SENDCo
Job Title: SENDCo (Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Co-ordinator)
Location: York Steiner School, Fulford, York
Salary: £33,000 – £36,000 FTE (Pro-rata, dependent on agreed hours/days)
Contract: Full time or Part-Time (0.6 to 1FTE, flexible working patterns considered)
Start Date: Autumn Term 2026
Are you an experienced SENDCo tired of ticking compliance boxes, managing endless spreadsheets, and chasing rigid data targets at the expense of the children in your care? Do you want to bring imagination, playfulness, and deeply therapeutic, creative approaches back into your daily practice?
Welcome to York Steiner School. Nestled in a supportive, community-led environment in York, we offer a truly holistic, unhurried, and child-led rhythm of education. Here, progress is measured by the development of the whole child—emotionally, socially, and physically—not just by test scores. We treat less competition as an opportunity for greater acceptance of human differences.
The Opportunity: Lead Our Journey to Excellence
Following our recent March 2026 monitoring inspection, we are on an active, transparent journey to make our SEND provision exceptionally robust. We are looking for an inspiring, strategic Inclusion Leader who sees the new Ofsted framework not as a burden, but as a scaffold to protect and elevate our unique pedagogy.
You won’t be expected to fit a square peg into a round hole. Your mandate is to build a beautiful "language bridge" between mainstream SEND compliance (SMART targets, precise APDR tracking) and Waldorf child development theory (the 12 senses, constitutional temperaments, and class-readiness rhythms).
How We Will Work Together (No More Silos!)
Our school recently held a collaborative roundtable to define what a successful working relationship with our next SENDCo looks like. We have committed to a culture where you are fully integrated, valued, and supported.
In this role, you will:
Step into the Classroom: Move away from isolated desk work. You will actively observe children "in the moment," helping teachers anticipate dysregulation proactively through a shared practice of observation.
Empower the teaching body: Collaborate directly with class teachers to develop a shared "Teacher Toolbox" of creative, localized classroom interventions, ensuring SEND pupils access the core of the Main Lesson without losing its vital rhythm.
Streamline the Paperwork: Overhaul and standardise our Assess, Plan, Do, Review (APDR) cycles, ensuring targets are sharp, precise, and genuinely useful to teachers, parents, and inspectors alike.
Champion the Agenda: Hold a permanent, dedicated slot in our monthly educational phase meetings and lead our new "SEND Question of the Week" to build collective expertise across the school.
Partner with Parents: Build empathetic, highly communicative, and reassuring relationships with families navigating the complex world of additional needs.
Who You Are
You hold a recognised teaching qualification and the National Award for SEN Co-ordination (NASENCO / NPQSENCO), or have equivalent verified experience managing UK statutory SEND frameworks.
You are an expert in the legalities of the SEND Code of Practice and EHCP processes.
You possess a deep curiosity about, or an existing background in, Steiner Waldorf pedagogy and alternative education.
You bring a playful, imaginative, and resourceful mindset, capable of maximizing classroom environments and utilising local university student placements to expand support.
What We Offer
A warm, deeply relational, low-tech, and nature-centric working environment.
A highly supportive induction process, including early dedicated mentoring sessions with our senior Steiner teachers to ground you in our ways of working.
Small class sizes where you can truly get to know the "lived reality" of every child.
Want to know more before you apply?: Please email Headteacher@yorksteinerschool to arrange an informal, confidential discussion about the role.
York Steiner School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The successful candidate will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check.