Survey of special educational needs co-ordinators

The NUT regularly surveys special educational needs co-ordinators to ask their views about SEN provision. This group of teachers can only be effective if they are valued and empowered in what is a vital and complex role. Many SENCOs are worried about current education changes which are undermining provision for pupils with SEN.

With the right support, SENCOs secure high quality teaching and learning and the effective deployment of resources to meet the educational needs of children and young people with SEN.

SENCOs possess a great deal of knowledge about SEN provision, about what needs to change and about what must be safeguarded and preserved. This survey reveals the barriers which these teachers face in carrying out the envisioned role. These barriers included a reducing level of support from local authority services and, in one third of schools, the fact that the school’s priorities ‘lie elsewhere’. These are issues which central government must resolve.