Definition
The Special Educational Needs Coordinator is the qualified teacher in a school responsible for the day-to-day operation of the SEND policy, coordinating provision, and liaising with parents and outside professionals. Under regulation 49 of the SEND Regulations 2014, every mainstream school must have a SENCO who must achieve the National SENCO Award (NASENCo, now the NPQ for SENCOs) within three years of appointment.
In context for parents
Key checkpoints
- The SENCO is the qualified teacher responsible for day-to-day operation of the SEND policy in a school.
- Every mainstream school must have a SENCO under regulation 49 of the SEND Regulations 2014.
- SENCO must achieve the NPQ for SENCOs (formerly NASENCo) within three years of appointment.
- Statutory functions set out in SEND Code of Practice 6.84–6.94.
- The SENCO is usually the parent's first escalation point above the class teacher.
The SENCO is the linchpin role in school-side SEND. Their statutory functions, set out in the SEND Code of Practice 6.84–6.94, include: overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school's SEN policy; coordinating provision for pupils with SEND; advising teachers on the graduated approach; advising on the deployment of the school's notional SEN budget; liaising with parents and outside professionals; maintaining the SEND record; contributing to school improvement and CPD; and leading on EHC needs assessment requests and annual reviews.
In a primary school of 200 pupils, around 30 children will be on the SEND register at any given time. The SENCO's job is to know each child, their assess-plan-do-review cycle, what is working, and what is not. In practice, SENCO time is often inadequate. The Code says SENCOs should have "sufficient time" to carry out the duties; the reality in many schools is two days a week stretched across the equivalent of a half-time caseload.
The SENCO is usually the parent's first point of escalation when a class teacher's intervention is not enough. The right of a parent to ask for a meeting with the SENCO is well-established custom; the SENCO should be the person taking the school's lead at every annual review and writing the school report (section 9 advice) for an EHC needs assessment.
The NPQ for SENCOs (replacing the NASENCo from 2024) is the mandatory qualification. SENCOs without it within three years of appointment are working in breach of regulation 49.
Related terms
The terms parents most often see alongside Special Educational Needs Coordinator.
SEN Support
The graduated approach used by schools to support children with SEND who do not have an EHCP. SEN Support follows an assess-plan-do-review cycle.
Individual Education Plan(IEP)
A non-statutory written plan that sets out a child's SEND targets, the support being put in place, and how progress will be measured. Largely replaced by provision maps and one-page profiles in many schools.
Provision Map
A school's record of the SEND interventions and provision in place for individuals, groups, and year groups. Used to plan, monitor, and evidence the impact of support.
SEND Code of Practice
The 0-25 statutory guidance setting out what schools, colleges, and local authorities in England must do to support children with SEND under the Children and Families Act 2014.
Where parents ask about this
Parents usually find this page before a SENCO meeting they want to make count, after a SENCO has not responded, or when wanting to escalate over a class teacher's head. Searches include "how to ask SENCO for help", "SENCO refused to meet", and "what does a SENCO do". A Beaakon SENCO can prepare your meeting agenda, attend with you as a parent advocate, and write up the actions agreed so the school can be held to them.
References
The primary legislation, statutory guidance, research, and clinical tools this page draws on.