The 2022 SEND Green Paper and the SENCo: more evidence on demographics, qualifications and leadership status

Abstract

The 2022 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Review in England has proposed changes to the way in which SENCos are trained before working in English schools. Although the DfE collects data relating to the demographics of all teachers, the 2022 SEND Review Green Paper does not draw on this to support or inform the changes being proposed. A Freedom of Information request was made to the DfE, from which actual data could be acquired, with breakdowns by age, gender, qualifications and leadership status. The data describe a teacher who is still more likely to be female and approaching the middle of their career. Most SENCos are still on the class teacher pay scale rather than the leadership scale, with a minority holding a Master'slevel qualification. The DfE does not have an accurate overview of how many teachers hold the current SENCo qualification. The article provides a number of recommendations to policymakers based on the data provided.

Continuing professional development for special educational needs and disabilities within the school workforce: The results of a national survey in England

“…These include the time allocated to the SENCo for their role (see Boddison et al., 2020) and whether they have enough authority in their school (Dobson, 2019). Another more recent issue, however, is the impact of the SEND reforms (DfE, 2022b) and the discussion on whether an NPQ will provide sufficient overview of enough needs to enable SENCos to deliver effective, evidence‐based training (see Dobson, 2023; Done et al., 2023). Policy makers now need to ensure that the suggested reforms still enable effective forms of CPD that are targeted at key professionals such as SENCos, perhaps with an insistence that ongoing CPD forms a compulsory part of registration after award.…”

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

“…The positionality of SENCos within professional hierarchies is concerning. Although it is ten years since policy recommended that SENCos be part of the senior leadership team to provide them with the required time and status to fulfil their complex role, Dobson's (2023) recent research found that just 36% of SENCos are 'senior or strategic' leaders within school settings, and that just over 40% of SENCos do not technically have any leadership responsibilities. This inevitably places strain on SENCos to combine both their teaching and heavily bureaucratised managerial roles.…”