What is a SENCO and how can they support my child?

If your child has special educational needs, you may have been put in touch with their school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO).

To find out more about what a SENCO does, and how they can support you and your child, we spoke to SENCO Lisa Frankham…

What does SENCO stand for?

You may come across different names for a SENCO, depending on where you live:

• In England and Northern Ireland, SENCO stands for Special Educational Needs Coordinator.
• Or your school may have a SENDCO, which stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator.
• In Wales, a SENCO is called an Additional Learning Needs Coordinator (ALNCO). Special educational needs are referred to as Additional Learning Needs (ALN).
• In Scotland, the equivalent to SEN is Additional Support Needs (ASN), and the teacher is called an Additional Support Needs teacher.

What is the role of a SENCO?

A SENCO is a qualified teacher who’s responsible for leading the school’s provision for special educational needs and the support offered to students with SEN (special educational needs) – which can be disorders like autism, dyslexia and ADHD.

The SENCO works closely with other staff within the school, parents and external professionals to develop, implement and monitor individual support and learning plans for students with special educational needs.

How can a SENCO help my child?

A SENCO can put a plan in place which outlines the support, resources and strategies that will help your child with their special educational needs. This plan is sometimes called a Personal Learning Plan (PLP) or a Pupil Passport, though schools in different parts of the UK may have a different name for it.

In primary schools, your child’s PLP is shared with the SENCO, and their class teacher. In secondary schools the SENCO shares it with more people, including their form teacher and their subject specialist teachers, to make sure all activities and lessons are accessible for your child.

If a SENCO feels that a school requires more resources to support your child, they may request a more in-depth assessment of your child’s needs:

• in England, this is called an Education, Health and Care needs plan (EHC plan).
• in Wales it’s called an Individual Development Plan (IDP).
• in Northern Ireland the equivalent plan is a Statement of Special Educational Needs.
• in Scotland it’s known as a Coordinated Support Plan (CSP).

What is an EHC plan and how do I get one for my child?

Five questions you might want to ask a SENCO

The most important thing is to understand how the SENCO will interact with your child, and how any information will be fed back to you. You could ask things like:

1. How is my child being assessed?

2. How often are they being assessed?

3. How is that going to be fed back to me as a parent?

4. Can I have a copy of the school’s SEN policy (to get an overview of how the school supports students with SEN)?

5. What support is in place to help with transitions (like moving from primary to secondary school)?

What’s next?

Finally, make sure you know how to contact the school and the SENCO if you have any concerns or questions about your child. Use these BBC Bitesize Parents’ Toolkit resources for further advice on managing your child’s SEND.

Watch our film for guidance on what to do while waiting to access Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

The BBC has more information in this mental wellbeing collection as well as links to useful organisations on the BBC Action Line.