SENCO and Staff Wellbeing
SENCO and Staff Wellbeing
SENCO and Staff Wellbeing
The SENCO role is central to the development of whole settings approaches that champion inclusion and the needs of children and young people with SEND. The role is rewarding but can be very demanding; SENCOs are in a position where they are supporting the wellbeing of others, including teachers, TAs, children and young people and families.
It is essential that staff wellbeing sits at the core of whole setting approaches and is a key priority for senior leaders. Information shared by Bury SENCOs and supported by research (e.g. Lewis, 2017) suggests that SENCOs' resilience is protected by:
1.
Access to social support from other SENCOs (e.g. in clusters, localities and/or through SENCO networks).
2.
The SENCO holding a position in school that enables systemic change (SLT or clear links to).
3.
Access to training and learning opportunities.
4.
Developing individual coping strategies to manage workload and emotionally demanding aspects of the role.
5.
Having protected time for the SENCO role that is distinct from other roles or responsibilities within the setting.
6.
Teaching and support staff having protected time to meet with the SENCO.
Peer Networks
Research has shown that peer networks can offer valuable support and development opportunities for SENCOs and setting staff (Hayes & Stringer, 2016). Cluster or locality/partnership meetings between settings are often a helpful way to share ideas, training costs and generate solutions to commonly occurring challenges.
Staff Wellbeing
The Anna Freud Centre has lots of information and resources to support settings to consider their approach to staff wellbeing. The Anna Freud Centre has produced guidance in collaboration with mental health experts, to give school staff and SLTs simple guidance and positive examples of good practice to support staff wellbeing.
Their booklet, Supporting Staff Wellbeing in Schools, can be accessed here.
The Anna Freud Centre's Ten Ways to Supporting School Staff Wellbeing can be downloaded here.
Informed by the findings of a survey of 1,458 Early Years staff and developed in partnership with several local authorities (including Bury), the Anna Freud Centre published staff wellbeing guidance for Early Years settings:
Early Years staff wellbeing: a resource for managers and teams can be downloaded here.