Top 5 reasons to work in Special Education Needs and Disabilities

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There are more people in need of special education

The Department of Education releases a statement each year with statistics. This publication provides data from the January 2020 school censuses on pupils with special educational needs (SEN). It also provides information about special schools in England. The most recent of these statistics published in July 2020, show yet another annual increase of 3.1% on 2019 amounting to 3.3% of all pupils in England having an EHC plan. A further 12.1% of all pupils have SEN support, without an EHC plan, up from 11.9% in 2019.Taking into account the pattern of increases year on year, it would not be unexpected to see a further increase when figures are released in July on the academic year of 20/21.

Special education is essential and has remained open during the pandemic

We will no doubt see an increase in desire for job security, with the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics estimating the UK unemployment rate at 5.0% equating to around 3.4 million people.September to November 2020 showed a large increase in the unemployment rate and a record number of redundancies, while the employment rate continues to fall. We have seen numerous reports about how difficult schooling has been through 2020, and the necessity for education to continue. The UN issued a statement about preventing a learning crisis. And indeed, this holds true especially for children with special educational needs.

Special education teachers are in high demand

It stands to reason therefore that the need for SEND teachers is high. As a SEN teacher you will gain additional skills making you more marketable. Any additional certification or experience will only add to credentials. Teaching can be challenging but special needs education requires additional knowledge and personal skills, as apart from the usual planning and organisational skills and the ability to communicate effectively, you also need to be adaptable to changing circumstances and have strong behaviour management skills.

Special education opens doors to new roles

With the number of children requiring special education increase, so does the demand for the roles of teachers with those skills. As mentioned, if anything, demand will only grow. These roles require resilient teaching staff and specific skills, and can be highly beneficial both personally and from a business perspective. To work as an SEN teacher in a state school, you'll need to be a qualified teacher with mainstream teaching experience. Most independent schools will also prefer you to be a qualified teacher, however, it is not always essential. The set up and process of the teaching day differs from school to school. It is sometimes possible for SEN teachers to teach individuals or small classes. Bigger classes may also see the support of teaching assistants, and of course SEN teachers also work in further education colleges, as special education requirement does not stop once you reach a certain age, rather as a SEN teacher you are able to equip a student for adult life and for them to forge an equally successful career for themselves.

SEN also offers the possibility of specialising. There are so many conditions that result in children requiring special educational needs tuition, as touched on in previous articles. EHP highlights some of these being:

• Profound and multiple learning difficulties
• Specific learning difficulties
• Physical impairment
• Multi-sensory impairment
• Visual impairment
• Hearing impairment
• Social, emotional and mental health
• Speech, language and communication needs
• Attention, deficit hyperactivity disorder
• Autistic spectrum condition

Special education is rewarding and has a lifelong positive impact

Of course, we know that teaching in itself is a vocation and a rewarding one at that. However, as a SEN teacher you achieve that and so much more:

• You become an advocate with realms outside of the classroom. You represent SEN students working with a number of other stakeholders from parents and carers to council representatives, in order to support those in need.
• This sense of teamwork and camaraderie is generally not equalled within mainstream teaching, as you find yourself part of a larger community.
• The impact of recognition on a daily basis. Even the smallest signs of progress are worth celebrating as you see the same sense of achievement through your pupils, with the consideration that much greater effort has to go into those small steps of progression.

In short here are our top reasons for being a SEN teacher:

• Fulfilling career
• Career progression
• Specialisation opportunities
• Job security
• Positive impact on others' lives
• Engagement and teamwork
• Lifelong learning
• Personal and work-life rewards

Here are some of the top SEND Jobs currently featuring on Senploy

• SEN Teaching Assistant Jobs Manchester
• SEN Teaching Assistant Jobs London
• SEN Teaching Assistant Jobs Birmingham
• SEN Teacher Jobs London

Updated: Feb 2024