National Award for SEN Coordination

Those SENCOs who are new to role and meet other TDA eligibility criteria can receive TDA funding to cover the course fees.

In accordance with regulations regarding who can be a SENCO in a maintained school, the TDA will only fund places for SENCOs who are qualified teachers (and also fulfil other criteria also).

The Education (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators) (England) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/2945) were laid before Parliament on 21 November 2008. The Regulations introduce a new requirement for SENCOs to be qualified teachers, fulfilling earlier commitments made to Parliament. This requirement will ensure that the SENCO has the standing to influence differentiated teaching and learning matched to pupils' individual needs.

The Regulations are due to come into effect on 1 September 2009, but allow for a two-year transitional period, for SENCOs who are not currently teachers, but who have been in post for at least six months as at 31 August 2009, to gain Qualified Teacher Status by September 2011. This period will allow schools that may be affected to make any necessary staffing adjustments.

Some of the SENCO functions will continue to be undertaken by other staff, including teaching assistants, and they will continue to make a significant and important contribution to improving the achievement and well-being of pupils with SEN and disabilities. However, the person designated by the school governing body as responsible for co-ordinating overall provision for pupils with SEN and disabilities i.e. the person with the lead responsibility, will need to be a qualified teacher. The Regulations also allow for headteachers or acting headteachers to carry out the role of SENCO.

The course will take 12 months to complete.

You will receive printed course materials through the post and a log in to the Real Training course website. Real Training are Middlesex University's partner in delivery the National Award. You will also have days in a local school to observe and reflect on the ways that their SEN systems are managed, organised and implemented.

Real Training have been approved by the TDA to be the course providers for the National Award for SEN Coordination (NASCO for short). Real Training has developed the materials and the website for you to undertake the course. This course forms a 60 credit masters Module on the Middlesex University MA in Inclusive Education. When you register for the NASCO course, you will be enrolled on the MA in Inclusive Education with Middlesex University. You will be a student of Middlesex University for this time and therefore you can also access the library, e-library, student support services etc. At the end of the NASCO course, you will be awarded a PGCert entitled the National Award for SEN Coordination. At that time, you can choose to complete two additional modules with Middlesex University to complete an MA Inclusive Education degree - the choice is yours!

The majority of the course will be delivered through written materials sent to you directly, and via e-learning activities on the website meaning you can study at a time and place to suit you. There is a requirement to visit at least one other school local to you, to undertake a placement of 2-4 days to observe their practices and consider your own school's practice and procedures based on your reflections from the other school.

You will submit a portfolio of 5 assignments to Middlesex University on completion of the course. These 5 assignments will be undertaken throughout the course and you will receive feedback (formative feedback) from your personal tutor on the assignments during the course, with guidance on how to develop your work further before final submission (summative assessment) at the end of the course. You work will be marked against the criteria set by QAA for Masters level assignments.

You will have an allocated tutor who will respond to your queries throughout the course and will mark your assignments. You will have a peer group of other delegates who will discuss issues and interact through the 'forum' on the website. There are also 'Leadership SENCOs' and our team of Educational Psychologists contributing to these forum discussions also.

TDA regulations state that to be eligible for funding for national SENCO training, SENCOs must:

1. Be a teacher who has obtained Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and satisfactorily completed their Induction, or be a head teacher or acting head teacher

2. Be working at an eligible mainstream school i.e. a community, foundation or voluntary school, academy or a maintained nursery school (NB. not an independent school)

3. Be new to the role of SENCO. New to the role means: for courses beginning between September 2009 and July 2010: in post as the SENCO for a total of less than 12 months (at their present and any previous eligible school) at 1 September 2009 OR for courses beginning September 2010: in post as a SENCO for a total of less than 12 months (at their present and any previous schools) at the time of starting the course or in post as a SENCO for less than 12 months in the period up to 1st September 2009 and unable to take up a nationally approved course in September 2009 or January 2010

4. Please confirm that you have NOT been previously employed as a SENCO in an eligible mainstream school i.e. a community, foundation or voluntary school, academy or a maintained nursery school prior to your current SENCO role

5. Be employed in accordance with the above under a permanent contract or else a fixed term contract of not less than one year in length at the time of their application for the training. The contract should not expire before the end of the course

6. Not have previously enrolled on and completed nationally approved SENCO training.

ALL RESPONSES TO THESE 6 CRITERIA SHOULD BE 'YES' TO QUALIFY FOR TDA FUNDING