By Helen Murry Anxiety in children and young people is more common than many realise. It can show up in subtle ways, such as a reluctance to join group activities, frequent stomach aches before school, or sudden difficulty concentrating. For some students, these signs are temporary responses to new situations, but for others, anxiety becomes Read More
Another ongoing SENCo issue is not having a say in key school decisions surrounding inclusion in our schools. Many SENCos report that they have either limited influence or no influence when it comes to inclusion within their school. As someone who has had experience of this issue in the past, I understand all to well Read More
It’s now September, and as we reflect back on the summer holiday period, many SENCOs are once again left questioning why the system continues to allow statutory deadlines to fall during times when schools are officially closed. The ‘back to school’ dreams had already begun before term started, because for many of us the work Read More
Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) carry statutory responsibilities under the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice. These include coordinating SEND provision, liaising with parents and external agencies, overseeing EHCPs, training staff, and ensuring legal compliance. Yet many SENCOs are paid inconsistently, sometimes underpaid (or not paid for the role at Read More
In January 2020, the National SENCO Workload Survey Report (“The Time is Now: Addressing missed opportunities for special educational needs support and coordination in our schools”) drew attention to long‐standing issues in SEN provision: workload, insufficient time allocation, under‐resourcing, growing expectations, and the pressure to meet legal requirements under the SEND Code of Practice. Today, Read More
By Lisa Christopher Lisa has collated comments from research on social media platforms to form this helpful range of strategies to help SENCOs (and other school staff) navigate the workplace with ADHD. These strategies while useful for staff with ADHD, would also of course benefit everyone (Lynn has also added a couple of ideas). It’s Read More
By Julian Rose I want to share the journey that led me from quietly trusting the financial systems behind children’s services to actively challenging them. It’s a story about what happens when public funding shrinks, private profit steps in, and vulnerable children fall through the cracks. More importantly, it’s about how that realisation sparked the Read More
By Dr Jon Morris In recent years, we’ve seen a growing trend of reducing culture to neat, one-word slogans to sum up school culture like learning culture, power culture, strong culture, or effective culture. We’ve even seen leadership consultants and school improvement experts offering silver-bullet solutions—the one thing supposedly missing from a school’s culture. While Read More
By Anne Kyle I had the job many people aspire to. An executive leadership role in education, earning over £90,000 a year. A large regional reputation. A proven record of transforming vulnerable schools, leading large teams, and changing lives… …and yet, I walked away. Not because I couldn’t do it. Not because I stopped caring. Read More
10 Witty (but Worryingly Honest) reasons which highlight our current challenges. Each week, I ask SENCos in my Facebook Group what has made them become a Sweary SENCO. Here is an analysis and overview of the common themes and issues from the last 5 weeks. (please note that all the names have been changed on Read More
