Every group early years setting must have a SENCO — the SEND Code of Practice 2015 requires it — and the role is far more than a name on the staffing chart. The SENCO leads special educational needs provision across the whole setting: keeping the register and provision map, quality-assuring every assess–plan–do–review cycle, coordinating outside professionals, unlocking funding, leading EHC needs assessment requests and developing a team where every practitioner teaches children with SEND. This Level 4 course is the training for that leadership.
Written for new and serving SENCOs — and for the managers who appoint and support them — the course runs across eleven in-depth lessons, from the Code of Practice’s expectations through registers and provision mapping, the graduated approach, external services, funding and statutory assessment, to staff development, parent partnership, transitions and the rhythm of the SENCO year — before a 15-question assessment puts your judgement to the test.
What you’ll learn
- What the SEND Code of Practice 2015 requires of early years leadership — a named SENCO in every group setting, the graduated approach, and parents informed and involved at every stage
- How to run a needs-based SEND register — entry with parental knowledge, exit with evidence, no diagnosis required — alongside a three-tier provision map with costs and review dates
- How to lead assess–plan–do–review across every room: quality-assuring plans with the bank staff test, protecting review rhythms and deciding when a cycle needs to escalate
- How to coordinate the professional network — area SENCO, educational psychologist, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, portage and health visiting — so specialist advice actually lands in children’s plans
- How SEND funding works: early years pupil premium, the Disability Access Fund and local SEN inclusion funds — who is eligible, how to apply and how to evidence impact
- How to lead strong EHC needs assessment requests — two or more documented cycles, a stated impact and gap, professional reports and family voice — and keep families oriented through the six-week and twenty-week deadlines, refusals, mediation and reviews
- How to develop your staff team through modelling, coaching and a register-led training rhythm — and support the key persons carrying the heaviest caseloads
- How to build honest, hopeful parent partnership across the whole SEND journey, lead enhanced transitions with one-page profiles and proper handovers, and hold everything together with termly reviews, an annual audit and your own development
Successful candidates receive a Special Educational Needs – SENDCO (Level 4) completion certificate. National Nursery Training is an NFAQ-accredited training provider, so your certificate carries recognised accreditation and provides evidence for compliance, audit and continued professional development.
