SENCOs in UK schools spend so much time on paperwork that three-quarters say they lack the hours needed for their core role. The problem has grown as the number of students with special educational needs has climbed sharply, forcing schools to divert more money into administrative staff rather than direct support for children. SchoolVue, a UK education software company, is building an online platform that automates the statutory documentation and administrative processes that SENCOs must complete for each student. The platform is designed to generate paperwork that meets each local authority’s specific guidelines, removing the need for manual checking and rewriting. If the platform works as intended, SENCOs could reclaim a substantial portion of their time, allowing them to focus on supporting students rather than filling out forms. That shift could improve the quality of provision for children with SEN, who are disproportionately from lower-income backgrounds, and reduce educational inequalities. The company also plans to adapt the platform for international markets, which would position the UK as a leader in SEN technology.
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SchoolVue is a UK-based education software SME led by Tiarnan Hamilton Turner (project lead), Phil Simpson (technical lead) and Paula Hamilton (UI designer). SENCOs manage statutory processes defined by DfE policy that relate to supporting UK students with SEN (1.6M UK students in 2024, an increase of 101K over 2023). Administratively, time-consuming processes for rapidly increasing numbers of SEN students result in overwhelming workloads that affect SENCOs' well-being as well as increasing inefficiencies. 74% of SENCOs say they don't have enough time due to time spent on administrative tasks. School spending on SEN was £3.5B more in 2024 compared to 2015, which represents a 58% increase. The need for more administrative staff means less is being spent on direct student support, negatively impacting the quality of provision and, hence, education quality overall. SchoolVue is developing an online platform that aims to streamline DfE SEN processes while generating statutory documentation that meets each local authority's guidelines. SchoolVue will target primary and secondary schools to enhance the efficiency of SENCOs' administrative tasks by 70%, improving their well-being and giving them more time to focus on supporting students with SEN, which disproportionately affects children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This will increase the quality of provision for these students, foster life skills, improve self-esteem, reduce educational inequalities and enhance academic achievement, which will benefit the education sector and contribute to the UK's economic growth. Adapting ProvisionVue for international markets will position the UK as a leader in SEN solutions and enhance global education outcomes.
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