This article covers a number of different roles. Some of these roles, including Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) and careers educators, are based in schools. Others, including education welfare officers, careers advisers, school counsellors and educational psychologists, are based outside schools.

In addition to the specialist roles described in this article, there is an expectation set out in the Professional Standards that all teachers will:

• meet the needs of all learners whatever their different needs;
• manage the learning environment by promoting positive habits and learning behaviours;
• take responsibility for the learning success, achievement and well-being of learners.

Pastoral care roles

‘Pastoral care’ means looking after the welfare of pupils and ensuring that they can come to school.

In primary schools, it is usually the class teacher who has particular ‘pastoral responsibility’ for the children in his / her class.

In secondary schools, where students have different subject teachers, it is normally the ‘form tutor’ who has particular pastoral responsibility for a group of pupils. The form tutor generally meets with his / her form twice a day for a few minutes before the morning and afternoon sessions to register pupils as present or absent, give out notices, and prepare them for the teaching session ahead. (A ‘form’ is a group of pupils usually of the same age.) This ‘tutor time’ allows form tutors to get to know the students in their care, monitor their progress and well-being, and deal with problems that arise.

In secondary schools, a teacher is also typically appointed to oversee pastoral matters for each year group. This role is commonly known as 'head of year'. The way in which individual schools organise pastoral roles and responsibilities varies. In some schools, there may be a pastoral manager’s role, which is full-time and non-teaching. In others, a pastoral manager role may be aligned with teaching duties.  

The framework for pay in maintained schools allows for pastoral care, such as acting as form tutor, to be included in a teacher’s normal duties. If the pastoral care role is a sustained additional responsibility, such as head of year, then the framework allows for a Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payment to be awarded. TLR payments are made in addition to salary. See the subheading ‘Salaries’ in the article ‘Conditions of Service for Teachers Working in Early Childhood and School Education’.

Special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) (H3)

A special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) is the member of staff designated to oversee special educational needs (SEN) provision in mainstream settings. The role exists in both early years settings and maintained schools.

The role of the SENCO in early years settings involves:

• responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the setting’s SEN policy and for coordinating provision for children with SEN
• ensuring liaison with parents and other professionals in respect of children with SEN
• advising and supporting other practitioners in the setting
• ensuring that appropriate individual education plans (IEPs) are in place
• ensuring that relevant information about individual children with SEN is collected, recorded and updated.

All publicly funded mainstream early years settings are expected to identify a member of staff as the SENCO. Pages 33-4 of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice for Wales provide further information.

In schools, the role of a SENCO is similar and includes:

• contributing to the strategic development of SEN policy and provision in the school
• taking day-to-day responsibility for the operation of the SEN policy and coordinating provision for individual children with SEN
• working closely with staff, parents, carers and other agencies
• liaising with and providing professional advice and guidance to colleagues, with the aim of securing high quality teaching for children with SEN
• contributing to the in-service training of staff
• overseeing the records of all pupils with SEN.

All mainstream maintained schools should designate a member of staff to be the SENCO. In a small school, the headteacher or deputy may take on the role; in larger schools, there may be an SEN coordinating team.

Further details on the role of the SENCO in schools are provided in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice for Wales.

The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 was passed by the National Assembly for Wales in December 2017 and received Royal Assent in January 2018. Under this Act, all maintained schools and nurseries will be required to have a designated Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinator (ALNCo). The ALNCo position will replace the existing non-statutory SENCO role. The Act also confers a power on Welsh Ministers to make regulations prescribing the required qualifications and / or experience a person must have to be an ALNCo. It is intended that introduction of the reforms will begin in September 2020 and be completed by the end of 2023. For further information on the reforms and the timescale for the implementation of the 2018 Act, see the updates available from the Welsh Government.

Designated senior person for child protection

All maintained schools should identify a designated senior person (DSP) with lead responsibility for managing child protection issues and cases. The DSP should know how to recognise and identify the signs of abuse and neglect and know when it is appropriate to make a referral to the relevant investigating agencies. The role involves providing advice and support to other staff, and making referrals to and liaising with other agencies as necessary. The DSP role is not to investigate allegations, but DSPs must keep the headteacher informed of all child protection issues in the school. The DSP need not be a teacher, but must be a senior member of the school leadership team. For more detailed information regarding the role and responsibilities of the DSP, see pages 23-27 of the Welsh Government guidance, Keeping Learners Safe.

