Designate a qualified teacher already at your school (or the headteacher) as acting SENCO straight away. The duty to have a SENCO never lapses, and a cover SENCO in post 12 months or less does not need to start the NPQ. There is no grace period in the law while you find someone, so the safe move is to name a person on day one and then sort out longer cover at your own pace.
First action: name an acting SENCO from day one
The only legal test for who can hold the role is that they are a qualified teacher working at the school, or the headteacher or acting headteacher (SEND Regulations 2014, reg 49). So an assistant head, a second SENCO (special educational needs co-ordinator), or the head can pick the role up the moment the substantive postholder goes. Tell your governing board or trust in writing who now holds it, so the designation is on record. A teaching assistant or an unqualified manager cannot be the designated SENCO, even temporarily.
The NPQ reassurance for short cover
Do not rule out an otherwise-suitable teacher just because they lack the qualification. The NPQ for SENCOs became the mandatory qualification on 1 September 2024, replacing the older National Award (NASENCO), but the three-year clock to complete it only starts once someone has been a SENCO for more than 12 months (DfE transition guidance, 2024). A cover SENCO holding the post for 12 months or less is not caught by that rule, so they do not have to enrol on the NPQ to keep you compliant.
Second action: source external cover if no one internal can take it
If no qualified teacher at the school can hold the role, bring in cover through one of these routes while you recruit substantively:
- Fixed-term or maternity-cover SENCO. Advertise free of charge on the DfE's Teaching Vacancies service, or use Tes or an education recruitment agency.
- Shared or trust SENCO. Second a SEND lead from another school in your multi-academy trust to cover the gap.
- Bought-in SEN support. Commission an external service for the operational casework. See locum SEN support for schools.
The limit: a consultant cannot hold the designation
An external SEND consultant can advise you and do the day-to-day work, but cannot legally hold the statutory SENCO designation, because the SENCO must be a qualified teacher working at the school. Whether a part-time or bought-in arrangement can satisfy your duties depends on how it is set up, which is covered in can a fractional SENCO meet our statutory duties. The SEND Code of Practice also advises that the SENCO sit within school leadership (SEND Code 2015, paras 6.84 to 6.87).
Then: protect the casework before the postholder leaves
The real exposure in a gap is not the qualification rule but the live deadlines that slip when no one is driving them. Before the substantive SENCO goes, hand over three things at once:
- The SEND register and the pupils on SEN support.
- Every live EHCP and annual-review deadline the school is on the hook for.
- Any open assessments or casework with the council and parents.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.