Leading learning: the role of the SENCo

Consideration is given to the inception and development of the role of the SENCo, from the first official mention of the role in the SEN Code of Practice (1994) to current practice following the SEND Code of Practice (2015). The development of the Learning Outcomes for the National Award for SEN Coordination are examined, to consider the changing emphasis for the role, moving form an instrumental approach to one more based on strategic management. The role of the SENCo is then considered through a number of lenses, including that provided by Kearns (2005), which is explored at length. The section concludes by suggesting that the model suggested by Kearns represents a nested hierarchy, rather than a linear model. The second section of the chapter uses theoretical models to examine the place of the SENCo within the senior leadership team of a school or setting. From a consideration of leadership for learning (McBeath, 2005), the section moves to a discussion around social capital (Putnam, 1999; Szreter, 2000) and concludes with an examination of the moral character of teacher professionalism (Sockett, 2006) and of connoisseurship (Eisner, 1991) in relation to the role. The final section of the chapter discusses a distributive model of SEN Coordination, utilising ideas found in ‘communities of practice’ (Lave and Wenger, 1991), double loop learning (Argyris and Schön, 1996), and the Intelligent school (McGilchrist, Myers and Reed, 1997). It is concluded that the holder of the role of SENCo is ideally placed to provide distributed, pedagogical leadership in a school that embraces the challenges of inclusion and inclusive pedagogy.