An essential guide for new and early career Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs).
Reviewed by Kat Cauchi
Starting Out as a Primary SENCO: Finding your first post, the first year and beyond serves as a guidebook for new and aspiring SENCOs and those early into their career. The book covers aspects such as interviewing for the role; tips for your first year in post; and the day-to-day responsibilities of a SENCO, such as paperwork, staff training and interventions. There is also specific content on leadership and wellbeing, so the book gives a well-rounded approach for supporting the role of a SENCO.
How the book works
The book has six chapters, along with (as you would expect from most books) a foreword, introduction, references etc. There is also a list of common Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) abbreviations, which I’ll talk more about later.
The six chapters are as follows:
- So you want to be a SENCO? – This chapter covers aspects of ‘getting your first post’ including interviews, pay, qualifications etc. It serves as an introduction to the role and the steps to getting there.
- The first year – This is then further broken down into ‘The first month’, ‘The first term’ and ‘The first year’ and gives you insight into what to expect in your first year in post and supportive tips for managing all the new tasks and challenges you will be undertaking.
- The everyday life of a SENCO – This chapter breaks down key responsibilities into more detailed explanations and guidance that include responsibilities such as ‘data, assessment and access arrangements’.
- Paperwork and graduated approaches – Focusing specifically on SENCO paperwork, this chapter walks you through what paperwork is statutory and how to complete items like Educational Health Care Plans (EHCPs) and annual reviews.
- Leadership – The SENCO roles isn’t just about supporting pupils; you are also leading on SEND across the school and community. So, this chapter helps you with leadership responsibilities, such as working with parents and carers.
- Wellbeing – The final chapter focuses on SENCO wellbeing, including research into the role and its workload – helping you understand where you may need support with work-life balance etc.
The book can be read from cover to cover or you could select specific chapters of interest. It has a sequence that makes sense, working through from the pre-SENCO role to your first year to beyond. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t select a specific chapter to read out of order. If you haven’t started on your journey to being a SENCO yet, you may just find you need to refer back to some of the introductory information. For example, if you’re in the ‘paperwork’ section and don’t understand the associated terminology, you could flick back to the list of abbreviations.
Book highlights
Authenticity
Lynn How has worked in schools for 23 years with her roles including a teacher, assistant headteacher and – most importantly for this book – a SENCO. This wealth of experience gives the book an authenticity from lived experiences in education supporting SEND pupils. It also means she understands the transition between teaching and being a SENCO, and how to balance the role with other leadership responsibilities (some SENCOs for example may also have other roles like an assistant headship).
Throughout the book, How doesn’t sugar-coat the challenges but that isn’t to say the book is ‘doom and gloom’ – not at all! There is so much in here about the highlights and rewarding aspects of the role. The book simply paints a realistic picture of being a SENCO – it’s highs and lows – ensuring the reader can make informed choices and be fully prepared for what lies ahead. If anything, it could help them to thrive in the role, as they are going in armed with clear expectations and practical guidance.
How’s experiences in school means she’s been able to craft really useful resources for readers too such as the ‘SENCO workload tracker’ as she knows full well about the, “sneaky little things that you are requested to do that eat into your time, such as last-minute cover or playground duty.” 1 (pg.47)
Readability
Before we get into the introduction of the book, we’re given a list of common (SEND) abbreviations such as TIP (Trauma Informed Practice) and IHCP (Individual Health Care Plan). The education space is full of jargon and this can be a barrier to understanding and confidence, so it’s good to impart this knowledge from the get-go, making both the book and world of SEND terminology more accessible. In this same section, How lists the SEND codes such as CI (Communication and Interaction) and SLD (Severe Learning Difficulty). These codes are not only helpful for reading the book but essential knowledge for any SENCO or aspiring SENCO, as these will be used on your school’s central data system and will come up in documents/forms etc.
The book is also very readable due to the way it is structured and the balance between longer text in paragraphs and succinct bullet points and diagrams (as well as the use of tools such as tip boxes). Breaking things up in this way makes the book more digestible. It doesn’t require you to have a long attention span for reading as you can take in the information in shorter bursts, as needed. The use of QR codes, rather than written link text for online resources, is also a nice touch in readability. Plus, it’s much easier for someone to grab their phone and scan the code, than type out a link (plus, it just looks a lot nicer and cleaner)!
Practicality
The book works as a step-by-step guide with practical actions to put into place. It doesn’t just explain the role of the SENCO but it gives strategies for success and guidance for how to put them into place.
The paperwork chapter in particular is probably the most practical part in the book. It not only explains all the paperwork SENCOs need to complete (statutory or otherwise) and how to distribute it, but it also provides templates. For example, on page 89, How explains One Page Profiles (OPPs); she talks about their purpose, frequency, who completes them, the information they include and how they are distributed. Then, at the bottom of the page, is a QR code linking you to 16 different sample downloadable templates.
Another example of a practical element of the book is on pages 141-143, where How includes a timetable of SENCO duties. This is a helpful visualisation of key responsibilities and their frequency but also a practical template a SENCO could replicate for their own use (and alter as appropriate dependant on their setting).
Timetable of SENCO duties (c) from 'Starting Out as a Primary SENCO' pg. 141. (c) Lynn How and Bloomsbury.
Summary
Starting Out as a Primary SENCO is a must-have book for any aspiring or early career SENCOs, as it provides comprehensive guidance from initially applying for the role, to guiding you through your first year and so on. How provides practical strategies for managing your responsibilities with essential tips for how to put these into place, along with useful resources and templates to help you more easily implement what you have learnt or to give further help with areas you are finding more difficult. The text is also easily readable, breaking down barriers such as SEND related jargon, meaning it’s easy for anyone to pick up and digest.
Starting Out as a Primary SENCO is a realistic look at what it means to be a SENCO, with lived experience breathed into it – making it an authentic, informative and practical read.
References
- How, L. (2024) ‘Starting Out as a Primary SENCO: Finding your first post, the first year and beyond’. London: Bloomsbury
