Parents please check out your SENDCo

[redapple2001]

I understand exactly how you feel. I think parents of children who have send have no idea what actually happens in schools. That only ONE person in a WHOLE school has to have ANY qualifications in additional needs(and even then it only applies to SENCos that started after 2008). In fact they only have to get some training three years after they started the job( 2015 Code of Practice). That the Carter Review in 2015 found that there was virtually no training in supporting children with special educational needs on new teacher training courses. Also in independent and special schools ANYONE can be the SENCo and that they never need to get any training at all.
www.specialeducationalneeds.co.uk/uploads/1/1/4/6/11463509/senco_-_key_information_guide__3.pdf
I would recommend that any parent, before allowing their child to join a new school, should check does the SENCo have the NASEN level 7 award or a masters degree in specifically special educational needs for young people or something similar.
Please, please check that the people looking after your child who might need specialist, trained support is qualified to do so.
Do not misunderstand me please, qualified SENCos are the most amazing people, who have a very demanding job and they do way, way more than the hours they are paid for.
But please if you are considering a special or independent school for your child who may have support needs please check the qualifications of the staff that will be taking care of your young person

I thought it was impossible to be a teacher without a degree??

I know some EYFS teachers don’t have full QTS but good early years provision is different to national curriculum classroom teaching so I get why that might be the case.
I know historically, some independent school teachers didn’t have teaching qualifications but I the thought the state sector was far stricter??

@ScarletLake

With all due respect where have you been? It’s incredibly common now in academies. One of my colleagues got “promoted” to class teacher having been a TA at the school for a few years.

Full class responsibility but on the UQT pay scale. It’s a cost saver.

She is not degree educated either, as I know there are many TAs who are degree educated.

Basically an academy can employ whoever they like to “teach”.

Our Senco is the deputy head. We don’t have a separate one. They used the tlr on something else. They’re not that bothered about special needs, it’s all being done from a management point of view. I worry about out pupils.

I can assure you that there are plenty of children being taught in schools by people with no teaching qualifications.

In my previous school - state school, bit private and not an academy, TAs are used regularly to 'plug' holes that the timetabler has struggled to fill. This is not just one of cover lessons, this is actually teaching timetabled lessons for a whole year.

I kow of at least one GCSE class being delivered this way. There is a teacher in charge of the subject, but a TA is timetabled to teach lessons. I know that Maths lessons have been covered in this way as well - it is very difficult to recruit for Maths posts in this area.

In addition to TAs being used as teachers - but without the salary, we also have Maths lessons being taught my teachers with no Maths qualifications. I was amazed that someone who had previously been a Home Ec teacher was suddenly a FT member of the Maths dept, even teaching GCSE lessons. She had no Maths training and only GCSE Maths herself.

It happens a lot, and it has happened for a while. Teaching as a profession is being eroded away, but it saves money so it's all ignored.

One SEN school I worked in had posters on the wall.

A university offering accreditation.

"Are you a TA with 4 years experience? Do you have 4 GCSEs at grade C including English and Maths? Train to be a teacher at your school."

I feel like those poster who are unhappy that people are allowed to teach without a qualification or degree should instead be lobbying their MP for this practice to end,l and for better CPD for teachers, not encouraging parents to ‘check out their senco’.

I don't think that lobbying MPs about unqualified people being allowed to teach will make any difference sadly that ship has long since sailed. The teaching unions warned that this would happen, especially in academies, and no one cared enough then to do anything about it.

It is going to happen more and more. Some subjects - maths, physics, MFL are very difficult, even impossible, to recruit. In other subjects that the HT does not especially care about then a cheap TA is an easy way for them to save money.

Better CPD? Again that costs money for good quality training. I spent 30 years attending training that was produced in house on the cheap. Much of it being delivered by people with no experience in the topic they were 'training' the rest of the staff in beyond watching a TED talk on Youtube the week before. At best one person would be sent on training (usually SLT and almost always with a nice hotel stay thrown in). This one person would then 'cascade' the training back to the rest of the staff.

Good CPD is expensive and worth every penny. Teachers used to be able to access this themselves (and by the way pay for it themselves via their subscriptions) through the General Teaching Council. That funding is no longer available.

@amillionmenonmars

I don't think that lobbying MPs about unqualified people being allowed to teach will make any difference sadly that ship has long since sailed. The teaching unions warned that this would happen, especially in academies, and no one cared enough then to do anything about it.

It is going to happen more and more. Some subjects - maths, physics, MFL are very difficult, even impossible, to recruit. In other subjects that the HT does not especially care about then a cheap TA is an easy way for them to save money.

Better CPD? Again that costs money for good quality training. I spent 30 years attending training that was produced in house on the cheap. Much of it being delivered by people with no experience in the topic they were 'training' the rest of the staff in beyond watching a TED talk on Youtube the week before. At best one person would be sent on training (usually SLT and almost always with a nice hotel stay thrown in). This one person would then 'cascade' the training back to the rest of the staff.

Good CPD is expensive and worth every penny. Teachers used to be able to access this themselves (and by the way pay for it themselves via their subscriptions) through the General Teaching Council. That funding is no longer available.

Fair enough.

I still see no need for posts saying ‘check out your senco’ though. What will that achieve?

Well...I absolutely would not have been happy if my son was taught by an unqualified teacher. And it would never have occurred to me that this might happen until I became a Supply Teacher. I have been shocked at what goes on. I imagine OP is not innured to current educational "best practice" and is warning other SEN parents. I think there are 2 audiences to this forum. Teachers and parents. As a teacher I can empathise with having my qualifications called into question. As a Supply Teacher / parent I know that there are so many schools using unqualified people to teach, especially in SE settings.

@Dendron123

Well...I absolutely would not have been happy if my son was taught by an unqualified teacher. And it would never have occurred to me that this might happen until I became a Supply Teacher. I have been shocked at what goes on. I imagine OP is not innured to current educational "best practice" and is warning other SEN parents. I think there are 2 audiences to this forum. Teachers and parents. As a teacher I can empathise with having my qualifications called into question. As a Supply Teacher / parent I know that there are so many schools using unqualified people to teach, especially in SE settings.

The OP isn’t talking about people teaching without a teaching qualification though.

The post is mostly about qualified teachers who have to have done the L7 NASENCo qualification within three years of becoming senco.

What would parents do with this information? They might ask and find out that Mrs Smith hasn’t yet done the senco course. Oh no, that’s dreadful, they think-because the OP is suggesting they need to know this!

Will they then move their child to the school up the road where Mr Jones did the course last year? He must be much better. But,…what if he leaves and they appoint someone within the school (very common) who has three years to do the course?! Will they move again??

I just think saying, ‘check out your Senco’ is pretty unhelpful-what does @redapple2001 propose parents to do with that information?!

I’m going to be doing my Nasenco this year but I won’t be telling parents this. Everyone needs time to be trained. I’ll then be a SENCO for the rest of my career hopefully.