Deputy head teacher to special educational needs head teacher
A deputy head teacher already meets 63% of what the special educational needs head teacher role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
45/ 100
1 How much of what a special educational needs head teacher is expected to do is already part of a deputy head teacher’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 head teacher role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A special educational needs head teacher role treats 16 of its required skills as things a deputy head teacher already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse staff capacity
- apply for government funding
- assist in the organisation of school events
- cooperate with education professionals
- curriculum objectives
- curriculum standards
What stands in the way is 10 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 36 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A special educational needs head teacher role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a deputy head teacher background worth leading with.
- already held manage student admissions management skills
- already held provide feedback to teachers communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held learning technologies education
- already held manage government-funded programmes management skills
- already held apply for government funding information skills
- already held kindergarten school procedures education
All 36 carried skills, including the 16 the special educational needs head teacher role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 8 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 instructional strategies required
- still to learn learning difficulties required
- still to learn learning needs analysis required
- still to learn special needs education required
- still to learn develop organisational policies required
- still to learn manage staff required
- still to learn use office systems required
- optional, not held assess employees' capability levels optional
- optional, not held identify education needs optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- still to learn disability care required
- still to learn disability types required
- optional, not held development delays optional
- still to learn assess financial viability required
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
- optional, not held communication disorders optional
- optional, not held provide specialised instruction for special needs students optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a special educational needs head teacher role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 disability care study this
- 02 instructional strategies study this
- 03 assess financial viability 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 36 skills that carry over
- already held analyse staff capacity skill
- already held apply for government funding skill
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held cooperate with education professionals skill
- already held curriculum objectives knowledge
- already held curriculum standards knowledge
- already held education law knowledge
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
- already held pedagogy knowledge
- already held present reports skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held provide feedback to teachers skill
- already held supervise educational staff skill
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held advise on lesson plans skill
- already held advise on teaching methods skill
- already held assess the development of youth skill
- already held assessment processes knowledge
- already held contract law knowledge
- already held create a financial report skill
- already held escort students on a field trip skill
- already held evaluate education programmes skill
- already held funding methods knowledge
- already held kindergarten school procedures knowledge
- already held labour legislation knowledge
- already held lead inspections skill
- already held learning technologies knowledge
- already held maintain relations with children's parents skill
- already held manage contracts skill
- already held manage government-funded programmes skill
- already held manage student admissions skill
- already held primary school procedures knowledge
- already held promote education programmes skill
- already held secondary school procedures knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held trade union regulations optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held provide specialised instruction for special needs students optional
- optional, not held assess employees' capability levels optional
- optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
- optional, not held communication disorders optional
- optional, not held development delays optional
- optional, not held identify education needs optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held trade union regulations optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
8 held skills the special educational needs head teacher role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role communicate with youth skill
- not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
- not needed by the target role education administration knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with board members skill
- not needed by the target role maintain students' discipline skill
- not needed by the target role monitor student's behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role prepare youths for adulthood skill
- not needed by the target role provide education management support skill
10 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 disability care required
- still to learn instructional strategies required
- still to learn disability types required
- still to learn learning difficulties required
- still to learn learning needs analysis required
- still to learn special needs education required
- optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
- optional, not held communication disorders optional
- optional, not held development delays optional
- optional, not held trade union regulations optional
Common questions about this move
Can a deputy head teacher become a special educational needs head teacher?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A deputy head teacher already covers 63% of what a special educational needs head teacher is expected to do: 36 skills carry over, 16 of which the special educational needs head teacher role treats as required.
What skills does a deputy head teacher need to become a special educational needs head teacher?
10 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by education. The single most important is disability care.
How hard is the move from deputy head teacher to special educational needs head teacher?
Its learning distance is 45 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.