The Government introduced a revised SENⁱ Code of Practice in January 2002. The Government's intention in introducing the revised code was to reduce bureaucracy and unnecessary workload, particularly for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs).

The revised Code takes account of the SEN provisions of the Special
Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA), including the
strengthened right for children to be educated at a mainstream school. The revised Code recommended that schools adopt a graduated approach through School Action and School Action Plus to help match educational provision to children's needs.

This NUT survey focuses on the impact of the revised Code of Practice. The purpose of the survey was to examine whether the revised Code of Practice is more manageable than the old Code. The NUT survey explores the staffing, funding, training and curriculum issues surrounding the role of teachers who are SENCOs in schools. SENCOs are the lynchpin for achieving effective support for the most vulnerable children in mainstream schools; those with special educational needs. If SENCOs are unable to do their jobs properly then such children and young people suffer.