Education (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2009

My Lords, I can agree with the noble Lord. I will be happy to write to him in detail on exactly how that will work. However, I want to be clear that the provision is about training for new teachers coming into post. The funding is targeted at the newly appointed SENCOs. Depending on the awarding institution, any masters qualification in any sphere of teaching can take into account prior learning. I will write to noble Lords to ensure that that is clear and I will place a copy of the letter in the Library. The noble Baroness, Lady Verma, was concerned about cover for teachers during the training. Cover is essential and we have included it in the cost of the training. It is anticipated that about 12 days’ training will be needed outside the classroom, and cover will be built into the funding provided for that. There were concerns about the approach promoting a two-tier system. Newly appointed SENCOs will be the priority, but as greater clarity on the numbers emerges, we will look with the Training and Development Agency at the scope within assigned resources for supporting SENCOs who have been in post for longer. An enormous amount of work has been undertaken by the TDA, and as the numbers become clearer we can consider revising the scheme. The noble Baroness, Lady Verma, and the noble Lord, Lord Addington, were interested to know how we will be reviewing the regulations. We will do so through the TDA, which will examine the scheme after a three-year period. The noble Baroness, Lady Verma, asked about who had developed the scheme. It was developed by the TDA and there was significant consultation with specialists involved—head teachers and SENCOs alike. We will also look at the TDA to monitor the take-up of places. Already 700 have been taken up, with 2,000 more to be taken in January. That is a significant number. Our aim is to improve the skills, knowledge and confidence of a group of people who are key to the outcomes for children with SEN and disabilities. From 2010, the school workforce survey will help us to keep track of SENCO qualifications. That will give us a running commentary on how things are going. I welcome the recognition expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Addington, that there have been improvements over the years, and I echo his clear statement that not enough has been done. None of us in government, or in this House, would for one moment think that enough had been done, but we are very much committed to making further improvements. Twenty per cent of pupils in maintained schools have SEN or disabilities—a significant number of children and young people. A school’s special educational needs co-ordinator has a vital role to play in meeting those needs. The SENCO also forms an important point of contact within the school for children with SEN and their parents. I can say that from personal experience when working with my daughter’s SENCO. Serious concerns about the perceived low status of SENCOs within schools were expressed in the July 2006 report of the Education and Skills Select Committee. As a result of that committee’s recommendations, there is now a requirement in law for maintained schools to designate an SEN. Hitherto, there had simply been an assumption that that would happen—here we return to the noble Earl’s concern about a lack of consistency. Regulations laid last November established a requirement for SENCOs to be qualified teachers. It does not mean that all staff working with SENCOs must be teachers, but the SENCO must be a qualified teacher. That is essential if they are to have the necessary authority to negotiate with qualified colleagues on differentiated provision geared towards children’s individual needs. This is about raising the status of SENCOs. That in no way hinders non-teacher members of the SENCO team from continuing to play an important role in supporting the SENCO function. A further recommendation of the Select Committee was that SENCOs should receive appropriate training. Noble Lords here today have recognised that that is important and the right way to go. We know that some SENCOs have received very good training and I take this opportunity to commend the efforts of schools, local authorities and the individuals in this regard. However, there was no obligation to undertake such training, and it was therefore possible to take on the role of SENCO with little or no professional preparation. I do not think that that is the right way to go. Some SENCOs have received little preparation for their important role and some say that they have received no training at all. If we want to ensure effective educational provision—we are all agreed that we do—for children with additional needs and abilities, we must provide SENCOs with the training and professional skills they need. We believe that the best way to improve the skills of the workforce and boost parental confidence is by requiring those new to the role to obtain the nationally approved qualification within three years. We consulted on the regulations earlier this year. The majority of the respondents, who included SENCOs, head teachers, local authorities, governors, teacher unions and SEN organisations, supported the proposals now before us. The course should normally take one year to complete on a part-time basis, assuming that no credit is given for prior qualifications or experience, but the time could be shorter. Our draft regulations proposed a three-year period of latitude to obtain the award so as to make allowance for the individual circumstances of post-holders and schools—for example, those with caring responsibilities. We believe that that will provide latitude there, a point which concerned the noble Baroness, Lady Verma. We will also examine ways to ensure that SENCOs who have been in post for some time benefit from the new training resources developed under the other work that the TDA is doing on our inclusion development programme, to which I have already referred. We know that it takes time for SENCOs to grow into their role. The new training is intended to enable those with less experience to get up to speed as quickly as possible. That is why we are not requiring those who have extensive experience or are working as a SENCO already to undertake the training. Instead, we leave it up to head teachers’ discretion whether SENCOs who have been in post for more than 12 months should be encouraged to take the course. SENCOs do an important job, as we all agree. They deserve our support, as do the children that they work with. The Government agree with the recommendations of the Select Committee, and we have taken action to address its concerns. The regulations, the professional training courses approved by the TDA and the funding that we have earmarked for the next two years will ensure that all SENCOs new to the role will receive the training and support that they need to perform a demanding and valuable job. I therefore hope that noble Lords will support the initiative.