‘I will be “fighting” even more for pupils with SEN’: SENCOs' role predictions in the changing English policy context

Abstract

The Coalition Government's 'Green Paper' (DfE 2011) proposes a systemic overhaul of services for pupils with special educational needs in England, with increased parental choice of provision and 'sharper accountability' (p. 67) in schools. Deadlines for various stages of this reform have not been met, and its final nature remains uncertain. This paper reveals SENCOs' insights into their changing role in this turbulent policy context. This is achieved through the thematic analysis of 227 responses to an 'open-ended' question in the national Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) Survey 2012. Findings from this sample indicate that SENCOs predict that schools in England will become more inclusive, with greater shared responsibility for achievement for all, and SENCOs' increased involvement in staff training and other whole school capacity-building activities. Respondents predict a greater partnership with parents, for whom they will provide advice and links to other services. They foresee their reduced involvement in direct teaching and an intensification of their work in other ways, especially in terms of paperwork associated with pupil tracking and other accountability measures. These changes are anticipated against a backdrop of resource cuts, requiring SENCOs to show increasing self-reliance and imagination.

‘Forget the Health and Care and just call them Education Plans’: SENCOs' perspectives on Education, Health and Care plans

“…Maintaining a family ‐led approach and managing parental expectations during the process were regarded as integral aspects of SENCOs’ roles. These findings have validated previous SENCOs’ predictions around an anticipated increase in partnership between schools and parents (Pearson, Mitchell, and Rapti, ). Challenges also mirrored prior SENCOs’ experiences; although families felt more engaged in the process, some SENCOs were concerned about unrealistic parental expectations and a lack of knowledge around SEN support (Curran, Mortimore, and Riddell, ).…”

“…Regional disparities, including variations in paperwork and procedure, were particularly challenging for SENCOs who bordered more than one county. These findings echoed previous SENCOs’ sentiments, where inconsistent practice led to uncertainty about whether policy was being delivered as it was intended (Pearson, Mitchell, and Rapti, ). This was a particular issues as ‘SENCOs across the country all need to do the same thing’ (Curran, Mortimore, and Riddell, , p. 54).…”

“…Consistent with previous SENCOs’ reports (Pearson, Mitchell, and Rapti, ), funding concerns, combined with fears around how financial cuts would affect staffing and provision, were regularly cited by participants. These experiences echoed Gray and Norwich (), who felt that SEN remained entangled in wider political and economic forces, with funding constraints driving the assessment and identification of SEN.…”

‘The SEND Code of Practice has given me clout’: a phenomenological study illustrating how SENCos managed the introduction of the SEND reforms

“…One participant had been an assistant SENCo and had taken on the role of SENCo at the start of the study. Just under half of the participants held additional teaching responsibilities; this is broadly in line with larger studies (Pearson et al, ; Tissot, ). Three SENCos from the sample were part of the SLT.…”

Factors that explain placement decisions for students with multiple disabilities: findings from national data

“…Providing students with multiple disabilities a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment has been an ongoing challenge (Jackson, Ryndak and Wehmeyer, 2008/2009; Kurth, Morningstar and Kozleski, ). For example, although The Children and Families Act (2014) in the UK explicitly state, ‘(Local authorities) must ensure fair access to all schools for every child’ (Secretary of State for Education, , p. 13), this act has evoked mixed responses to the concept of full inclusion of children with disabilities in general education classes (Hornby, ; Pearson, Mitchell and Rapti, ). While the issues surrounding the Act are multi‐faceted, a major point of contention has emerged around the placement of children in separate special schools (Norwich, ).…”