What is a fractional SENCO?

The definition

A fractional SENCO is a SENCO employed for less than a full-time post, either part-time hours or shared across schools. It is a staffing label, not a legal category: every statutory SENCO duty still applies in full. You will see the word "fractional" on job adverts, in multi-academy trust (MAT) staffing plans and in peripatetic or shared arrangements offered by a trust or local authority. It describes the size of the post, such as 0.4 of a week or two days split across two schools. It tells you nothing about a lower standard, because there is no lower standard to tell you about.

Why the fraction does not change the duty

The SENCO role (the special educational needs co-ordinator) carries the same legal requirements whether the post is full-time, part-time or shared. The SEND Code of Practice (2015) says the SENCO must be a qualified teacher working at the school, and is most effective when part of the school leadership team. The mandatory qualification rule also bites in full: a newly appointed SENCO who has not been a SENCO for more than 12 months must gain the qualification within three years of appointment. Since 1 September 2024 that qualification is the NPQ SENCO (the National Professional Qualification for SENCOs), which replaced the older NASENCO award. A part-time postholder still has the full three-year clock and the full requirement to be a qualified teacher at the school.

Full-time, fractional and shared at a glance

• Full-time SENCO: one school, one full post. Same statutory duties.
• Fractional SENCO: part of a post at one school, or a split role. Same statutory duties; the risk to manage is whether the hours buy enough capacity for the SEND register.
• Shared SENCO: one person employed across more than one school. Same statutory duties, plus the Code's extra conditions below.

What the SEND Code says about sharing

The Code allows a number of small primary schools to share a SENCO employed to work across them. It sets two conditions: that shared SENCO should not normally have a significant class-teaching commitment, and should not be the headteacher of one of the schools. Those conditions exist so the postholder has the standing and the time to do the strategic side of the job, not just react to it.

Why this matters when you set the post

The information most staffing summaries miss is the time risk. A fraction is only safe if it buys enough protected, non-contact time to run the SEN policy, keep the register current, coordinate the SENCO's graduated-approach meetings, and work with families. If the fraction is set by budget alone and the postholder is then squeezed by a teaching timetable, the duty is not discharged even though the school has technically appointed a SENCO. Check both halves: that the hours are realistic for the size of your SEND register, and that the postholder holds or is on track for the NPQ SENCO within the three-year window.

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

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