Designated person for looked after children

Under Section 20 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008, all maintained schools must designate a member of staff as having responsibility for promoting the educational achievement of looked after children in the school. The designated person, who is essentially responsible for ensuring the needs of looked after children are met, needs to have an understanding of the care system and of the impact that being in care can have on a child’s educational outcomes. A background in pastoral care (see above) is often a requirement. The Welsh Government has produced statutory guidance setting out the minimum standards expected for the role of the designated person.

Education welfare officer

Education welfare officers (EWOs) are employed by local authorities to work with pupils, parents and schools to promote regular attendance at school.

Many EWOs are trained social workers. Entry to social work is via a bachelor’s degree programme in social work. Other EWOs have qualifications and experience in a related area such as teaching, youth work or counselling. For most posts, at least one year’s experience of working with children and families, or in a related field, is required.

Further information about the role is available from the Careers Wales website and from the Welsh Government’s induction pack for staff new to the education welfare service.

Careers education, information, advice and guidance staff

Careers education, information, advice and guidance is provided by a partnership between those who work within schools and colleges (careers educators) and those who are external to the school or college (careers advisers).

Careers advisers

Careers advisers are external to the school / college and are typically employed by the external, all-age careers service Careers Wales, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Welsh Government. They work with schools and colleges to provide careers guidance, and also provide training and consultancy support to schools and colleges in the delivery of their careers and the world of work (CWW) programmes. 

Qualifications for careers advisers

The Qualification in Career Development, awarded by the Career Development Institute, is the main qualification route for those who wish to work as careers advisers with young people, although there are marked variations in the level and type of qualification held by careers advisers. The Qualification in Career Development is available at universities across the UK as a one-year full time or two-year part time postgraduate course. As well as academic study, it includes a work placement with an employer lasting a minimum of 20 days and a further 10 days of work-based learning, including activities such as attending careers fairs or visiting employers.

Careers educators

Careers educators are members of a school or college staff with responsibility for coordinating, managing or providing careers and the world of work (CWW) programmes for students. The key role in a secondary school is the careers and the world of work (CWW) coordinator. In summary, this role involves:

• planning, managing and contributing to the delivery of CWW;
• managing the contributions of staff and partners;
• developing their own and others’ skills for delivery of CWW;
• advising senior managers and boards / governing bodies.

The role is typically taken by a teacher alongside subject teaching responsibilities, although some schools appoint a non-teacher to the role. Some, but not all, CWW coordinators hold an accredited professional qualification in managing careers education and guidance for young people.

School counsellors (H3)

Local authorities in Wales are required to make independent counselling services available to:

• pupils in all secondary schools in the area; 
• pupils in Year 6 (aged 10–11) of primary schools in the area.

See the subheading ‘Psychological counselling’ in the article on ‘Guidance and Counselling in Early Childhood and School Education’ for details.

Local authorities must employ professionally qualified counsellors to provide this service, who must have experience of working with young people. These counsellors must also access appropriate clinical supervision with experienced supervisors and take part in regular and appropriate continuing professional development. They are also expected to be members of a professional body such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and, as such, have an established ethical framework and complaints procedure.

Further information on the role of school counsellors is available in the School-based Counselling: Operating Toolkit, published by the Welsh Government in 2011 and revised in 2020.

Educational psychologists

Educational psychologists (EPs) work with children and young people experiencing difficulties, and their schools and families, to promote their learning and behaviour and emotional and social well-being. They also support those with learning difficulties in achieving their potential, by contributing to the assessment of a child’s special educational needs (SEN) and to reviews of provision. Educational psychologists (EPs) usually work in consultation with parents, teachers, social workers, doctors, education officers and other people involved in the education and care of children and young people.

The educational psychology professional entry training is a three-year doctoral degree. Courses generally consist of a first year spent studying full-time, followed by two years in which the trainee works in a local authority as a trainee educational psychologist, with one to two days’ study each week. The entry requirement is normally an upper second class (2:1) bachelor’s degree in a psychology-based subject that grants eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society. Applicants must also have at least one year's relevant experience of working with children and young people. Further information on the role is available from the Association of Educational Psychologists.

In order to practise, educational psychologists are required by law to be registered by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the statutory regulator for all practitioner psychologists in the UK.  Further information regarding registration is available from the HCPC.

Article last reviewed April 2021.