"We Are More Effective Collectively Than Alone" Says A Head Of SEND
02 Oct, 20241-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- Valuable lessons to thrive in SEND leadership roles.
- About the importance of schools and local authorities working together to ensure the needs of students with SEND are met.
- How to find and apply for the latest local authority SEND jobs.
Working as a Head of SEND can be stressful and demanding, but also incredibly rewarding. We recently caught up with a professional who understands this only too well.
Hilary Cook has worked in a multitude of roles in the education sector including SEND leadership positions and therefore has experience overseeing the day-to-day operations of SEND policies.
Hilary began her career as a Teacher in 2000 before becoming a SENCO in 2014, the year the SEND Code of Practice was implemented. Since then she has worked as a Deputy Headteacher, and a Director of SEND for a trust and has done a case study for the best practice NPQ SENCO course.
Having worked in schools and in SEND leadership roles, Hilary is currently taking on her first role in a local authority and is working to continuously improve the education sector to ensure that all young people, especially those with SEND, receive the highest quality education.
Throughout this interview, you’ll discover why Hilary thinks more school staff should work as SENCOs and how schools and authorities can work collectively to guarantee a better quality of learning for students with SEND.
Tell us about your career journey so far
I am currently a Head of SEND within a local authority in the Greater Manchester area but I have only been in this role a number of weeks. I became a SENCO in a large comprehensive school in 2014.
My career before this was as a Teacher of chemistry and I held additional curriculum and pastoral responsibilities. When I started my SENCO role, it coincided with the implementation of the new Code of Practice so I worked through the reforms within my setting.
I then became the Director of Inclusion within my school and then an Assistant Headteacher before becoming the Director of SEND for the trust working across 3 large secondary settings. In 2021 I moved to a school in Greater Manchester as a Deputy Headteacher for Inclusion and Trust SEND Lead.
I also started working for NASEN Whole School SEND one day a week as their Deputy Regional Lead. In this role I network with other SEND professionals and also run training and professional development activities.
You’ve just started a new role as a Head of SEND, is the role what you expected?
The role is very different to working in a school. I strategically oversee a number of teams that support the statutory functions for SEND that the Local Authority has responsibility with. The role allows me to network with colleagues from Health and Social Care and co-produce the local authorities strategic plans regarding SEND provision in the local area.
How do you keep up-to-date with changes in the SEND industry?
I read a lot, and keep abreast of changes on a national and local level. I always attend network events and use these to gather information from other colleagues. My role as Deputy Regional School Lead for NASEN really helps me with this as the specialist knowledge within this team nationally is incredible.
What’s the most valuable lesson that you’ve learned in your career so far?
That the challenges within the SEND system will only be minimised by a system that works together across all areas and listening to all stakeholders views along the way. We are more effective collectively than alone.
The system knows this but very often we can get stuck in our own individual frame without considering the bigger picture or the impact our part of the system can have on others.
I also find that with my wider understanding of working in a school, I understand all too well the challenges faced by parents and families of children with SEND and can be empathetic to all sides of the problem. I know it can be difficult to not be impatient for change.
What challenges or obstacles have you faced throughout your career?
It can be challenging trying to balance my role as a strategic SEND leader with my other role as a parent of a young person with SEND.
It is a constant challenge to meet the needs of children and young people and balance it against results and finance. We all want to be inclusive to all learners but it is definitely a challenge.
My ultimate blue sky is for the needs of children and young people with SEND - along with their friends - to be fully met in local schools. However, as a system, we are still very far away from achieving that goal.
Reform in the SEND sector continues to be a huge topic of discussion. How have things changed or progressed in the SEND sector since the start of your career?
The demand for support has increased on a scary trajectory, be it due to better identification of need, challenges with getting resources to the right places or parents lacking confidence in the school system to meet the needs of their children.
What do you feel can be done to better support the needs of children and young people with SEND?
There should be an increased focus on SEND support in schools. Due to the increased numbers of EHC plans in schools, this area of work may not get the funding and support that is required. With high quality teaching and targeted intervention through a graduated response I strongly believe that we can achieve academic success for the majority of students.
What would you say has been your biggest achievement in your career so far?
My biggest achievement has been the success of the young people that my work and the work of my team has achieved. These have been numerous and make all the work worthwhile.
Success and achievements aren’t always measured in terms of academic success, although it can be. For example one student went on to go to university and is now studying astrophysics and another - for the first time in 10 years - had a birthday party that he invited friends to. For these young people, these were things that should be celebrated.
I actually have a special folder for days when I need a bit of a boost. The folder is full of emails from when I worked in schools from parents thanking me (or my team) for the help we gave them, or telling us about their child's achievements.
Do you have any tips or advice for anyone considering a career in SEND provision?
Give it a go, it is the most rewarding (but also the most challenging) job you can do in a school. I rolled this into a career in a school that included Safeguarding, Mental Health, Alternative Provision and working with Cared For Children. To me it was the best job in the world at all career stages.
In my opinion all Headteachers should be required to work for a period of time as a SENCO, as it sets you up to understand holistically how a school works better than any other role in a school.
What are your career plans for the future?
I hope to develop my strategic work within the local authority and hope to work with partners to develop the system for children and young people with SEND.
I hope to carry on with my NASEN Whole School SEND work to ensure that I keep abreast of life in a school, it’s important I don’t forget my role in this area.
SEND jobs
If you’re searching for your next SEND job, why not take a look at the latest vacancies, or simply upload your CV to be notified when a relevant position becomes available.
If you learnt a lot from this Head of SEND, discover more engaging and inspiring interviews from SEND leaders:
- The role of SENCO should have the word hero in front of it, interview with a director for SEND
- Dual perspectives from a SEN Consultant and Managing Director
- Every teacher is a teacher of SEND an interview with a director of SEND
Local authority recruitment services
As specialist local authority SEND recruiters, we support local authorities nationwide with their temporary, interim and permanent staffing needs.
We can supply SEND staff for service redesign, tackling annual review backlogs and SEND/EHC Case workers to amend plans or hold annual review meetings.
If you’re struggling to fill a vacancy, why not get in touch with one of our team to see how we can help?
- South of the UK - Richard Shorrock
- Midlands & North of the UK - Adam Zyda
Share your experience
Every individual brings a unique set of experiences, thoughts, and insights to the table. We believe in giving a voice to a community of professionals to inspire positive change and champion reform in the healthcare sector.
If you work in the healthcare sector and would like to share your own personal and professional experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a different perspective, could offer a fresh angle, or want to challenge assumptions.
Simply reach out to our Head of Content, Nicole Sherwood, to discuss a collaboration which makes your voice count.
Who is Spencer Clarke Group?
Established in 2017, we’re a vibrant and progressive recruitment agency based in the heart of the North West.
We continually reimagine the recruitment process to challenge convention and defy expectations; from creating a better recruitment experience to remodelling employee engagement, we thrive off doing things differently and turning heads along the way.
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