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Education employment contract

School SENCO Employment Contract UK

Define coordinated SEND leadership around evidence, inclusive provision and accountable pupil support.

Watercolour illustration showing SENCO at work in Education on a pale sage background
This contract includes Coordinate the school's SEND identification and provision. Maintain plans reviews and required pupil records. Advise teachers support staff and leaders. Preview before payment PDF and editable DOCX files after checkoutBuilt for UK employers
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This page is maintained for UK employers creating senco contracts for education. HRHeaven uses a legally validated and solicitor-approved self-service contract framework, with wording for role duties, confidentiality, notice, holiday, probation and practical workplace expectations. It does not replace individual legal advice for complex or disputed circumstances.

Last updated
19 June 2026
Content owner
HRHeaven employment documentation team
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UK employer template review, versioned clause logic and preview before payment

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What's included in your contract

Job description

Clear role overview and key responsibilities.

Probation period

Clear probation terms for the selected arrangement.

Role-specific duties

Maintained responsibilities, records and authority boundaries for the selected role.

Working hours

Standard and flexible working arrangements.

Holiday entitlement

Holiday terms explained for the selected arrangement.

Confidentiality

Client and company confidentiality.

Disciplinary process

Clear process and employee rights.

Notice periods

Notice terms explained for both parties.

You’ll receive your contract in both PDF & DOCX formats

Download a polished PDF ready to issue and an editable DOCX copy for future updates.

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Before you create it

Use this SENCO contract with confidence

Practical checks to help an employer choose the right starting point and prepare the information the document needs.

When to use this contract

Deliver coherent identification and review of SEND support, practical guidance and coordination for teaching staff, and constructive family and multi-agency collaboration.

Workplace context: School, college or other agreed education premises and authorised off-site educational activities.

What makes this role different

Follow the Employer's documented arrangements covering leadership time, caseload and teaching allocation. Follow the Employer's documented arrangements covering qualification and continuing development where required. Follow the Employer's documented arrangements covering special-category pupil and family information. Follow the Employer's documented arrangements covering multi-agency, statutory-process and leadership escalation. Follow the Employer's documented arrangements covering safeguarding.

Not a fit / obtain specialist advice

Recheck the role or obtain appropriate advice if the work would exceed these maintained authority boundaries: Work within the Employer's documented teaching release, budget, referral and plan authority and who approves statutory requests, staffing or material provision. The SENCO coordinates evidence but does not independently make medical diagnoses or every institutional decision. Obtain approval before committing expenditure, changing contractual commitments or making regulated or staffing decisions outside the assigned role.

What to prepare before you issue it

  • the school phase pupil numbers and SEND profile
  • the qualification and designated-role requirements
  • the teaching timetable and protected coordination time
  • the plan referral and external-agency process
  • the budget support-team and reporting authority

Day-to-day operating brief

What SENCO work looks like in practice

A SENCO coordinates the setting's approach to special educational needs and disabilities through identification, provision, review and collaboration. The contract should distinguish coordination and professional advice from diagnosis, funding decisions and duties retained by senior leadership or the governing body. SEND coordination should connect graduated classroom support, pupil and family participation, professional advice, provision mapping and review evidence. The role needs sufficient access to teaching information and leadership decisions to challenge provision that is not working, while diagnosis, statutory decisions and specialist clinical conclusions remain with the properly authorised body or professional. Caseload and administrative support should be realistic for the school's size and needs profile.

Responsibilities reflected in the contract

  • Coordinate the school's SEND identification and provision.
  • Maintain plans reviews and required pupil records.
  • Advise teachers support staff and leaders.
  • Work with families and external professionals.
  • Monitor provision impact resources and unresolved needs.

A realistic working scenario

The SENCO may review concerns and evidence, coordinate an assess-plan-do-review cycle, advise colleagues, meet families, liaise with professionals and escalate where provision, attendance, safeguarding or resources require leadership action.

Outputs to agree

  • coherent identification and review of SEND support
  • practical guidance and coordination for teaching staff
  • constructive family and multi-agency collaboration

Records and evidence

  • SEND register and provision-map information.
  • Support plans, reviews and outcomes.
  • Family, staff and professional communications.
  • Referral, transition, funding and statutory-process evidence.
  • Lesson plans.
  • Attendance records.

Reporting relationship

Typically reports to Class Teacher, SENCO or Headteacher. Confirm the employer's actual reporting structure in the builder.

Authority and escalation

  • Work within the Employer's documented teaching release, budget, referral and plan authority and who approves statutory requests, staffing or material provision. The SENCO coordinates evidence but does not independently make medical diagnoses or every institutional decision.
  • Obtain approval before committing expenditure, changing contractual commitments or making regulated or staffing decisions outside the assigned role.

Tools and systems

  • Assessment systems.
  • School communication systems.
  • Classroom equipment.

Workplace context

  • School, college or other agreed education premises and authorised off-site educational activities.

Training and certification

  • Complete employer-required safeguarding training.

