Navigating the maze of ‘becoming’ a SENCO: a review of the literature

This literature review offers an exploration of the interplay between extrinsic tensions, their impact on intrinsic SENCo identity and the subsequent facilitators and barriers to the enactment of the role as articulated in the externally imposed standards (NCTL,2014). This review seeks to bring together Kearns’ consideration of individual perspectives within the SENCo CPD context and the ways in which SENCo identity interacts with the tensions of being/becoming a strategic leader/SENCo. We examine the tensions present within four key threads running through the SENCo standards (NCTL, 2014) - Influence, Change, Challenge and Culture.