New research published by nasen and Bath Spa University indicates that millions of children and young people could be left vulnerable for decades to come if the SENCO workforce isn’t afforded additional time, resources and support.
The collaboration survey was launched in 2018, and concluded with a similar survey two years later in late 2020. It aimed to explore the impact that SENCO workload had on institutions, as well as on the professionals who specialise in the provision for students with special educational needs and disabilities. Whilst this research in no way claims to holistically evaluate the entire SENCO experience, the findings are unnerving in that they display a distinct climate of distress when it comes to how some of our most dedicated educational professionals live and work.
Two thirds of SENCOs report not being part of their school’s senior leadership team.
A SENCO in a primary school is twice as likely to be part of a senior leadership team… but is less likely to receive any additional pay for the role.
Only 2 in 5 primary school SENCOs and 1 in 5 secondary school SENCOs felt that their role was a one-person role, and that their workload was manageable.
A staggering 75-79% of SENCOs at both primary and secondary phase reported that they were pulled away from their role to perform other duties.
An estimated 12-14% of SENCOs are anticipated to leave the role every year...
...and over a quarter of SENCOs in both primary and secondary phases cite workload as one of their motivations behind quitting the role.
It’s not good news, and when we consider the amount of children and young people (as well as older students and those returning to education) that are likely to have neurodiversities, learning difficulties, disabilities and other needs, it means that a significant portion of people could be missing out on vital assistance due to the high expectations and lack of support that our SENCO professionals appear to be experiencing.
Hannah Moloney, one of the survey’s co-authors, SENCO and SEND researcher commented that the changes needed to be made at a policy level, rather than an institutional one: “As a research team, we are desperate to see SENCO time protected in law so that children and young people with SEND can have the support that they need and deserve. If we continue to ignore the issue of time needed to execute the SENCO role, we will see high levels of fixed-term and permanent exclusions, and children and young people leaving education with poor mental health and with reduced chances of securing meaningful employment.”
You can catch up on the report in summary form at nasen, or download the whole report here.
Glossary:
SEND – Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
SENCO – Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator
Nasen – National Association for Special Educational Needs