Contract priorities

  • leadership time, caseload and teaching allocation
  • qualification and continuing development where required
  • special-category pupil and family information
  • multi-agency, statutory-process and leadership escalation

Information the employer should prepare

  • the school phase pupil numbers and SEND profile
  • the qualification and designated-role requirements
  • the teaching timetable and protected coordination time
  • the plan referral and external-agency process
  • the budget support-team and reporting authority

Individually written and reviewed against the maintained role record.

Maintained role evidence

The facts this SENCO contract is built around

These role-pack details give an employer something concrete to check before using the contract for education work.

Work setting

School, college or other agreed education premises and authorised off-site educational activities.

Primary duties

  • Coordinate the school's SEND identification and provision.
  • Maintain plans reviews and required pupil records.
  • Advise teachers support staff and leaders.
  • Work with families and external professionals.

Tools and training to confirm

  • Assessment systems.
  • School communication systems.
  • Classroom equipment.
  • Complete employer-required safeguarding training.

Governance focus

Ofsted context where applicable. Follow the Employer's documented arrangements covering leadership time, caseload and teaching allocation. Follow the Employer's documented arrangements covering qualification and continuing development where required. Follow the Employer's documented arrangements covering special-category pupil and family information.

Contract builder output

SENCO clauses and builder inputs

HRHeaven builds the contract from the employer's answers, the selected industry, and the role-specific wording for this job.

Role wording

SENCO duties

Deliver coherent identification and review of SEND support, practical guidance and coordination for teaching staff, and constructive family and multi-agency collaboration.

Coordinate the school's SEND identification and provision. Maintain plans reviews and required pupil records. Advise teachers support staff and leaders. Work with families and external professionals. Monitor provision impact resources and unresolved needs.

Builder answers

What the contract builder captures

Employer and employee details Role title and reporting line Pay, hours and working pattern Holiday, probation and notice Workplace and site rules Company branding and e-sign

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Specific clauses

What is added to the finished contract

Work within the Employer's documented teaching release, budget, referral and plan authority and who approves statutory requests, staffing or material provision. The SENCO coordinates evidence but does not independently make medical diagnoses or every institutional decision.

Obtain approval before committing expenditure, changing contractual commitments or making regulated or staffing decisions outside the assigned role.

Follow the Employer's documented arrangements covering leadership time, caseload and teaching allocation.

Follow the Employer's documented arrangements covering qualification and continuing development where required.

£19.99 one-off contractPreview before payment, then download the branded PDF and send for signature.

Explore the catalogue

Compare nearby role contracts before choosing the wording that matches the work.

One-to-One Support AssistantMaintain consistent individual pupil support, deliver greater access and independence, and deliver clear daily and professional handovers.Learning Support Assistant (LSA)Deliver improved pupil access to learning, maintain consistent agreed interventions, and produce accurate observations and handovers.Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA)Deliver small-group or whole-class sessions from lesson or activity plans and record adaptations, deliver update attendance registers and assessment/progress records on learning platforms after each session, and create and upload safeguarding or welfare notes into the school's safeguarding records when disclosures occur.Pastoral ManagerDeliver updated attendance logs and daily handover notes for the next shift, completed learner progress entries and action plans in progress records, and safeguarding concern reports entered into safeguarding records and notified to the practice or department manager.

Knowledge Centre

Guidance for employing a SENCO

Use these practical employer guides alongside the role-specific contract details on this page.

Contract or written statement for a SENCO?Knowledge Centre guidance for appointing a SENCOPolicies to place alongside a SENCO contractKnowledge Centre policy guidanceUK employment contract guideRelevant contract guidance
Employee Handbook + Contract Bundle

Employee handbook bundle

SENCO Contract + Employee Handbook Bundle

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Industry-specific policies Contract and handbook generated together UK-focused policy content Easy to edit and maintain

Related industry documents

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Employee handbookPair the contract with workplace policies tailored to the employer's industry.HR ActionsManage recruitment, probation, performance, absence, disciplinary, grievance and offboarding after the contract is created.Compliance membershipKeep documents aligned with future update notices and maintained compliance support.

After the contract

Run the employee lifecycle with HR Actions

Once the SENCO contract is created, HR Actions help education employers manage the next HR steps: recruitment, probation, performance, absence, disciplinary, grievance and offboarding.

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Frequently asked questions

Can a SENCO diagnose a child's condition?

The SENCO can coordinate observation, support and referrals but should not present the education role as medical diagnosis. Relevant qualified professionals and statutory processes have separate functions.

What authority should a SENCO contract specify?

Clarify access to records, staff guidance, meetings, referrals, provision planning and any budget, plus the senior-leadership route for staffing, funding and statutory decisions.

Must protected SENCO time be stated?

Record a workable allocation for the assigned duties.

Can the SENCO diagnose a condition?

Only professionals with the relevant scope may diagnose.

Who approves additional support spending?

Set the SEN budget and leadership approval limits.

How are families involved?

Use the school's participation and review procedures.

Can pupil information be shared externally?

Only for authorised support purposes with proper safeguards.

Who owns formal plan deadlines?

Allocate coordination, contributions and escalation clearly.

View all FAQs

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