Do teachers and other school, college and setting staff have the skills to teach children with additional needs?

School management must ensure that a regular cycle of training is in place for all staff to update their knowledge and skills in meeting the various categories of additional needs within school and to ensure interventions are delivered correctly.

SENCo, as part of their role, is required to evaluate skills of all staff, and make sure that they receive the training they need, particularly when they are working with children with particular needs. They are also available to provide support and advice to teachers on approaches, strategies, programmes, planning or understanding the needs of children in their care. Where a child’s needs are complex, they will become more and more involved in the assess, plan, do, review process, involving other services and agencies who can offer further advice, training or coaching, where necessary.

All teachers receive a basic level of training in additional needs as part of their teaching qualification. They will go on to train throughout their careers in all sorts of ways to develop their skills and knowledge so they can better meet the needs of all children.

Although the SENCo will ensure that Teaching Assistants are given the training they need for the tasks they are asked to do, and for the children they are asked to work with, it is the teacher who is responsible for their overall, day to day duties, allocating tasks, planning and making sure they are done as they should be, and checking to make sure that what they are doing has an impact on the children’s progress.

The SENCo should also ensure that anyone in the wider school situation that comes into contact with a child with additional needs has an understanding of these.