Table of Content
Share this Resource
A SENCO in a primary school does far more than manage SEND paperwork. They help shape how the whole school identifies pupils’ needs, supports their learning, develops teachers’ SEND practice, works with families and coordinates support with specialist professionals. In primary education, where early identification can make a significant difference, the SENCO plays an important role in ensuring pupils receive appropriate support.
If you are currently a teacher or working in primary education, you may be wondering: what do you actually need to do to become a SENCO? The route involves the right professional background, relevant SEND experience, leadership skills and an understanding of the statutory responsibilities involved. The introduction of the National Professional Qualification for SENCOs (NPQ for SENCOs) has also changed the training requirements for those taking on the role in England.
This guide explains who can become a SENCO, the qualifications you need, the new SENCO NPQ and the experience schools typically look for. It also explores what SENCOs actually do, how you can prepare before applying for your first SENCO position, potential career progression and what you can realistically expect from the role.
What Does a SENCO Actually Do in a Primary School?
A SENCO does much more than support individual pupils. Their main role is to coordinate SEND provision across the school, making sure pupils’ needs are identified and appropriate support is provided.
A SENCO typically:
- ♦ Identifies and assesses SEND, working with teachers to recognise needs and decide what support may be required.
- ♦ Supports teachers with practical strategies, reasonable adjustments and approaches for meeting pupils’ needs in the classroom.
- ♦ Works with parents and carers, discussing concerns, progress and decisions about support.
- ♦ Coordinates SEN Support through the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle and helps monitor interventions.
- ♦ Supports EHCP-related processes, including providing evidence, coordinating specified provision and contributing to reviews.
- ♦ Works with external professionals, such as educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and local authority services.
- ♦ Monitors the impact of support, checking whether interventions are improving outcomes and adjusting provision when necessary.
In short, the SENCO connects pupils, teachers, families, school leaders and external professionals to help ensure SEND provision is coordinated, appropriate and effective.
Who Can Become a SENCO?
In mainstream schools in England, the SENCO is a statutory role. The designated SENCO must normally be a qualified teacher working at the school, or the headteacher or acting headteacher.
Can a Teaching Assistant Become a SENCO?
A teaching assistant who is not a qualified teacher cannot normally be the designated statutory SENCO, even if they have extensive SEND experience. However, their experience can provide a strong foundation for progressing into teaching and, later, SENCO leadership.
A typical route could be:
Teaching Assistant → Qualified Teacher → SENCO
Since September 2024, the NPQ for SENCOs has replaced NASENCO as the mandatory SENCO qualification. Where required, a newly appointed SENCO normally has three years to complete it.
So, while teaching assistants can build valuable SEND knowledge and experience, becoming a qualified teacher is an essential step towards holding the statutory SENCO role in a mainstream school in England.
What Qualifications Do You Need to Become a SENCO?
To become a SENCO in England, you will generally need to be a qualified teacher. In maintained schools, the SENCO must usually have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or meet the relevant requirements to be treated as a qualified teacher.
The main mandatory qualification is now the National Professional Qualification for SENCOs (NPQ for SENCOs). It develops the knowledge and leadership skills needed to coordinate SEND provision across a school.
From 1 September 2024, the SENCO NPQ replaced the National Award for SEN Coordination (NASENCO) as the mandatory qualification for new SENCOs who are required to complete one.
Importantly, you do not normally need to have completed the SENCO NPQ before applying for a SENCO position. Where the statutory requirement applies, you can be appointed first and must then complete the mandatory qualification within three years of appointment.
Alongside the qualification, knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice, Graduated Approach, SEN Support, EHCPs, reasonable adjustments and multi-agency working will help prepare you for the practical responsibilities of the role.
Continue Your Professional Development
Interested in developing your SEN knowledge? Explore our SENCO – Special Educational Needs Coordination course and discover more professional development courses to support your career goals. Browse all courses at One Education.
What Experience Do You Need Before Becoming a SENCO?
Qualifications are important, but becoming a SENCO also requires practical experience of supporting pupils with SEND and understanding how SEND provision works across a school.
Build Classroom and SEND Experience
For many aspiring SENCOs, the journey begins with primary classroom teaching. This gives you experience of different learning needs, abilities and behaviours. More importantly, you should gain direct experience of supporting children with SEND, identifying barriers to learning and responding to individual needs.
