Senco Cover During Maternity Leave

[Guest]

Hi,

 

Our current SENCo also my Deputy is expecting a baby in April next year, but hopes to work to the beginning of the Easter hols.

 

Have asked advice from the PSDO and she says we need to have someone else trained up in the SENCo role, but in reality how many of you have done that.

 

Our current SENCo is fairly local, hopes to come in regularly and wants to return to work as soon as maternity leave is up.

 

What should we do?

 

Rachel

[mundia]

Hi Rachel.

I do think you need a Senco during the maternity cover, I dont think you can assume that the person on leave will be able to take up that role whilst on maternity leave.

 

Your LA may have different rules from ours, so always worth looking, but we would expect there to be a named Senco as a condition of funding, and an absence to up to 6 months (or maybe longer) would be too long for a setting to be without one. Is it worth having a chat with your area SENCO if you have one?

[Inge]

We always had 2 people trained anyway, as if one was off for some reason the other would take over if needed.. in reality I was lucky to be able to have all staff trained as able to do the role, but that was more because we often took children who needed extra help and were often recommended by children's centre who supported us in this role..

 

it too was a condition of our funding to have a named Senco who was available , so could not be anyone on leave for any length of time..

[anju]

We have to have a trained SENCO too - I have two people doing a joint SENCO role at the moment.

[Guest]

Thanks for that everyone

 

Rachel

[lynned55]

I thought all settings have to have a NAMED & trained Senco. We have 2 named Sencos but all our staff are trained to Senco L6.

[Guest]

Hi

I'm a preschool deputy leader, currently doing my SENCo training. There are people on the course whose previous SENCO are now on maternity leave. Our tutor says we should have a trained deputy SENCo.

 

Regards,

 

Butterbalm.