Education Endowment Foundation:Voices from the classroom: The role of the SENDCo: Developing staff partnerships to support high quality teaching

Voices from the classroom: The role of the SENDCo: Developing staff partnerships to support high quality teaching

Author
Gary Aubin
Gary Aubin
Content Specialist for SEND

New video from the EEF’s Voices from the classroom’ series. 

Blog •2 minutes •

A key part of getting SEND provision right will be in how a SENDCo works with their senior leadership team to develop a whole-school provision that works for all pupils.

As just a third of secondary SENDCos and two-thirds of primary SENDCos have a place on their school’s senior leadership team (Bath Spa University, 2021), the relationship the SENDCo has with a key SLT link’ will in many cases be vital.

What should that relationship look like? How does a SENDCo support their SLT link to advocate for SEND, to represent pupils with SEND at the highest level and to promote a whole-school ownership of SEND?

The role of the SENDCo: Developing staff

- Jess Wood, SENDCo at Laureate Academy

- Sarah Hill, Assistant Principal at Laureate Academy

In this latest Voices from the Classroom’ video, Jess (a SENDCo) and Sarah (an Assistant Principal line managing the SENDCo) discuss how they work together to improve outcomes for pupils with SEND. They talk directly about how they support and develop teachers, including by using some of the EEF’s recommended Five-a-day.

Sarah Hill, Assistant Principal at Laureate Academy

- Jess Wood, SENDCo at Laureate Academy

We hope this Voices from the Classroom’ video supports colleagues to ensure the voice of the SENDCo is always effectively heard. We hope it shows what a successful SENDCo-SLT Link relationship can look like; a relationship underpinned by frequent communication, shared involvement in teacher development and mutual consideration of how to make school work for pupils with SEND.