Travelling back to London following a restful Easter break, I keenly leafed through my copy of Natalie Packer’s book, The Perfect Senco. I was set to take up the role of special educational needs and disabilities co-ordinator (Sendco) in my school, and by the end of my journey the pages were bursting with a rainbow of Post-It notes and scribbles of good intention. This would be my bible.

Alas, I did not look at those pages again until more than a year later. It’s an excellent and useful book, but the truth is it took until the following summer, after 12 months in my new role, for me to have time to come up for air and even think about it.

You see, the experience of that first year was as intense as when I studied for my PGCE. It was a cacophony of new information, new experiences and a level of work that left me little time to eat, let alone reflect on my practice. But it has been worth the blood, sweat and tears. I have learned an incredible amount, and have had the privilege of working with some amazing young people and professionals.

Having survived, I would like to pass on some advice and words of comfort to those who are just starting out in their first role as Sendco, as I know how hard it can be. My hope is that the following words make it slightly less difficult for you.

1 Rome wasn’t built in a day

A cliché, I know, but this became my mantra during my first few months in the role. The job could seem overwhelming at times and I initially felt full of self-doubt. However, once I started to break down the challenges that lay ahead and reassured myself that no one was expecting me to work miracles, everything felt much more positive. The tasks will look insurmountable, but break them down, plan it out and the climbs get much more manageable.

2 Co-ordinate

The clue is in the job title, but I hadn’t fully grasped this until a more experienced Sendco pointed it out to me. Making the leap from a teacher to a leader of a department requires a gear-shift in approach. As soon as I learned to delegate tasks and entrust my staff with additional responsibilities, the more effectively we were able to operate as a department.

This was not an excuse for palming my work off onto others - that is not what delegation is about. Rather, it is about seeing the department as a whole and playing to the strengths of individuals. It might help to ask the school for specific leadership training - perhaps one of the senior leadership team can run a session with you.

3 Realise mistakes are normal

It is a level of work that left me little time to eat, let alone reflect on my practice

Most teachers are pretty organised, but as a Sendco your organisational skills will be tested to the limit. When juggling a lot of balls at once, you’ll occasionally make a mistake and drop one. This is perfectly normal - don’t let it knock your confidence. It is always best to be honest about mistakes, own up and not beat yourself up about them. We are only human and it takes time to adjust to the role of Sendco.

4 Collaborate

The latest SEND Code of Practice (2014) puts young people and their parents/carers at the heart of all SEND provision. Invest time in getting to know the young people who are in your care and liaise regularly with their parents/carers. Avoid making major decisions on behalf of a young person without first consulting them and their family.

Not only will you need to work closely with teaching assistants and other staff in the SEND department, you will also need to collaborate with subject teachers, pastoral staff, support staff and outside agencies.

Providing relevant, high-quality continuing professional development for staff is essential. In order to target this CPD effectively, a skills audit could prove useful. I created a quick questionnaire on staff awareness of dyslexia, which was distributed at the start of whole-staff briefing. This was a useful way of securing a high level of engagement, as staff could complete them before briefing started and could hand them back as they left. The responses were very informative and highlighted any needs for specific training.

If your school is fortunate enough to have a SEND administrator, working closely with him or her can save you a lot of time. For example, you could collaborate with them to develop a procedure for annual reviews. The excellent SEND administrator at my school organises teacher comments, invites to the meeting, a suitable venue (and a translator if necessary), and will create packs for all attendees, which include the relevant paperwork required for the annual review meeting.

5 Communicate

To collaborate well, you need to be able to communicate. And by communicate, I mean having the ability to listen, as well as talk.

Outside professionals, such as speech and language therapists and educational psychologists, have a wealth of training and experience that you can tap into. If you’re unsure of anything, they are usually more than happy to support and advise - so don’t be afraid to ask.

