A day in the life of…a special educational needs co-ordinator

Lisa Smith is a deputy pre-school leader and special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) at a busy pre-school in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Her job involves assisting the pre-school leader in the running of the group as well as taking the lead role in supporting any children with special educational needs. At the moment there are two children in the group who require her support.

Lisa explains, ‘Lucy, who has Down’s Syndrome, and Chloe, who has autism, have very specific and varied needs. Lucy has very low muscle tone and I work closely with her physiotherapist on specific exercises to help strengthen the individual muscle groups. I spend about five to ten minutes a day on the exercise programme on a one-to-one basis with Lucy, and regularly liaise with her parents to keep them informed as to what we’ve been doing and progress being made. I have been concentrating a lot on bending and stretching exercises lately, which can take many forms – bending down to pick up toys or reaching up to get a book, for example.’