The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reforms have been reported as the most significant reforms of their kind for over 30 years. Through the Children and Families Act 2014 the Government is seeking to effect cultural change regarding SEND. The SENCo is responsible for the operational and strategic aspects related to SEND provision within the school and as such could be considered a key implementer of the reforms. This article forms part of a PhD research project which is developing research within the area of SEND policy reform, through exploring and analysing the in-depth experience of the SENCo as a policy implementer during the first academic year postreform. This article discusses the emerging themes from one of the wider data sets which sought to gather the views of SENCos six months after the introduction of SEND reforms and the SEND Code of Practice.

In schools, the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) could be considered a key policy implementer of special educational needs and inclusive policy. Issues related to time, status and the effective facilitation of the SENCO role have been reported on extensively, yet literature has predominantly focused on the role prior to the introduction of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reforms in 2014. This paper reports on research which explored the SENCO role post‐reform. The research aimed to understand how widely the role varied across differing educational settings and phases, whilst also exploring the breadth and depth of the role, post‐SEND reform. The research design was mixed methods and had two phases: online focus groups (n = 15), followed by a national online survey (n = 1903). The findings suggest that the facilitation of the SENCO role remains problematic post‐reform. Constraints include the time to undertake responsibilities, the increasing breadth of the role and how the role is understood by others. This combined with increased external bureaucracy, budgetary constraints and a lack of consistency nationally has led to a situation where only approximately one‐third of SENCOs intend to remain in the role in five years’ time.

The introduction of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reforms were hailed in 2014, by the then Government, as the most significant change to SEND policy for 30 years. Despite the changes introduced, the 2015 Code continued to place responsibility for the co‐ordination of provision for children with special educational needs within the remit of the SENCo. This article forms part of a wider study which examined the role of the SENCo at this time of significant reform; the study aimed to understand the role of the SENCo as a policy actor tasked with policy implementation, as well as their perceptions of the impact during the first year of reform. This article discusses the themes that arose from the in‐depth semi‐structured interviews carried out with SENCo participants during 2014/2015, which explored reflections on the SENCo role, SENCo activities undertaken across the year, and how SENCos facilitated the implementation of the 2015 Code.

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