How do we onboard an interim SENCO?

The first thing to confirm

First, confirm your interim SENCO is a qualified teacher with delegated authority to act, then hand over live EHCP and annual-review casework. If they have not been a SENCO for over 12 months, the NPQ SENCO clock starts. A temporary or acting appointment does not switch off any of the statutory duties that sit with the SENCO role, so the onboarding job is to keep casework moving and get the appointment right on compliance from day one.

The qualified-teacher requirement is not optional. Under the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 (regulation 49), a maintained school's designated SENCO must be a qualified teacher, or the headteacher or acting headteacher, working at the school. Put the delegated authority in writing: the interim post-holder needs the headteacher's explicit sign-off to make day-to-day SEN decisions, because the SEND Code of Practice gives the SENCO day-to-day responsibility for the SEN policy, the SEN register and coordinating provision.

Hand over the live casework in order

Statutory deadlines do not pause during a handover gap, so the first week is about continuity, not induction. Work through this sequence:

1. Delegated authority in writing. A short letter from the headteacher naming the interim SENCO and the decisions they can take.
2. The SEN register and provision map. Hand over access on day one so the interim SENCO can see every pupil on SEN Support and every EHC plan.
3. Live EHCP and annual-review casework. List every annual review due in the next term and every EHC needs-assessment request in flight, with dates.
4. Imminent statutory deadlines. Flag anything time-bound, including assessment-request responses and tribunal or mediation dates.
5. Key contacts. The local authority SEN team, families with open issues, and external professionals mid-assessment.

Get the qualification clock right

This is the part most onboarding checklists miss. The three-year qualification window runs from the date a person takes up the SENCO role, even for a temporary appointment. The one exception in regulation 49: a post-holder who has already been a SENCO, at this or any other relevant school, for a total of more than twelve months is permanently exempt. So your single most important compliance check is the interim person's prior SENCO history.

If they are not exempt, the prescribed qualification since 1 September 2024 is the NPQ SENCO (the National Professional Qualification for SENCOs), which replaced the legacy NASENCO award. They must complete it within three years of taking up the role. Anyone who started a NASENCO course before September 2024 still meets the duty if they finish within three years of appointment and by 31 August 2027. The DfE transition guidance is the source to cite. For more on the rule, see whether a fractional SENCO needs the NPQ.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.