Time, expertise and status: barriers faced by mainstream primary school SENCos in the pursuit of providing effective provision for children with SEND

Abstract

The inclusion ‘ideal’ is one which has been both celebrated and maligned. It paved the way for equality; but also, out of its diversity sprang many misconceptions and concerns for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). It is within this maelstrom of difficulty that the Special Educational Needs Co‐ordinator (SENCo) role is placed, so that those undertaking the position of SENCo face numerous barriers in the pursuit of providing effectively for children with SEND. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with fifteen SENCos employed at mainstream primary schools within the North West of England. Findings revealed conflict between how SENCos viewed their role and responsibilities, and the expectations that they perceived to be placed on them by parents of children with SEND and mainstream colleagues. This study brings to the fore the complexities of the role of the SENCo, and the continuing demands placed on these practitioners.

‘It's the best job in the world, but one of the hardest, loneliest, most misunderstood roles in a school.’ Understanding the complexity of the SENCO role post‐SEND reform

“…Such variance echoes the suggestion of Hallett and Hallett (2017) regarding the disparate enactment of the role. 70% of all SENCOs felt that they do not have enough time to fulfil their role, with nearly three‐quarters (74%) stating that they frequently feel frustrated by the lack of time to undertake the role, supporting the findings of Smith and Broomhead (2019) who suggest that the phrase ‘sufficient time’ within the SEND Code of Practice (DfE and DoH, 2015 p. 109) needs to be more specific. The recommendation is that there should be locally or nationally agreed time allocations.…”

“…Whilst Smith and Broomhead (2019) have suggested that there should be locally or nationally agreed policy regarding SLT membership for SENCOs, a pragmatic approach would be to accept that the seniority of the role is mixed and to ensure that both approaches are supported. When the SENCO is not part of SLT, Done, Murphy and Watt (2016) would argue that the SENCO needs to understand the process and landscape of senior management, which further highlights the importance of focusing on leadership within the NA SENCO.…”

“…Perception of role, by others, is an important consideration as this leads to differing expectations of the SENCO. For example, the notion held by colleagues and parents of the SENCO as an expert may not only contrast with the SENCOs’ view of themselves (Smith and Broomhead, 2019), but also may increase workload for the SENCO. In particular, parents may seek to directly liaise with the SENCO, rather than the class/subject teacher, or indeed the teacher may see SEN are the sole remit of the SENCO, thus creating additional workload for an already pressurised role.…”

“…Concerns regarding the allocation of sufficient time to the role were highlighted when the role was first introduced (Garner, 1996). Since then, concerns regarding how SENCOs manage the role have been widely reported (Ekins, 2012; Smith and Broomhead, 2019).…”

“…In schools, the SENCO is a key policy implementer of SEN and inclusive policy (Curran, 2019); policy which is deemed to be widely interpreted and enacted differently (Glazzard et al, 2015). In addition to this, the contradiction for the SENCO arises because within school structures the SENCO role is typically a solitary role often lacking in time and status (Qureshi, 2014; Smith and Broomhead, 2019), which, it could be argued, may impact on the collective responsibility and implementation of inclusive practice across the school (Burton and Goodman, 2011).…”