THE STORY SO FAR...
As an experienced SENCO & SEND Leader, Anita has undergone ‘stressful’ situations in the workplace. She has used the challenging circumstances of her situation to support and consider what other SENCOs may be going through. Anita first starting talking about SENCO Wellbeing at the nasen AGM in 2009. Since then, she has lead workshops and given keynotes on the topic including The Academies Show.
In 2016, Anita led four main projects to support and extend SENCO well-being:
A free Time Management eBook for SENCOs. Feedback in applying this bespoke approach has been very encouraging and positive. Give it a try!
Training SENCOs on 'Reducing the SEND paperwork'. Participant feedback confirms the impact this has made on whole school systems and staff engagement in sharing/using important information to meet the needs of ALL children and young people.
Introduced a low-cost / high impact professional development programme to support other staff on an on-going basis.
To support and sustain and develop long-standing SENCOs, Anita working with Optimus Education launched SENCO Masterclass in 2016 & Masterclass PLUS in 2017.
Anita launched #senco5aday in January 2017. Anita completed her PhD on the Professional Development of SENCOs in 2022 and led the BELAMS #SENDrig #Inclusionrig between 2019 and 2021.
Why? There is a need to do much more... SENCOs are like gold dust!
The SENCO is a statutory role, the only professional required to be a qualified teacher.
It can be a very isolated role within a setting.
The actual role is complex and involves managing the largest team in a setting, liaising between different stakeholders and ensuring children and young people achieve their outcomes, whilst sustaining a robust paper trail of evidence
Developing the project further in 2018, Anita has re-grouped the original '5 a day' recommendations from the Foresight's (2008) study into three constructs that align with current research and thinking on prevention through an integrated approach. The three elements of #senco5aday are Purpose, People and Place.
Anita continues to speak on SENCO well-being (UKed Chat Conference 2021), as well as write. However, in June 2021, the #Senco5ADay blog was handed over to Jenny Bowers. In 2020, Anita launched SEND Leaders' Appreciation Day In 2022, this was handed to Jenny to lead.
In 2022, Anita & Jenny wrote and published: Journeying to the Heart of SENCO Wellbeing