Although the term “networking” sounds terribly corporate, it is essential that you do this as Sendco. Building up good contacts within the local authority and beyond can prove invaluable. I found attending local authority Sendco conferences very useful and I recommend organising a visit to your authority’s SEND panel, so you can observe them discussing requests for statutory assessment. This experience was so useful when it came to writing my own requests, as I knew what information the panel was looking for.

You will need to be able to communicate the needs of SEND students to all staff. It is a good idea to have individual education plans (IEP) or communication passports in an easily accessible area, so staff know where to locate them whenever they require them. At the start of each year, we provide all teaching staff and TAs with a SEND handbook; this contains information on individuals, such as their IEPs and provision maps, alongside other information, such as suggested support strategies and reading ages.

6 Knowledge is power

Being a Sendco can be quite a lonely, isolating experience 

Educate yourself. If you know what you are talking about and are confident, others will naturally trust you and will be more willing to get on board. Undergoing the National Award for SEN Co-ordination caused me to miss 12 days of school over the course of two terms (which inevitably meant squeezing five days’ work into four for 12 weeks), and it was rigorous, as it is Master’s level. We were expected to do a considerable amount of academic reading, as well as writing two research-based 5,000-word dissertations, while juggling a full-time job as well.

It was worth the investment of time. I have learnt so much and it made me feel that I can speak with more authority. It was also a relief to meet people who were in the same position as me. Being a Sendco can be quite a lonely, isolating experience, so it was a relief to find others who were in the same boat.

Something else I found very useful was joining the National Association for Special Educational Needs. You can do this as either an individual or as a school, and it is excellent value for money.

I am fortunate that my school is keen to support the professional development of its staff; I would urge you sign up to as much training as is realistic and practical. The TES SEN Show is a great experience, as you can listen to inspiring talks and attend practical training. There is also an opportunity to see all the different SEND resources that are available under one roof - and believe me, there are lots. It was therefore very helpful to be able to wander around the stalls, comparing the resources and considering what would work best for my school.

Teaching resources are big business and can cost schools a lot of money, so it is useful to have an opportunity to see what is out there before signing up to anything that would be of little use and of great expense.

There is a plethora of books and articles on all aspects of SEND, but let’s face it, after a hard day’s slog, it can be difficult to muster the enthusiasm to read at length. Social media sites offer an easy way to share great ideas and keep abreast of developments.

7 Know your statutory duties

The Sendco role is broad and demanding, so it is essential to prioritise the key statutory duties. In brief, you must ensure:

• Dates for annual reviews/health and care plan conversions are set.
• The SEN information report is available on the school website, in addition to the school’s SEN policy.
• Exam-access arrangements are in place in a timely fashion and Joint Council for Qualifications regulations are followed.
• Teachers and TAs are aware of the procedures if they are concerned that a young person has unidentified SEND.
• The graduated approach - as outlined in the new SEND Code of Practice - is adhered to by assessing young people regularly (either through teacher assessment or specific assessments, such as a reading or spelling test); planning for young people using IEPs, provision maps and/or communication passports; and putting interventions in place (whether in-class interventions by subject teachers, additional in-class adult support or interventions outside of the classroom, such as a literacy or numeracy intervention).
• The services of outside agencies, such as speech and language therapists, educational psychologists and specialist teachers, are secured.
• You meet with your SEND governor.
• You provide CPD for staff. Raise the profile of the SEND department by setting out your stall at the start of the academic year, ideally on an inset day in September.
• You liaise with your HR manager and invest time recruiting high-quality staff in the SEND department.
• You know your SEND budget and communicate regularly with your school bursar/business manager. Keep on top of finances and avoid investing in costly resources or intervention programmes before finding out if they are really good value for money.

Being a Sendco can be incredibly fulfilling. In the space of a year, I have learnt a huge amount, and worked with some amazing young people and staff. At times, it has been challenging, but if you always have the best interests of your students at heart, you will not go far wrong.

Gemma Corby is a Sendco at a school in Tower Hamlets, London. She tweets @SENDGems