Any SENCOs out there?

[fivecandles]

DP thinking of moving back into a mainstream school as a SENCO after working in a special school. If you are a SENCO can you tell me what your route into this was and any particular qualifications you've got? Thanks.

I was Acting SENCo for a year when ours was seconded. Qualifications-wise I was a fully qualified and experienced teacher in a school jam-packed with children who had SEN, behaviour issues or both. I had also worked as a research psychologist for years before going into teaching so had had a lot of experience of running cognitive assessments and interpreting themumbo-jumbo they output.

My route into it was rather haphazard - I had expressed a certain amount of interest in the behaviour side of things then, when the secondment came through, was offered the role. Once the original SENCo returned I continued to be in charge of the behaviour aspect of SEN and worked closely with the SENCo.

There's a lot to know about the law in terms of statement processes, eligibility for all sorts of things including benefits, he'll need to know about the DDA, SALT and how the health services and education funding interface/not as the case may be. Depending on the type of special school he's working in he may find his experience is incredibly relevant to children with physical needs but less so for children with dyslexia and similar conditions that require assessment, support and targetted teaching. He'll also need experience at writing IEPs, PSPs and at training staff.

I'm not sure what else to add other than that it might be beneficial for him to shadow a mainstream SENCo or to move into mainstream teaching for a year before trying to secure a SENCo post as the role will be quite different.

Hi, thanks for that. He is currently in a school for students with severe EBD but although many have learning difficulties he doesn't ahve specific training in this.

Hi, thanks for that. He is currently in a school for students with severe EBD but although many have learning difficulties he doesn't ahve specific training in this.