The Department for Education has today published the details of its new leadership-level special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (Sendco) National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for schools.
The new NPQ, which was first mooted in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Green Paper published last year, will be available from autumn 2024.
It will primarily be aimed at Sendcos, school leaders or those aspiring to be Sendcos.
Sendcos are qualified teachers in mainstream schools who oversee the development of SEND policy and provision. They can also be appointed in some specialist settings.
The DfE has said that the new NPQ “sets out what those leading SEND provision or in another senior leadership role with responsibility for SEND should know and be able to do within the specialist areas related to their role and in relation to approaches that enable their school to keep improving”.
DfE SEND plan: New qualification for Sendcos
The new framework document sets out what Sendcos will be expected to learn across a range of areas, including:
On school culture
- Contribute to establishing and sustaining a positive and supportive culture across the school and for all pupils.
- Establishing and sustaining the school’s strategic direction.
Upholding schools’ statutory responsibilities
- Support senior leaders to ensure that staff and governors enact statutory guidance.
- Work together with other leaders to assist the school in meeting its statutory duties toward families of pupils identified with SEND.
- Work closely with other agencies and specialists.
- Support the delivery of effective provision across services to pupils with SEND and their families.
Identification of need
Teaching
- With other leaders, establish and sustain effective curriculum planning and preparation across the school.
- Support teachers and support staff to understand the importance of precise expert teaching for all pupils and to implement the graduated approach effectively.
Behaviour
- Support the development of a calm, safe and supportive environment for pupils across the whole school.
- Motivate pupils and work in partnership with families.
- Contribute to a whole-school approach in assisting pupils who need more intensive support with their behaviour.
- Prevent and respond to the increased safeguarding risks for pupils with SEND.
Leading and managing provision
- Increase understanding of the nature and aims of different forms of SEND intervention across the school staff.
- Select appropriate interventions, with other leaders as required, that will support progress toward a specific outcome.
- Implement SEND provision effectively and monitor and evaluate the impact of SEND provision.
Professional development
- Stay abreast of relevant statutory guidance, research and evidence around SEND, inclusion and teaching.
- With other senior leaders, ensure that governors and staff are prepared to contribute to high-quality SEND provision.
- Conduct and support colleagues to conduct regular, expert-led conversations (which could be referred to as mentoring or coaching) about teaching.
The qualification is part of the government’s SEND and Alternative Provision plan.
Earlier this week the government revealed the 32 areas of the country that have been chosen to pilot some aspects of its long-awaited SEND reforms.
The DfE has said these local authorities will help to inform the development of new national standards to improve the consistency of SEND provision for pupils across the country.
When the government published its plan in March this year, it set out how a £70 million Change Programme would be created pilot some of its planned reforms.
