Au pair to special educational needs assistant
An au pair already meets 29% of what the special educational needs assistant role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.
72.3/ 100
1 How much of what a special educational needs assistant is expected to do is already part of an au pair’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the special educational needs assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A special educational needs assistant role treats 8 of its required skills as things an au pair already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assess the development of youth
- assist children in developing personal skills
- attend to children's basic physical needs
- disability care
- give constructive feedback
- handle children's problems
What stands in the way is 15 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A special educational needs assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an au pair background worth leading with.
- already held common children's diseases health and welfare
- already held assist children in developing personal skills assisting and caring
- already held attend to children's basic physical needs assisting and caring
- already held workplace sanitation services
- already held handle children's problems assisting and caring
- already held disability care health and welfare
All 11 carried skills, including the 8 the special educational needs assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 36 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn assist students in their learning required
- still to learn manage student relationships required
- still to learn provide lesson materials required
- still to learn provide teacher support required
- optional, not held advise on lesson plans optional
- optional, not held consult students on learning content optional
- optional, not held liaise with educational support staff optional
- optional, not held prepare lesson content optional
- still to learn assist students with equipment required
- still to learn guarantee students' safety required
- still to learn implement care programmes for children required
- still to learn perform playground surveillance required
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- still to learn learning difficulties required
- still to learn learning needs analysis required
- still to learn special needs education required
- optional, not held instructional strategies optional
- optional, not held curriculum objectives optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
- still to learn encourage students to acknowledge their achievements required
- still to learn facilitate motor skill activities required
- optional, not held facilitate teamwork between students optional
- optional, not held assess students optional
- optional, not held organise creative performance optional
- optional, not held perform classroom management optional
- still to learn social development required
- optional, not held development delays optional
- optional, not held hearing disability optional
- optional, not held mobility disability optional
- optional, not held visual disability optional
- still to learn monitor children's physical development required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a special educational needs assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 social development study this
- 02 assist students in their learning practise this
- 03 assist students with equipment practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 11 skills that carry over
- already held assess the development of youth skill
- already held assist children in developing personal skills skill
- already held attend to children's basic physical needs skill
- already held disability care knowledge
- already held give constructive feedback skill
- already held handle children's problems skill
- already held support children's wellbeing skill
- already held support the positiveness of youths skill
- already held common children's diseases knowledge
- already held maintain relations with children's parents skill
- already held workplace sanitation knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
- optional, not held communication disorders optional
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
21 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held facilitate teamwork between students optional
- optional, not held instructional strategies optional
- optional, not held advise on lesson plans optional
- optional, not held assess students optional
- optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
- optional, not held communication disorders optional
- optional, not held consult students on learning content optional
- optional, not held curriculum objectives optional
- optional, not held development delays optional
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- optional, not held hearing disability optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held liaise with educational support staff optional
- optional, not held mobility disability optional
- optional, not held organise creative performance optional
- optional, not held perform classroom management optional
- optional, not held prepare lesson content optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held visual disability optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
23 held skills the special educational needs assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assist children with homework skill
- not needed by the target role baby care knowledge
- not needed by the target role buy groceries skill
- not needed by the target role carry out wound care skill
- not needed by the target role clean rooms skill
- not needed by the target role clean surfaces skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with youth skill
- not needed by the target role demonstrate when teaching skill
- not needed by the target role drive vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role entertain people skill
- not needed by the target role feed pets skill
- not needed by the target role handle chemical cleaning agents skill
- not needed by the target role iron textiles skill
- not needed by the target role play with children skill
- not needed by the target role prepare ready-made dishes skill
- not needed by the target role prepare sandwiches skill
- not needed by the target role promote human rights skill
- not needed by the target role provide first aid skill
- not needed by the target role speak different languages skill
- not needed by the target role supervise children skill
- not needed by the target role use cooking techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use food preparation techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use gardening equipment skill
15 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn social development required
- still to learn learning difficulties required
- still to learn learning needs analysis required
- still to learn special needs education required
- optional, not held instructional strategies optional
- optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
- optional, not held communication disorders optional
- optional, not held curriculum objectives optional
- optional, not held development delays optional
- optional, not held hearing disability optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held mobility disability optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held visual disability optional
Common questions about this move
Can an au pair become a special educational needs assistant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An au pair already covers 29% of what a special educational needs assistant is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 8 of which the special educational needs assistant role treats as required.
What skills does an au pair need to become a special educational needs assistant?
15 required skills are missing, plus 21 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is social development.
How hard is the move from au pair to special educational needs assistant?
Its learning distance is 72.3 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.