Learning support teacher to learning mentor
A learning support teacher already meets 63% of what the learning mentor role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
39.6/ 100
1 How much of what a learning mentor is expected to do is already part of a learning support 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 learning mentor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A learning mentor role treats 12 of its required skills as things a learning support teacher already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt teaching to student's capabilities
- assist students in their learning
- behavioural disorders
- communicate with youth
- counsel students
- encourage students to acknowledge their achievements
What stands in the way is 5 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 22 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A learning mentor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a learning support teacher background worth leading with.
- already held construct individual learning plans management skills
- already held school psychology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held provide teacher support communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held counsel students communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held learning needs analysis education
- already held show consideration for student's situation communication, collaboration and creativity
All 22 carried skills, including the 12 the learning mentor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 7 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 consult student's support system required
- still to learn listen actively required
- optional, not held cooperate with education professionals optional
- optional, not held promote the safeguarding of young people optional
- optional, not held support the positiveness of youths optional
- still to learn monitor student's behaviour required
- optional, not held assist students with their enrolment optional
- optional, not held organise projects to fill education needs optional
- still to learn communication disorders required
- optional, not held developmental psychology optional
- optional, not held psychology optional
- still to learn support children's wellbeing required
- optional, not held apply person-centred care optional
- optional, not held social development optional
- optional, not held counselling methods optional
- optional, not held education law optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a learning mentor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 communication disorders study this
- 02 consult student's support system practise this
- 03 listen actively 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 22 skills that carry over
- already held adapt teaching to student's capabilities skill
- already held assist students in their learning skill
- already held behavioural disorders knowledge
- already held communicate with youth skill
- already held counsel students skill
- already held encourage students to acknowledge their achievements skill
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held learning needs analysis knowledge
- already held liaise with educational staff skill
- already held liaise with educational support staff skill
- already held oversee extra-curricular activities skill
- already held show consideration for student's situation skill
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held construct individual learning plans skill
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held identify education needs skill
- already held manage resources for educational purposes skill
- already held perform playground surveillance skill
- already held primary school procedures knowledge
- already held provide teacher support skill
- already held school psychology knowledge
- already held secondary school procedures knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held action research optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply person-centred care optional
- optional, not held assist students with their enrolment optional
- optional, not held social development optional
- optional, not held action research optional
- optional, not held cooperate with education professionals optional
- optional, not held counselling methods optional
- optional, not held developmental psychology optional
- optional, not held education law optional
- optional, not held organise projects to fill education needs optional
- optional, not held promote the safeguarding of young people optional
- optional, not held psychology optional
- optional, not held support the positiveness of youths optional
36 held skills the learning mentor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt teaching to target group skill
- not needed by the target role apply intercultural teaching strategies skill
- not needed by the target role apply pre-teaching methods skill
- not needed by the target role apply teaching strategies skill
- not needed by the target role arrange parent teacher meeting skill
- not needed by the target role assess students skill
- not needed by the target role assess the development of youth skill
- not needed by the target role assessment processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role assist children with special needs in education settings skill
- not needed by the target role assist students with equipment skill
- not needed by the target role curriculum objectives knowledge
- not needed by the target role demonstrate when teaching skill
- not needed by the target role escort students on a field trip skill
- not needed by the target role facilitate teamwork between students skill
- not needed by the target role give constructive feedback skill
- not needed by the target role grammar knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify learning disorders skill
- not needed by the target role keep records of attendance skill
- not needed by the target role language teaching methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain relations with children's parents skill
- not needed by the target role mathematics knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare lesson content skill
- not needed by the target role provide learning support skill
- not needed by the target role provide lesson materials skill
- not needed by the target role recognise indicators of gifted student skill
- not needed by the target role special needs education knowledge
- not needed by the target role spelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role support gifted students skill
- not needed by the target role teach languages skill
- not needed by the target role teach mathematics skill
- not needed by the target role teach reading strategies skill
- not needed by the target role teach writing skill
- not needed by the target role teamwork principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role tutor students skill
- not needed by the target role use learning strategies skill
- not needed by the target role work with virtual learning environments skill
7 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 communication disorders required
- optional, not held social development optional
- optional, not held action research optional
- optional, not held counselling methods optional
- optional, not held developmental psychology optional
- optional, not held education law optional
- optional, not held psychology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a learning support teacher become a learning mentor?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A learning support teacher already covers 63% of what a learning mentor is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 12 of which the learning mentor role treats as required.
What skills does a learning support teacher need to become a learning mentor?
5 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is communication disorders.
How hard is the move from learning support teacher to learning mentor?
Its learning distance is 39.6 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.