PGCert National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination (NASENCO)

Course Summary

The course is designed to critically engage with current thinking and ideas about inclusive and specialist education, and is designed to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding required to be a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo). The course fulfils all the requirements for achieving the National SENCo Award. The 2015 Special Educational Needs Code of Practice stipulates that for SENCos new to the role, it is mandatory to gain this award within three years of taking up the role.

The course covers inclusion and leadership within special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and it draws upon current legislation and national and international research. The course will enable you to study and research current and relevant issues concerning a range of special educational needs and disabilities and to develop your knowledge of inclusive pedagogy and practice. It will allow you to develop the skills to reflect critically on your own practice and current research. It will also enable you to contribute to school development and strategic vision concerning SEND and inclusion.

Your Future Career

The key aim of this course is to develop the skills and knowledge you need for the role of SENCo within schools. The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (DfE / DoH, 2015) stipulates that all new SENCos must gain the National SENCo Award within three years of taking their post. The skills and knowledge you develop on this course will give you expertise in the areas of inclusion, SEND and leadership, whether you are working as or aspiring to be a SENCo. However, the course will also help you develop a range of transferrable skills that are desirable in a wide range of careers. These include knowledge of theories, legislation, policy and practice, computer literacy, planning and time management and written communication. It will also demonstrate your ability to design and carry out small-scale research and to engage in critical thinking.