Preparing for a SENCO meeting: a parent checklist

A useful school meeting ends with a shared understanding of the difficulty, the support to try and a date to review it. You do not need to arrive knowing every acronym.

In England, the SENCO is the special educational needs co-ordinator. GOV.UK recommends speaking to the teacher or SENCO about additional support your child may need. Read the SEN support guidance. This checklist is a preparation aid, not a legal procedure.

Download the editable checklist (plain text). You can copy it into your notes or print it. It does not send information to InclusiveGrid.

Before the meeting

• Choose two or three priorities. What is hardest right now?
• Ask your child what they want adults to understand, using their preferred way of communicating.
• Bring a few dated examples, including what helped and what happened afterwards.
• Gather the current support plan and any relevant reports already available.
• Send your questions ahead if that would help you participate.
• Ask for anything you need to take part, such as an agenda, breaks or written follow-up.

Describe observations concretely. “On three mornings this week, getting through the school entrance took around half an hour” gives a clearer starting point than “school is impossible.” Label this as your observation and invite the school to share theirs.

Questions to take with you

1. What are you seeing in lessons, at break and during transitions?
2. What does my child say or show about their experience?
3. What support is currently provided, by whom and how often?
4. Which parts are helping? What evidence are we using to judge that?
5. What will we try next, and when will it start?
6. Who will be responsible for each action?
7. How will we communicate between meetings?
8. When will we review progress, and what will happen if the support is not enough?

It is possible for home and school to see different things. Record both accounts without treating one as automatically more valid.

Before you leave

Read the actions back. Check that each has an owner and a date. If something remains unresolved, write it down as unresolved rather than recording agreement that did not happen.

A follow-up note you can adapt

Thank you for meeting on [date]. My understanding is that we agreed [action], led by [person], starting on [date]. We will review this on [date], looking at [what we will check]. We still need to clarify [question]. Please let me know if I have misunderstood anything.

Keep the reply alongside the meeting notes in your SEND records log. If you are wondering how SEN support relates to an assessment, read What is an EHCP?.

Guidance link checked on 27 September 2026. This resource covers school conversations in England.