A trust SEND director leads SEND and inclusion strategy across all schools in a multi-academy trust, supporting SENCOs and overseeing statutory compliance. It is a non-statutory executive role, not the SENCO post. In practice that means quality-assuring how each school’s SENCO works, holding oversight of high-needs funding and EHCPs across the trust, and reporting up to the CEO and trustees. SEND means special educational needs and disabilities; a SENCO is the special educational needs co-ordinator each school has.
It is not a statutory job title
No law requires a multi-academy trust to employ a SEND director, and the title is not defined in statute. Trusts create the post at their own discretion to hold central oversight of SEND, which is why you will see the same job advertised under several names — Director of SEND, Director of Inclusion, Executive SENCO or Head of Inclusion — with the remit drawn slightly differently each time. What the DfE governance guidance does expect is that a trust’s board has a trustee or sub-committee with specific oversight of SEND DfE Academy trust governance guide, 2024. That is a governance duty on the board, not a requirement to appoint an executive director.
What the role typically covers
Across trusts that do create the post, and in the role profiles trusts publish when they advertise it (see a representative Director of Inclusion profile), the remit usually spans:
- Trust-wide SEND and inclusion strategy — developing and delivering a shared approach across every academy rather than each school working alone;
- Supporting and quality-assuring SENCOs across the trust’s schools, using data, learning walks and reviews;
- Statutory compliance — making sure each academy meets its SEND duties, including high-needs funding and EHCP oversight;
- Expert advice and challenge to senior leaders and trustees, so the board can exercise its oversight knowledgeably;
- External partnerships — liaison with local authorities and outside agencies on placements, funding and provision.
Why it is not the SENCO or the SEND trustee
The top search results tend to blur three distinct layers, so it is worth separating them cleanly. The statutory SENCO is a school-level role: every mainstream school must designate a qualified teacher as SENCO, who plays a key part with the headteacher and governing body in the strategic development of SEN policy and provision SEND Code of Practice 2015, paras 6.84–6.87. The SEND trustee or link trustee sits at board level and holds governance oversight, not day-to-day delivery. A trust SEND director sits between them: an executive leader who supports the SENCOs below and informs the trustees above, without replacing either. You can read more on what a SENCO does and on who the SEND governor is if your trust is mapping these roles for the first time.
Because the post is discretionary, the practical implication is that you should read the actual job description, not the title. Two trusts can advertise a “Director of SEND” with very different scope: one running operational casework, another setting strategy and leaving casework with school SENCOs. If you are restructuring a trust, define the remit against the statutory SENCO duties you must keep in each school and the board oversight you must keep with trustees, then design the director role around the gap that remains.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.