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When a school’s SENCO is absent, an interim SENCO must cover the statutory coordination role. This guide explains how specialist agencies source interim SENCOs, what qualifications are needed and how to ensure a smooth handover.
Interim SENCO cover is needed when a school’s designated Special Educational Needs Coordinator is unavailable due to maternity leave, long-term sickness, planned absence or resignation and a suitably qualified replacement must be found. The SENCO is a statutory role: all maintained mainstream schools and academies in England must have a designated SENCO who is a qualified teacher. Where the SENCO is absent without an appropriate replacement in post, the school risks failing to meet its statutory duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice 2015. A specialist SEN agency can source an experienced interim SENCO to cover the absence, handle compliance checks and provide the candidate on a fixed-term placement for the required period.
The statutory framework governing the SENCO role was strengthened in September 2024 when the National Professional Qualification for SENCOs (NPQSENCO) became the mandatory qualification for new SENCOs in maintained schools and academies. The NPQSENCO replaced the previous NASENCO qualification. SENCOs who completed the NASENCO before September 2024 do not need to retake the qualification. The three-year window for a new SENCO to complete the mandatory qualification remains in place. For a school sourcing an interim SENCO through an agency, the most straightforward approach is to seek a candidate who already holds NPQSENCO or NASENCO, avoiding any compliance complexity around the new qualification requirement.
The SENCO’s responsibilities during any cover period include all the statutory duties set out in the SEND Code of Practice. These include maintaining and updating the SEN register, overseeing the graduated approach for all pupils with SEN and disabilities, liaising with parents and carers, advising class teachers and other staff on SEN strategies and interventions, managing relationships with external specialists such as educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists, and managing any EHCP annual reviews or statutory assessment requests that fall during the cover period. The interim SENCO also carries responsibility for the school’s SEN information report and the SEN section of the school development plan.
For schools in which the SENCO also carries a teaching timetable, the interim placement must cover both the SENCO coordination role and the teaching commitment, or the school must separately arrange supply cover for the teaching element. The brief provided to the agency should make clear whether the interim is expected to teach and, if so, the subject area, year group and hours involved. A SENCO with a full teaching timetable and a large SEN caseload represents a more demanding brief and will require more lead time to fill.
The SENCO’s statutory duties: The SEND Code of Practice 2015 sets out the SENCO’s responsibilities in Chapter 6. The SENCO must be a qualified teacher working at the school. Where a maintained school fails to have a SENCO in post, it is in breach of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014. Schools should not allow a SENCO vacancy to go unfilled for longer than is necessary and should have a plan for interim cover in place before any anticipated absence begins.
Headteacher as interim SENCO: In a small school, the headteacher may take on the SENCO role if the designated SENCO is absent. The SEND Regulations permit the headteacher to fulfil the SENCO function. However, in a school with a significant SEN caseload, the headteacher carrying both roles simultaneously places substantial pressure on the school’s leadership and may compromise the quality of both SENCO coordination and headteacher duties. Using an agency interim SENCO is typically preferable where the SEN caseload is significant.
A thorough handover to the interim SENCO is essential for maintaining the quality of SEN provision during the cover period. The following covers the key areas the interim must be briefed on before taking up the role.
The interim SENCO must have full access to the SEN register from day one, including all pupils receiving SEN support and all pupils with EHCPs. The handover should cover the current provision in place for each pupil, the stage of the graduated approach each pupil is at and any concerns or areas of active review. Where the school uses a specific SEN management system, the interim must be given access and a briefing on how to navigate and update it.
EHCP annual reviews are time-bound statutory processes. The interim must be briefed on all annual reviews due to take place during the cover period, the dates by which they must be completed and the status of any reviews already in progress. Missing an annual review deadline is a statutory breach and a source of significant complaint and appeal risk. The interim should also be briefed on any statutory assessment requests that have been made or are anticipated.
The SENCO typically manages relationships with a range of external specialists including the local authority SEN team, educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, specialist teachers and social care workers. The interim must be introduced to these relationships and briefed on the current status of any referrals, assessments or reports in progress. Contact details for each external professional should be provided at handover.
The SENCO typically has visibility of the school’s SEN budget, including the notional SEN funding, any top-up funding received for pupils with EHCPs and any committed expenditure on external specialists or resources. The interim should be briefed on the budget position, any commitments already made for the period and the approval process for new expenditure. Where the SENCO has budget-holding responsibility, the school should confirm who holds authority for expenditure decisions during the cover period.
The SENCO typically has ongoing relationships with the parents of pupils with SEN, particularly those with EHCPs or pupils at a heightened stage of the graduated approach. The handover should identify any parents with whom there is an active dialogue, any outstanding requests or concerns from parents and any planned or upcoming meetings. The interim should be briefed on any sensitive family situations so they can approach communications appropriately from the outset.
The school’s SEN information report must be reviewed and updated annually and published on the school website. The interim should know when the report was last updated, whether an update is due during the cover period and the school’s SEN policy, including the school’s graduated approach documentation and the format used for SEN support plans. Where the SEN information report is due for renewal, the interim will need to work with senior leadership to complete the update.
SENDhelp places specialist SEN teachers, teaching assistants and support staff across North London, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.
For information on SEN maternity cover more broadly, see our guide on SEN maternity cover through agencies. For information on the NPQ for SENCOs, see our guide on NPQ for SENCOs explained.
Interim SENCO cover is the arrangement made when a school’s designated SENCO is unavailable due to maternity leave, sickness, resignation or sabbatical. The interim takes on the SENCO’s statutory coordination responsibilities for the duration of the absence. Because the SENCO role is a statutory requirement in all maintained mainstream schools and academies, the absence cannot simply be left uncovered: a suitably qualified replacement must be in place.
No. The SENCO must be a qualified teacher. A teaching assistant cannot lawfully be designated as the SENCO or fulfil the SENCO’s statutory functions. Where a school needs to cover a SENCO absence, it must arrange for a qualified teacher to take on the role, either internally from within the school’s existing teaching staff or through an agency interim SENCO placement.
The brief should include: the expected start date and duration of cover, the size of the SEN caseload and number of EHCPs, whether the interim will carry a teaching timetable and the subject and year group if so, any EHCP annual reviews or statutory assessments due during the cover period, the qualifications and experience required and any specific aspects of the school’s SEN provision that the interim must be familiar with. The more detailed the brief, the better the match the agency can make.
Visit our SEN teaching resources hub for guides on staffing, compliance, qualifications and specialist provision.
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