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What does a SENCO do day to day, and how do you become one?

A realistic week in the role, the NPQ for SENCOs, and how to protect time for what matters.

By The Autism Kit teamUpdated Sep 27, 2026 · 1 min read
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The short answer

A SENCO coordinates special educational needs provision in a school: advising teachers, meeting families, working with outside professionals, keeping SEN records, and leading EHC needs assessments and annual reviews. In England, SENCOs must be qualified teachers, and since September 2024 new SENCOs must complete the national professional qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs within 3 years of taking up the role.

Key takeaways
  • SENCOs coordinate SEN provision across the school.
  • They must be qualified teachers.
  • New SENCOs complete the NPQ for SENCOs within 3 years.
  • Protected time and good systems make the role manageable.

What does a SENCO do each week?

An example SENCO week
TaskWhat it involves
Advising teachersHelping plan adaptive teaching and SEN support
Meeting familiesReviews, concerns, sharing progress
Outside agenciesEducational psychologists, speech and language therapy, CAMHS
Records and plansSEN register, support plans, provision maps
Statutory workEHC needs assessment requests and annual reviews
Staff developmentTraining teaching assistants and teachers

These responsibilities are set out in the SEND Code of Practice.1

How do you become a SENCO in England?

  1. Be a qualified teacher.
  2. Be appointed as SENCO by your school.
  3. Complete the NPQ for SENCOs within 3 years, unless you hold NASENCO or another exemption applies.2

Professional networks like nasen offer resources and community for SENCOs.3

How do SENCOs keep the role manageable?

Try
  • Protected SENCO time in the timetable
  • Simple, shared templates for plans and profiles
  • Training teaching assistants to deliver agreed supports
  • Batching meetings and paperwork
Skip
  • Being the only person who knows each pupil's plan
  • Plans that live in folders instead of classrooms
Free printable: one-page pupil profilePDF · 1 page · strengths, needs and what helps, in the pupil's words
Download Free printable: one-page pupil profile

What can I do this term?

0 of 3 done

Common questions

No. SENCOs who hold the NASENCO award don't need to complete the NPQ.

Sources

  1. GOV.UK: SEND code of practice, 0 to 25 years (the role of the SENCO). gov.uk
  2. GOV.UK: National professional qualification (NPQ) courses. gov.uk
  3. nasen. nasen.org.uk

This guide shares general information and our team's perspective, based on the sources above. Rules and services differ by country, region and school, so always check your local guidance and your organisation's policies. How we write our guides.

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