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completely on the task at hand. Not sure how to approach your SLT about it? Chat to your gatekeeper, first. Meetings Ah, the universal time-suck. Meetings can run out of control really easily, and become just another thing you can’t wait to tick off your list, rather than useful ideas-sharing vehicles, which is what they’re meant to be. Early on in my career, a parent asked me for a meeting, and in preparation I overmarked books, and did lots of extra assessments. I laid everything out on the table, and when the parent came in, it turned out they just wanted to let me know they’d be pulling their child out of school to go to a family wedding. All that work, and time, and I needn’t have bothered. What I’m trying to say is, make sure you know the reason for and scope of the meeting before going in – I really learned a lesson about wasting time on this one! Control your time On that note, make sure everyone in the meeting knows when it will start and finish, too. H ave you ever actually managed to get to the toilet at work without someone saying, “I just need to talk to you about Brian...”? Do you try and sneak out of school at the end of the day, to avoid the inevitable “Have you got a minute?”? I thought so. These are daily occurrences for busy SENDCos. I’ve often found myself trying to be invisible. But that’s not sustainable. Instead, we need ways to help save us time, while remaining visible to those that need us. Throughout my career, I’ve come to find that there are, in fact, quite a few ways to be able to save time and get the job done properly. I’ll share them with you here, in the hopes that you find them useful, too. Gatekeepers One of the best ways I find to help me manage workload is to check in with my gatekeeper. Your gatekeeper is the person who will back you when you’re not in the room; who will say what is – and isn’t – your responsibility. This could be the headteacher, your line manager, or really any member of staff who knows you well and ‘gets’ what you do. Flexibility There’s no harm in asking if you could work from home sometimes. When you’ve got particular jobs to do – like that referral – you need to make sure you won’t be interrupted, and can focus 52 | www.teachwire.net “Could you JUST...?” Time is at a premium for a busy SENDCo, but there are ways and means to make the most of the hours at your disposal, says Ginny Bootman T EACH PR I MARY S END SPEC I A L I N AS SOC I A T I ON W I TH