Develop Adaptive Teaching Skills
A SENCO needs a good understanding of adaptive teaching. This could involve breaking instructions into smaller steps, using visual resources, providing additional modelling, adjusting questioning or adapting the learning environment. The aim is to make learning accessible while maintaining appropriate expectations.
Use Assess–Plan–Do–Review
Practical experience of the Assess–Plan–Do–Review cycle is particularly valuable. You should understand how to assess a pupil’s needs, plan appropriate support, put that support into practice and review whether it has made a difference.
Review Interventions
Try to gain experience of reviewing interventions, rather than simply delivering them. Look at whether additional support is helping the pupil make progress and consider whether an intervention should continue, change or be replaced.
Communicate With Parents
SENCOs work closely with families, so experience of communicating with parents and carers is essential. You should be able to discuss concerns, progress and support clearly and sensitively while listening to parents’ knowledge of their child.
Work With Your Existing SENCO
Working alongside or shadowing your school’s SENCO can provide valuable insight into the role. You may be able to contribute to pupil reviews, discuss support strategies, observe meetings or learn how SEND provision and records are managed.
Take Responsibility Beyond Your Classroom
Finally, look for opportunities to lead something beyond your own classroom. This might include coordinating an intervention, sharing SEND strategies with colleagues or supporting another teacher. These experiences help you develop the leadership skills needed to oversee SEND provision across a school.
You do not need to know everything before becoming a SENCO. However, experience in classroom teaching, supporting SEND, adaptive teaching, Assess–Plan–Do–Review, reviewing interventions, working with parents, collaborating with the SENCO and taking wider responsibility will give you a strong foundation for the role.
SEND Knowledge Every Future SENCO Should Build
A future SENCO needs a practical understanding of the key SEND laws, guidance and support processes used in schools.
Start with the SEND Code of Practice, Children and Families Act 2014 and Equality Act 2010. Together, these explain important responsibilities around SEND provision, disability discrimination and support for pupils.
You should know the four broad areas of SEND: communication and interaction; cognition and learning; social, emotional and mental health; and sensory and/or physical needs.
It is also essential to understand the Graduated Approach — Assess, Plan, Do, Review — and how it is used within SEN Support to identify needs, plan provision, monitor progress and adjust support.
Build a working knowledge of EHCPs, including EHC needs assessments, providing school evidence and annual reviews. You should also understand reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 and how they help remove disadvantages for disabled pupils.
Finally, learn effective record keeping for assessments, support plans, reviews and progress evidence. Become familiar with local authority SEND processes, including referrals, specialist services, EHCP procedures and the Local Offer.
These are the core areas of SEND knowledge every future SENCO should build before taking on the role.
Skills You Need to Be a Good Primary SENCO
Being a good Primary SENCO requires more than knowledge of SEND. You need to lead improvements, support teachers, work with families and make informed decisions about pupils’ needs. Here are the key skills that matter most.
Leadership — Improving SEND Practice
A SENCO helps shape SEND practice across the whole school. This means working with teachers and senior leaders to identify gaps, improve inclusive teaching and ensure SEND remains part of school improvement. Good leadership is about helping the school meet pupils’ needs, rather than simply managing the SEND register.
Communication — Working with Everyone Around the Child
SENCOs communicate regularly with teachers, teaching assistants, parents, pupils and external professionals. You need to explain support clearly, listen to concerns and handle sensitive conversations professionally. Strong communication also helps everyone work towards the same outcomes for the child.
Organisation — Keeping Provision on Track
The role involves managing support plans, pupil records, assessments, referrals, meetings and review deadlines. Good organisation ensures that actions are completed on time and that there is a clear record of what support has been provided and how the pupil has responded.
Decision-Making — Choosing the Right Support
Not every pupil needs the same intervention. A good SENCO considers assessment information, teacher observations, family and pupil views, progress and professional advice before deciding what support is appropriate. The aim is to match provision to the child’s actual needs.
Coaching — Developing Teachers’ SEND Practice
An effective SENCO does not solve every SEND issue alone. They help teachers become more confident in supporting pupils through practical advice, modelling strategies, observations and professional development. This strengthens inclusive classroom practice across the school.
Evidence Evaluation — Checking What Actually Works
Providing support is not enough; SENCOs need to know whether it is making a difference. This means reviewing progress, classroom performance, engagement and feedback. If an intervention is not achieving the intended outcome, the SENCO should identify why and adjust the support.
