The rule
Yes. The mandatory NPQ for SENCOs applies to the role, not the hours, so a part-time, fractional or shared SENCO must still gain it within three years of appointment (rule in force since 1 September 2024). The NPQ SENCO (the National Professional Qualification for special educational needs co-ordinators) became the mandatory SENCO qualification on 1 September 2024, replacing the older NASENCO award. The duty is written around the post of SENCO, not around how many days a week the person works.
Why "fractional" is not a way out
A fractional SENCO is simply a SENCO employed for less than a full-time post, whether that is part-time hours at one school or a role split across several. It is a staffing label, not a separate legal category. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 require the named SENCO to hold the prescribed qualification, and the 2024 amendment makes that the NPQ SENCO. Nothing in the rule is pro-rated or waived for a smaller post, so a 0.4 SENCO or one shared across a federation or multi-academy trust (MAT) carries the same three-year clock and the same requirement to be a qualified teacher as a full-time SENCO.
The exemptions are about status, not hours
There are genuine carve-outs, but none of them depends on how many hours the SENCO works:
- Existing NASENCO holders. A SENCO who already holds the legacy NASENCO award does not need to take the NPQ.
- Those mid-way through NASENCO. Anyone who began the NASENCO before 1 September 2024 has until 31 August 2027 to finish it, and counts as qualified once they do.
- Long-serving SENCOs. A SENCO appointed to the role before 1 September 2009 is not required to take the qualification at all.
A part-time or shared appointee can fall inside one of these only on the same terms as anyone else. Being fractional does not create a fourth exemption.
Why this matters when you set the post
The point most staffing summaries miss is that the qualification follows the role even where one SENCO is shared across a federation or MAT. If you appoint a new SENCO to a part-time or shared post, build the 18-month-plus NPQ commitment and its cost into the plan from the start, because the three-year window starts at appointment, not when the budget catches up. Confirm before you advertise whether your candidate already holds NASENCO, is on track to finish it by August 2027, or will need to start the NPQ SENCO.
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.