SENCO qualification. Is there anyone here who has done it?

[Asleeponasunbeam]

I'm considering doing the SENCo qualification with the view to looking for SENCO jobs in the future. I do a lot of SEN work in my school.

Could anyone tell me a bit about their experiences before I approsch HT and SENCO. I think they would we be glad of the extra help with the workload while I do it, but they are quite defensive about their practice and may see it as a criticism.

I did my SENCo qualification last year whilst not SENCo and I'm now working in a special school- I already had a master's and it feels like it was a bit of a waste but showed commitment to working in SEN.
in theory the SENCo wanted to share their responsibilities, in practice they didn't and felt threatened as they'd never taught Sen and had no qualifications themselves.

Yep I've done it. I enjoyed it.

It certainly helped get me a SENCo job (although I was already SENCo in name, although I was more managing SEN at the time, not doing the SENCo role if you see what I mean).

I really enjoy being a SENCo. It's much better than mainstreaming teaching. SEN is a huge area and there's always more to learn. I find it really rewarding to work with vulnerable kids and their parents, find out what the difficulty is and work closely and individually to try and overcome it. Lots of paperwork though! (same everywhere though). The main issue I'd say is get into a school that really has an inclusive ethos, because otherwise you aren't valued or given enough resources to even touch the sides of your job.

I did it last year. I think it depends on who you do it through. The workload was ok on mine but it was quite academic - lots of reading to get through and very little practical help for the role. It certainly didn't teach me to be a SENCo, but it did make me think about things differently. It's a useful qualification to have as long as Newly appointed SENCos are required to have it, but it doesn't come cheap so I guess it depends on whether your school views it as a good investment?

Thanks for all the experiences. My school definitely wouldn't be funding it - they already have a SENCO. I'm on a temporary contract so will need to think about next year soon.