Hi Judith
Ed from Real Training here.
Your question is a good one, and you’re in no way alone! The iSENCO course is largely the same as the NASENCO course, with one important distinction. iSENCO has been developed alongside international schools and experts to provide course content more relevant to international school educators; for example, the impact on learning of third culture kids, English as an additional language and so on. Additionally, to be eligible for the iSENCO course, you don’t have to hold a UK Qualified Teacher Status, unlike the NASENCO course where you do.
However, we do understand that not all teachers working abroad plan to do so indefinitely, which is why we offer a FREE UK-focused top-up module for all iSENCO graduates, which when added to your iSENCO qualification, means you gain the full NASENCO qualification without having to take the entire course again. Please note though, that to be eligible for this top-up module, you will need to hold a UK-based QTS or QTLS.
So in short, taking iSENCO doesn’t preclude you from also holding a NASENCO qualification upon your return to the UK without having to take an entirely different course.
Hope this helps. Please do feel free to contact us if you need any further information.