The Early Years Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) qualification is
suitable for a Level 3 practitioner in a private, voluntary or independent setting. All early
years providers are required to have arrangements in place to identify and support children
with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) and to promote equality of opportunity
for children in their care. This is an important role to ensure the best possible educational
outcomes are achieved for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. The
qualification is designed for those already working in a SENCo role as part of their Early
Years Practitioner role, or those who are interested in doing so. This qualification is also
appropriate for childminders.

Overview of the course:
Unit 01 – Roles and Responsibilities of the Special Educational Needs Coordinator in the
Early Years
– The aim of this unit is to explore the role of statutory guidance, legislation and
intervention strategies and how there inform the role and responsibilities of the
SENCo
– This unit takes approximately 12 hours to complete in total

– You will be invited to a one-hour webinar and attendance is mandatory to complete
the course

Unit 02 – Strategies and techniques for supporting children and families
– The aim of this unit is to explore the graduated approach cycle, EHC plans and
funding implications that would then allow you to consider strategies and techniques
for supporting children and their families
– This unit takes approximately 12 hours to complete in total
– You will be invited to a one-hour webinar and attendance is mandatory to complete
the course
Examples of tasks for completion:
– Researching current legislation and statutory guidance
– Reviewing and reflecting settings SEND provision
– Developing presentations on EHC Plans
– Evaluating the SENCo job description
– Creating guidance materials for other staff members
– Attendance to the two unit webinars