Special Educational Needs (sen) Teacher

You'll need:

• knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
• sensitivity and understanding
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• the ability to work well with others
• the ability to create the best conditions for learning or teaching new things
• knowledge of English language
• to be flexible and open to change
• the ability to understand people’s reactions
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

You will:

• plan lessons and prepare teaching materials
• teach whole class lessons, work with small groups and support pupils individually
• help pupils develop self-confidence, independence and skills for life
• manage pupils' behaviour, motivate and encourage them to learn
• mark and assess work
• take registers and write reports

You'll sometimes also:

• work with specialist teaching services, medical staff, therapists and psychologists
• talk to parents and carers about their children's progress
• attend meetings, statutory reviews and training workshops
• organise outings, school social activities and sporting events
• run training sessions for other teaching staff on special needs issues

You could work at a school, at a special needs school or at a pupil referral unit.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.

You'll find it helpful to get some experience of working with young people with special educational needs or disabilities through paid work or volunteering at a school, youth club or on a holiday scheme.

Do-it has more information on volunteering opportunities in your area.

Registration

• you'll usually need qualified teacher status (QTS) to teach in a state school in England

Career tips

You can attend teacher training events before you apply to get advice about the profession, the different training routes and funding. You can attend events in person and online.

You can find out more about developing your skills for working with pupils with special educational needs from National Association for Special Educational Needs.

Professional and industry bodies

You could become a member of National Association for Special Educational Needs to help with professional development.

Further information

You can discover more about how to become a teacher from Get Into Teaching.

You can also search for jobs through the Teaching Vacancies service.

You'll need to:

• pass enhanced background checks, as you may be working with children and vulnerable adults

To teach pupils with hearing impairment, vision impairment or multi-sensory impairment, you'll need further specialist qualifications.