The SEND governor: Preparing for link visits

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was updated on November 8, 2019. The author made minor amendments in response to two reader comments. It was felt that the word “duty” could be interpreted as meaning “legal requirement” rather than, as was intended, it being synonymous with “responsibility”. Also, the use of the word “should” caused some concern because, again, it implied that the advice contained in this article was statutory rather than best practice. There were no factual inaccuracies in the original article but the author wanted to make amendments to avoid his words being misused by governors or school leaders.

A governing body’s responsibilities for SEND are often delegated to a sub-committee or single named governor. For the purposes of this article, I will offer best practice advice on the role of the named governor.