‘I could have been the caretaker in a suit’: men as primary school SENCos in an era of change

Pulsford, Mark

doi:10.1080/03004279.2019.1659386

Cited by 4 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…There could be several reasons for this difference, and they may include methodological issues such as sample size or response bias. However, in line with the work of Mackenzie (2012Mackenzie ( , p. 1074 and Pulsford (2019), the observed difference does provide further evidence that gender may be associated with why people enter the role in the first instance. In particular, Mackenzie draws our attention to the gendered, almost maternally orientated discussions of her participants, whose experiences as parents underpinned their practice.…”

Section: The Relationships Between Factors and Groupssupporting

confidence: 79%

Factors influencing the career interest of SENCOs in English schools

Dobson

Douglas

2020

British Educational Res J

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A named professional with responsibility for overseeing and coordinating the educational inclusion of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities has become an important school role in many countries. In England, the SENCO (special educational needs coordinator) became a mandatory role in 1994, and associated mandatory training was introduced in 2009. A questionnaire survey of 618 in-training and actual SENCOs revealed that their motivating interest in becoming a SENCO varied. An exploratory factor analysis of 32 items covering different interests in the role yielded four interest factors in becoming a SENCO: outward-facing factors ('inclusion' and 'highquality provision') and inward-facing factors ('educational and professional development' and 'leadership voice and status'). The outward-facing factors were viewed as more important to respondents than the inward-facing factors. Interest factors did not interact with organisational variables, including age group taught and school quality. Nevertheless, younger SENCOs and those engaged in training were more motivated by educational and professional development. SENCOs holding school leadership contracts were more motivated in developing leadership voice and status compared with their classroom teacher peers. Moreover, there was a significant overall difference with women reporting a higher interest than men across all factors.

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Section: The Relationships Between Factors and Groupssupporting

confidence: 79%

Factors influencing the career interest of SENCOs in English schools

Dobson

Douglas

2020

British Educational Res J

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“…The SENCo as manager and/or leader Despite the 'expert' role which SENCos may be identified with by school colleagues, the associated status is unclear and inconsistent (Curran et al, 2017;Pulsford, 2019). The role of the SENCo within senior leadership teams has been problematised through research outlining several complexities.…”

Section: The Senco Role In the Pre-covid Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, this inconsistency suggests that the SENCo role will be interpreted differently depending on how the role is defined in relation to school context, leading to their work being measured against varying professional standards alongside the SEND Code of Practice (DfE & DoH, 2015;Dobson, 2019). Pulsford (2019) argues that the SENCo role typically becomes that of middle leadership, forcing SENCos to balance both managerial and leadership aspects relating to inclusive practice in schools. Examples of management-related duties that have been increasingly evidenced in SENCos' work include performance management of staff and the distribution of resources such as the deployment of teaching assistants (Pearson et al, 2015;Tissot, 2013).…”

Section: The Senco Role In the Pre-covid Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Historically, SEND Codes of Practice have incorrectly assumed that the statutory school SENCo will be within the school leadership team and, therefore, able to fulfil a strategic whole‐school leadership role (Dobson, 2019; Done et al, 2016; Pearson et al, 2015). Despite policy indicating that the role is primarily strategic, managerial aspects must often be carefully balanced with leadership responsibilities to ensure that school practice and policy work towards providing an inclusive education for pupils with SEND (Pulsford, 2019). Hence, the statutory description of the SENCo role differs significantly from its execution in practice, in settings where pragmatic factors, including a lack of time and resources, are significant pressures for SENCos (Boesley & Crane, 2018; Dobson & Douglas, 2020; Esposito & Carroll, 2019).…”

Section: The Senco Role In the Pre‐covid Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pulsford (2019) argues that the SENCo role typically becomes that of middle leadership, forcing SENCos to balance both managerial and leadership aspects relating to inclusive practice in schools. Examples of management‐related duties that have been increasingly evidenced in SENCos’ work include performance management of staff and the distribution of resources such as the deployment of teaching assistants (Pearson et al, 2015; Tissot, 2013).…”

Section: The Senco As Manager And/or Leadermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Balancing pressures for SENCos as managers, leaders and advocates in the emerging context of the Covid‐19 pandemic

Clarke¹,

Done²

2021

British J Special Edu

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This article considers the role of the SENCo during Covid‐19 pandemic conditions of school lockdown with partial reopening for children classified as ‘vulnerable’. It is argued that the existing pressures and tensions already experienced by SENCos – for example, related to time, workload, status, and their prescribed managerial and strategic role – have been highlighted by pandemic conditions. Pressures resulting specifically from the pandemic are reflected by considering how SENCos will adjust to enact their role during this time. It is concluded that an advocacy role for pupils with special educational needs and disability, who are at risk of becoming increasingly marginalised within school and wider communities during this pandemic, should now be considered a central element of the SENCo’s remit.

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‘Small successes make it worthwhile’: The rewards and challenges of the SENCo role in a primary school in England

Solvason,

Sheehy,

Osuki

et al. 2024

Support for Learning

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Previous research by the authors of this piece hinted at the heavy workload of Special Educational Needs Co‐ordinators (SENCos) within settings in England, and their ever‐mounting challenges in the context of reduced local government services and cuts in funding to schools for their children with Special Educational Needs. As a result of these findings, the aim of this research was to focus exclusively on the lived professional experience of the SENCo in primary schools in England. Through anonymous survey, we asked SENCos to share with us their perception of their role and the responsibilities that it included. Although our sample of 20 was relatively small, it provided rich data about the preparedness and the perceived competence and confidence of those in this role. Workload, and the erosion that excessive demands caused to the well‐being of SENCos dealing with complex systems, was prominent in the data we collected, in line with most recent investigations of the educationalist's experience in England. However, our data also raised questions about the status, or lack of, of the SENCo in settings, the way in which the nationally recognised qualification associated with the role is delivered and sources of support available to those in the role.

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‘I could have been the caretaker in a suit’: men as primary school SENCos in an era of change

Cited by 4 publications

References 41 publications

Factors influencing the career interest of SENCOs in English schools

Factors influencing the career interest of SENCOs in English schools

Balancing pressures for SENCos as managers, leaders and advocates in the emerging context of the Covid‐19 pandemic

‘Small successes make it worthwhile’: The rewards and challenges of the SENCo role in a primary school in England

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