If you aspire to help children with complex needs achieve their potential a career as a special educational needs teacher would suit you
As a special educational needs (SEN) teacher you'll work with children and young people who need extra support, or require an advanced programme of learning in order to reach their full educational potential.
You may work with individuals who have physical disabilities, sensory impairments (i.e. hearing or visual), speech and language difficulties, learning difficulties such as dyslexia, conditions such as autism, social, emotional and mental health needs, or have a combination of these difficulties.
You may also work with gifted and talented individuals.
A key aspect of working in this field is identifying individual needs and being responsible for creating a safe, stimulating and supportive learning environment.
Responsibilities
As a SEN teacher, you'll need to:
Teach either individuals or small groups of pupils within, or outside the class
Prepare lessons and resources
Mark and assess work
Develop and adapt conventional teaching methods to meet the individual needs of pupils
Use special equipment and facilities, such as audiovisual materials and computers to stimulate interest in learning
Use specialist skills, such as teaching Braille to pupils with visual impairments or sign language and lip reading to students who have hearing impairments
Collaborate with the classroom teacher to define appropriate activities for the pupils in relation to the curriculum
Assess children who have long or short-term learning difficulties and work with colleagues to identify individual pupils' special needs
Work with the head teacher and governing body to ensure that the requirements of the Equality Act (2010) are met in terms of reasonable adjustments and access arrangements
Liaise with other professionals, such as social workers, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and educational psychologists
Work closely with parents and guardians
Organise learning outside the classroom in activities such as community visits, school outings or sporting events
Assist in severely disabled pupils' personal care/medical needs
Carry out administrative tasks, including updating and maintaining records of pupils' progress
Attend statutory annual reviews or other related meetings, such as Looked After Child (LAC) reviews, regarding students with a SEN, which may involve reviewing Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans
Attend in-service training
Manage behaviour.
Salary
New entrants to teaching in England, Wales and Northern Ireland begin on the main salary scale, which starts from £22,467, rising incrementally to £33,160. Teachers working within inner and outer London areas, as well as the London fringe area, receive additional allowances.
A SEN teacher's starting point depends on the employer, qualifications and level of responsibility. Consideration may be given to pre-entry experience.
An additional allowance, ranging from £2,064 to £4,075, is awarded for having responsibility for SEN children.
After gaining experience and expertise, teachers who reach the top of the main scale can apply to be assessed to progress to the upper pay scale. This ranges from £35,571 to £38,250.
Tradewind Recruitment is a Sunday Times Top 100 employer - stopping at nothing to ensure our candidates, clients and employees come first. At Tradewind you will have access to 25 fully certified CPD courses, that's 18 more than our next nearest competitor, all focused on making you the best you can be. We have the very best people available to take your call and look after you every step of the way. We pride ourselves on exceptional service and take the time to really get to know you. Put simply; we listen, we learn, we deliver. Why? Because our people matter most.
We specialise in matching Teachers and Support Staff to their dream job, and help Primary, Secondary and SEN schools recruit for a wide range of roles across our 11 offices in the UK, including: London, the West Midlands, the North West, East Anglia, the North East, the South West, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Herts and Bucks.
Awarded REC Audited Education gold standard - Tradewind Recruitment are committed to Safeguarding and are also a proud Equal Opportunities Employer.
