Strengthening the SENCO-Headteacher Partnership

SENCOs face lots of challenges in their role, one significant one being many headteachers’ lack of understanding of the role. Traditionally, becoming a headteacher followed a career pathway, progressing from teacher to deputy head, and finally to headship. During this, detailed SEND training was often overlooked which has led to an awful lot of misconceptions and lack of awareness among headteachers on the vital SENCO role. This has led to SENCOs feeling frustrated from not being heard or understood. In today’s episode, we hear from an experienced SENCO who has worked with 11 headteachers over 23 years – Lynn How. Lynn joins Dale to discuss ‘Strengthening the SENCO-Headteacher Partnership’. In the discussion we explore: Barriers to headteacher engagement  Types of headteacher (broadly speaking…) What SENCOs want their heads to know Ideas to get them onside  Listen to hear practical ideas and strategies that SENCOs can implement straight away to support their relationship with their headteacher and align priorities. By bridging this knowledge gap between the roles, we can create stronger partnerships and ensure that the needs of students with SEND are met effectively.   About Lynn How   Lynn How is an educational consultant, editor of Teacher Toolkit website and blogger. With 20 years of primary teaching and SLT experience, she has been an Assistant Head, Lead Mentor for ITT and SENCO. She loves to write and also has her own SEMH and staff mental health blog: www.positiveyoungmind.com. Lynn holds an MA in Education, is a fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching (FCCT), NASENCO and NPQH. Her particular areas of interest are wellbeing (staff and pupil), SEND, children's mental health, leadership, mentoring and coaching. Recently she has started an Educational Consultancy business for SEND (SEND support) and Teacher Wellbeing (The Wellbeing Lady). Lynn’s first book, ‘Starting Out As A Primary Senco’, is being published by Bloomsbury in September 2024.   Contact Lynn https://twitter.com/Positive_Y_Mind https://www.facebook.com/PositiveYoungMind www.positiveyoungmind.com [email protected]   Useful Links My CPD training for school leaders and adaption training for SENCOs    ·         B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk  ·         Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast  ·         Email Dale – [email protected]  ·         Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe   The SENDcast is powered by B Squared We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.