SENCO Ongoing Professional Development
The role of SENCO is a truly rewarding one, and one in which no two days will be the same. As most schools only have one SENCO on occasions the role can feel quite lonely, it is also common for SENCOs to report that they feel there is an expectation that you become an “expert” overnight when you step new into the role. With the SENCO role you will regularly come across new conditions and diagnoses as well as learners who present with new challenges and who require a different approach to those you may commonly use with other learners with the same difficulties. It is therefore important to network with others in similar roles and ensure that you assign time to your own continued professional development.
As a mechanism of support many of the Multi Academy Trusts in the city have a SEND Lead and/or MAT SENCO Network Meetings. Information on these should be available within your school. To further support SENCOs and to provide a local perspective on SEND developments the Local Authority offer six SENCO Forums across the academic year. These are up to 90 minutes long and held at times previously agreed between SENCOs and the Educational Psychology Team. These are generally held separately for primary colleagues during the afternoon and Secondary and FE Colleagues in the morning. Further details of the plans for these can be found here:
Furthermore, the Local Authority offer “New to Hull SENCO” support which includes a series of virtual meetings across the Autumn term to support SENCOs in delivering their key responsibilities as set out in the SEND Code of Practice and understanding the support mechanisms within Hull. Further details of these sessions can be found here: New to Hull SENCO Training
Additionally, the Local Authority also offer wider CPD opportunities for SENCOs and other professionals in education. Information about this offer can be found here Other CPD Opportunities