Interim SENCO and SEND Lead

In a special school or alternative provision setting, SEND leadership is not one job among many. It is the spine of the provision, the evidence base for every placement, and the first thing a placing local authority looks at. Losing the person who holds it creates a quiet risk that can take a term to become visible and two to repair.

What does a SENCO do?

The SENCO or SEND lead has strategic oversight of special educational needs provision. In practice that means EHCP oversight and annual review cycles, provision mapping and costing, working with placing local authorities and parents, supporting staff with adaptive teaching, and holding the evidence that shows outcomes against plan objectives.

Does a special school need a SENCO?

The statutory requirement to appoint a SENCO applies to mainstream settings rather than special schools, where the whole provision is designed around special educational needs. In practice almost every special school and registered AP we work with has somebody holding this function, whatever the title, because EHCP oversight and annual review cycles need a named owner. If yours does not, that is worth looking at before it becomes an inspection finding.

What qualification does a SENCO need?

In mainstream settings a newly appointed SENCO must be a qualified teacher and complete the national qualification for the role within a set period. The National Professional Qualification for SENCOs replaced the National Award for SEN Coordination for new entrants. Special schools sit outside that requirement, but many settings choose to hold their SEND leads to the same standard, and we would generally support that.

When do settings need an interim SENCO?

• A SENCO or SEND lead leaves and annual reviews are due or already overdue
• EHCP paperwork has fallen behind and a local authority has raised it
• Provision mapping no longer matches what children actually receive
• The setting is growing and one person can no longer hold the caseload safely
• A new SENCO is completing their qualification and needs experienced support alongside
• An inspection or local authority review has questioned the quality of SEND evidence

How often do EHCPs need reviewing?

An education, health and care plan must be reviewed at least every twelve months, and more often for younger children. The review is the local authority’s duty, but in practice the setting convenes it and produces the evidence. When a SENCO leaves mid year, overdue reviews are usually the first thing we find and the first thing an interim should schedule.

What happens if our SENCO leaves mid year?

The immediate risks are overdue annual reviews, unanswered local authority correspondence, and parents losing their point of contact. None of these are difficult to recover if they are picked up quickly. All of them become difficult if a term passes first. If you cannot appoint substantively in time, interim cover protects the placements while you recruit properly.

How long does an interim SENCO stay, and can the role be part time?

SEND leadership lends itself to part time arrangements, and a good number of the placements we make are two or three days a week across a term or two. Where annual reviews are badly overdue, more days at the start and fewer later usually works better than a flat pattern all the way through.

Good practice during an interim SEND period

• A caseload and review audit in the first two weeks
• Overdue annual reviews scheduled immediately and local authorities told rather than left to notice
• Provision maps checked against actual timetables rather than intended ones
• Parents told who is holding the role and how to reach them
• A written handover covering every open plan and every outstanding action

A common misconception

Settings sometimes assume SEND administration can be held by an administrator while leadership waits. Administration keeps the paperwork moving, and good administrators are invaluable, but only a SEND leader can judge whether the provision actually matches the need. Those are different jobs, and conflating them is where most difficulties begin.

Questions for leaders and proprietors

• Are all our annual reviews within timescale, and could we evidence that today?
• Does our provision map describe what children actually receive this term?
• Who would hold our SEND caseload if the SENCO left at half term?
• Can we show outcomes against EHCP objectives, or only attendance and effort?

How can Jarvis Education help?

We introduce interim SENCOs and SEND leads who have worked in specialist settings and understand what placing authorities expect to see. We can talk through whether full time cover is needed or whether two days a week would hold it.