Bringing the Skills Together
A strong Primary SENCO leads SEND improvement, communicates effectively, stays organised, makes evidence-informed decisions, develops teachers and evaluates provision. Together, these skills help ensure pupils receive appropriate support that leads to meaningful progress.
What Is Being a Primary SENCO Really Like?
Being a primary SENCO is a varied role that requires balancing SEND leadership with everyday school responsibilities. Depending on the school, some SENCOs also continue teaching alongside their coordination duties.
A typical week may involve supporting teachers and teaching assistants, meeting parents, reviewing pupil progress, managing SEND paperwork and coordinating interventions. SENCOs also work with external professionals, such as educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and local authority SEND teams.
Alongside this, SENCOs help ensure the school meets its statutory SEND responsibilities, including appropriate record-keeping and support for pupils with additional needs.
There is rarely a completely predictable day. Priorities can change quickly when a pupil, parent or member of staff needs support. Ultimately, the role combines teaching, leadership, communication, administration and coordination, with the aim of improving provision and outcomes for pupils with SEND.
Your Step-by-Step Route to Becoming a Primary SENCO
Becoming a Primary SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) is a gradual journey from classroom teaching to whole-school SEND leadership. Here is the route to follow:
1. Become a Qualified Teacher
Start by becoming a qualified teacher and developing a strong foundation in teaching, assessment, safeguarding and inclusive classroom practice.
2. Gain Primary Teaching Experience
Build experience in a primary school, particularly in adaptive teaching, identifying additional needs, supporting pupils and working with parents and teaching assistants.
3. Develop Practical SEND Experience
Work closely with pupils with different SEND needs, such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia or speech and language needs. Learn how support is planned, delivered, monitored and reviewed.
4. Learn the Statutory SEND Framework
Develop a working knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice, Children and Families Act 2014, Equality Act 2010, EHC plans and the graduated approach. A SENCO needs to understand how these requirements apply in everyday school practice.
5. Shadow and Support Your SENCO
Learn directly from your school’s SENCO. Where possible, observe SEND reviews, meetings with parents, provision planning and work with external professionals.
6. Take On SEND Leadership Responsibilities
Gradually take responsibility for SEND-related activities. You might lead an intervention, support colleagues, coordinate provision or contribute to staff development. Keep evidence of your experience and its impact on pupils.
7. Apply for or Take Up a SENCO Role
Once you have sufficient teaching, SEND and leadership experience, begin applying for SENCO positions. Schools will look for someone who can coordinate provision, support staff, work with families and contribute to whole-school improvement.
8. Complete the Required SENCO NPQ
New SENCOs in England who are subject to the statutory requirement need to complete the National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs within the applicable timeframe after taking up the role.
9. Develop Into a Whole-School SEND Leader
Continue developing your leadership skills by improving SEND provision, building staff expertise, strengthening early identification and ensuring inclusive practice is embedded throughout the school.
Your SENCO Route at a Glance
Become a qualified teacher
↓
Gain primary teaching experience
↓
Develop practical SEND experience
↓
Learn the statutory SEND framework
↓
Shadow and support your SENCO
↓
Take on SEND leadership responsibilities
↓
Apply for/take up a SENCO role
↓
Complete the required SENCO NPQ within the applicable timeframe
↓
Develop into a whole-school SEND leader
The key takeaway is simple: build your teaching experience, develop practical SEND expertise, gradually take on leadership responsibilities and progress into whole-school SEND leadership.
FAQs — How to become SENCo in Primary School
1. Do you need to be a teacher to become a SENCo?
Yes, in maintained schools in England, a SENCo must normally be a qualified teacher or the headteacher/acting headteacher.
2. Can a teaching assistant become a SENCo?
Not directly in a maintained school. A teaching assistant would normally need to become a qualified teacher first.
3. What qualifications do you need to be a SENCo?
You generally need to be a qualified teacher. New SENCos must also complete the NPQ for SENCOs where the statutory requirement applies.
4. Do I need the SENCO NPQ before getting a SENCo job?
No. You can be appointed first and complete the NPQ for SENCOs within three years of appointment, where required.
5. How long does it take to become a SENCo?
There is no fixed timeframe. It depends on your teaching qualifications, experience and readiness for a SEND leadership role.
6. Is NASENCO still valid?
Yes. Existing NASENCO qualifications remain valid. For new SENCos, the NPQ for SENCOs replaced NASENCO from September 2024.
Article by
Sam Walker
Aug, 29, 2026 
