led on a number of national initiatives and has particular expertise in curriculum, SEND, multi academy trusts and governance.
To book a place, please email melindatwells@warwickshire.gov.uk
Wellbeing Focus
Join in the Year of Wellbeing 2019
Coventry and Warwickshire’s Year of Wellbeing 2019 is here to help improve health and wellbeing for everyone in our area. It is the result of a unique partnership between the Coventry and Warwickshire Health and Wellbeing Boards.
Throughout 2019 the boards will share and promote resources that aim to support stronger, healthier communities, emphasising the importance of positive action to safeguard health and wellbeing.
Find out more on the Year of Wellbeing website, where you can also sign up for regular updates throughout the year, including info on what's happening across the area and ways you can get involved.
Keep reading below for free resources, giveaways and more to help improve pupil and staff wellbeing in your school!
Free trees for schools!
Would you like to develop a forest school, or increase wildlife on the school grounds? Perhaps you would like to give pupils the opportunity to plant a tree and watch it grow throughout their time at school?
There is growing evidence to suggest that simple exposure to the natural environment can improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people, and with the Woodland Trust giving away trees for free, you could help to enhance pupils' time at school with time spent in greener, leafier spaces.
Schools can apply for as few as 15 trees, or up to 420, depending on the space available. Visit The Woodland Trust website for more information and to apply.
The website also features a host of online resources to plan, plant and care for your tree pack with activities linked to the curriculum.
Free resources encouraging pupils to kick the sugar habit
Public Health England (PHE) has developed teaching resources for primary schools to help pupils and their families understand the effects of eating too much sugar and how to make healthier choices to reduce their sugar intake.
The resources have been developed with teachers, and include powerpoints and lesson plans for Early Years and Key Stage 1 and 2 in English, maths and science. They introduce pupils to Sugar Smart World and Sugar Cube Invaders and provide activities to explore how much sugar is in the everyday food and drink they eat, with ideas for healthier swaps.
The resources are completely free to download and are available on the Public Health England website.
BBC website helping young people to stay safe online
The BBC has launched a new website aiming to support young people in managing their activities online. The website, called 'Own It', has lots of fun and empowering tips and advice to help young people to get the most out of using the internet and social media, whilst at the same time helping them to stay safe.
It covers everything from online privacy and avoiding malware; through to dealing with everyday dilemmas such as deciding what to share and what not to share on social media; considering how certain words could be perceived by others; and understanding how phone use late at night can affect wellbeing. Check it out here.
100 Miles, 5 days: Is your school up for the challenge?
To gear up for Vélo Birmingham on May 12, Vélo Birmingham & Midlands is launching the first ever Vélo Schools 100 Challenge. Taking place in April 2019, the challenge offers school children from across the Midlands the opportunity to take on a 100-mile challenge of their own. The challenge involves pupils collectively cycling 100-miles in a week of the school’s choice in April.
All children are invited to take part and each participant can cycle their preferred distance: every little bit of cycling will help the school complete the challenge!
The challenge is free to join and, with this year being Coventry and Warwickshire’s Year of Wellbeing, this is a great way to encourage local children to get active and enjoy cycling.
Once signed up, each school will receive a resources pack which includes more information on the challenge, printable Vélo Schools 100 Challenge certificates and a Vélo 100 route map and mileage tracker to help your school track those miles.
For more information, and to sign your school up, visit https://www.velobirmingham.com/event-info/schools-challenge/