The SENCO is not the practitioner who “does SEND” while everyone else does everything else. The SENCO is the leader who makes sure the whole setting does SEND well. This Level 4 SENDCO course for early years settings is about that leadership: running the register and provision map, quality-assuring every support plan, coordinating outside professionals, securing funding, leading EHC needs assessment requests and developing a team where every practitioner teaches children with SEND.
It assumes you already understand SEND practice at practitioner level. The question here is how you lead a setting where every child with SEND is well supported.
Why SENCO leadership matters
Somewhere in your setting today there is a child whose progress depends on whether the adults around them noticed, planned and acted. When the SENCO personally delivers the support, key persons step back and everything stalls when you are on leave. A setting-wide system of clear plans, steady reviews and a confident team keeps working without you in the room.
The SEND Code of Practice 2015 is statutory guidance covering birth to 25, and it requires group early years settings to have a named SENCO. For early years providers it expects the graduated approach of assess, plan, do, review, and parents informed and involved when a setting identifies SEN and starts making special educational provision. The Code also makes clear that every practitioner is a teacher of children with SEND, which is why developing your team is part of the job.
What’s in the course
- The SENCO Role: Leading SEND in Your SettingWhy the role is required, and the six threads it holds.
- The SEND Code of Practice: What Leadership RequiresThe Code’s principles, what counts as SEN, and what it expects of early years providers.
- Your SEND Register and Provision MapA needs-based register and a three-tier provision map with costs and review dates.
- Leading the Graduated Approach Across the SettingQuality-assuring plans, protecting reviews and deciding when a cycle needs to change gear.
- Coordinating Outside Professionals and ServicesYour local network, referrals that get taken seriously, and making advice land in plans.
- Funding for SEND: EYPP, DAF and Inclusion FundsThe three funding streams, who they are for, and how to evidence what they changed.
- EHC Needs Assessments: Leading Strong RequestsWhat an EHC plan is, the timescales, what makes a request strong, and what happens after a decision.
- Supporting and Developing Your Staff TeamModelling, coaching, a training rhythm and support for key persons with heavy caseloads.
- Partnership with Parents Through the SEND JourneyHonest and hopeful conversations, and parents inside every cycle.
- Transitions for Children with SENDEnhanced transitions, one-page profiles and proper handovers, including room moves.
- The SENCO Year: Audits, Reviews and Your Own DevelopmentTermly reviews, the annual audit and policy review, and your own support.
- Assessment15 questions. Pass mark 80%. Resit as many times as you need.
What you’ll learn
- How to run a needs-based SEND register: parents informed before a child is added, exit with evidence, and no diagnosis required
- How to build a provision map across universal, targeted and specialist tiers, with costs and review dates
- The bank staff test: could a competent bank member of staff who has never met the child deliver the plan today
- When two or more documented cycles without progress mean it is time to bring in outside expertise
- How early years pupil premium, the Disability Access Fund and local inclusion funds work, and why DAF follows Disability Living Allowance
- The EHC timescales: six weeks for a decision on whether to assess, and no more than twenty weeks from request to final plan
- How to write a one-page profile and plan an enhanced transition to school, starting in the spring term at the latest
- How to set a SENCO year: termly register, provision map and plan reviews, plus an honest annual audit
Who this course is for
- SENCOs in nurseries, pre-schools and group settings, whether new to the role or experienced
- Practitioners stepping up into the SENCO role
- Deputy SENCOs who share the overview and cover when the SENCO is away
How it works
- OnlineStudy on any device and pick up where you left off.
- 11 lessonsAbout 1.5 hours in total.
- 15-question assessmentPass mark 80%. Resit as many times as you need.
- CertificateIssued when you pass. NFAQ accredited.
Training your team
Provision should stand up when the SENCO is away, so consider training a deputy alongside them. Choose the number of learners at checkout, with group rates from 3 learners, or get it as part of the Training Portal for £5 per learner per month. To build practitioner skills underneath, see The Graduated Approach in Practice: SEND Support Plans and EHC Requests and Identifying and Supporting Speech, Language and Communication Needs.
Frequently asked questions
Does every early years setting need a SENCO?
The SEND Code of Practice 2015 requires group early years settings to have a SENCO. Childminders are encouraged to identify a person to fulfil the function, and childminder networks often share one.
Do I need to have done SEN training before?
The course assumes you already understand observation, early identification and how a single assess, plan, do, review cycle works. If those feel unfamiliar, start with our Graduated Approach in Practice course.
Does a child need a diagnosis to go on the SEND register?
No. The register is needs-based. A child joins when the graduated approach begins for them, with parents informed first. Waiting for a diagnosis before recording and meeting a need is one of the most damaging failures in early years SEND.
Are funding amounts covered?
The course explains how each stream works and who it is for. Amounts, windows and forms vary between local authorities and change over time, so check your local guidance each year.
What happens if I don’t pass the assessment?
You can resit it as many times as you need until you pass. Your certificate is issued as soon as you reach the 80% pass mark.
Will this help at Ofsted?
Ofsted does not approve training providers. Your certificate is evidence that you completed the training, and the course helps you explain how your setting identifies, supports and reviews children with SEND.
