What does a SENCO do?

A SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) is the qualified teacher who coordinates a school's support for pupils with SEND. Every mainstream school in England must have one. The post is not a job a school chooses to create when it has spare capacity; it is a duty set in law, and the SEND Code of Practice 2015 spells out what the role is expected to cover.

It is a statutory post, not a discretionary one

The duty sits in law. The governing body or proprietor of a mainstream school must designate a member of staff as the SENCO (Children and Families Act 2014, s.67), and that person must be a qualified teacher (SEND Regulations 2014, Part 3). The same regulations leave it to the school to decide the SENCO's wider functions and to monitor how well the role is working. So the floor is fixed by law; the shape above it is the school's to set.

What the SEND Code says the role covers

The Code (paragraphs 6.84-6.91) describes the SENCO as having day-to-day oversight of the school's work for pupils with SEND. In practice that means:

• Overseeing the day-to-day running of the school's SEN policy;
• Coordinating provision for pupils with SEND and advising staff on the graduated approach (assess, plan, do, review);
• Keeping the school's record of pupils with SEN up to date;
• Liaising with parents, and with external agencies such as educational psychologists, health and social care;
• Coordinating the school's part in EHC needs assessments and the annual reviews of any pupil with an EHCP.

The Code also says the SENCO should be part of the school leadership team and be given sufficient time and resources to do the job. Read carefully: those last two are recommendations, not requirements, so the time a SENCO actually gets varies widely from one school to the next. Coordinating support is the SENCO's job; teaching pupils with SEND day to day remains the responsibility of every class and subject teacher.

The qualification: NPQ SENCO from 2024

A SENCO must be a qualified teacher. Since 1 September 2024 a newly appointed SENCO must also gain the National Professional Qualification for SENCOs (NPQ SENCO) within three years of taking up the post (DfE guidance, 2024). This replaced the older NASENCO award. Anyone who began a NASENCO course before September 2024 still meets the requirement if they finish it within three years and by 31 August 2027.

Where this is heading

This is current law and unlikely to shift soon. The 2026 Schools White Paper and the Education for All Bill propose a new Individual Support Plan duty and a narrower role for EHCPs over the next decade, with no changes taking effect before September 2030. The SENCO's coordinating role, including their part in EHC assessments and reviews, stands as described for now.

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