Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Nursery school head teacher to special educational needs head teacher

A nursery school head teacher already meets 72% of what the special educational needs head teacher role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From nursery school head teacher
72 % overlap
Strong match
To special educational needs head teacher
40 You already bring
7 Still to learn
56 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

35.5/ 100

1 How much of what a special educational needs head teacher is expected to do is already part of a nursery school 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

Why this move works

A special educational needs head teacher role treats 19 of its required skills as things a nursery school 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 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 40 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 nursery school head teacher background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held trade union regulations services
  • already held provide feedback to teachers communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held learning technologies education
  • already held apply for government funding information skills
  • already held kindergarten school procedures education
  • already held promote education programmes communication, collaboration and creativity

All 40 carried skills, including the 19 the special educational needs head teacher role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 16 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 education 3 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn learning difficulties required
  • still to learn learning needs analysis required
  • still to learn special needs education required
  • optional, not held primary school procedures optional
02 health and welfare 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn disability care required
  • still to learn disability types required
  • optional, not held development delays optional
03 management skills 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn use office systems required
  • optional, not held manage student admissions optional
  • optional, not held manage government-funded programmes optional
  • optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
04 information skills 1 required
  • still to learn assess financial viability required
05 social sciences, journalism and information 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
  • optional, not held communication disorders optional
06 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held provide specialised instruction for special needs students optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

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.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 40 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • 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 develop organisational policies skill
  • already held education law knowledge
  • already held guarantee students' safety skill
  • already held instructional strategies knowledge
  • already held manage budgets skill
  • already held manage staff 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 employees' capability levels 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 identify education needs skill
  • already held kindergarten school procedures knowledge
  • already held labour legislation knowledge
  • already held lead inspections skill
  • already held learning technologies knowledge
  • already held maintain contract administration skill
  • already held maintain relations with children's parents skill
  • already held manage contracts skill
  • already held promote education programmes skill
  • already held trade union regulations knowledge
  • already held work with virtual learning environments skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held manage student admissions optional
  • optional, not held provide specialised instruction for special needs students optional
  • optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
  • optional, not held communication disorders optional
  • optional, not held development delays optional
  • optional, not held manage government-funded programmes optional
  • optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
  • optional, not held primary school procedures optional
  • optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
11 held skills the special educational needs head teacher role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role assess students skill
  • not needed by the target role build trust skill
  • not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
  • not needed by the target role identify process improvements skill
  • not needed by the target role implement care programmes for children skill
  • not needed by the target role manage enrolment skill
  • not needed by the target role manage resources for educational purposes skill
  • not needed by the target role provide after school care skill
  • not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
  • not needed by the target role support children's wellbeing skill
  • not needed by the target role teach kindergarten class content 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn disability care 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 primary school procedures optional
  • optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a nursery school head teacher become a special educational needs head teacher?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A nursery school head teacher already covers 72% of what a special educational needs head teacher is expected to do: 40 skills carry over, 19 of which the special educational needs head teacher role treats as required.

What skills does a nursery school head teacher need to become a special educational needs head teacher?

7 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by education. The single most important is disability care.

How hard is the move from nursery school head teacher to special educational needs head teacher?

Its learning distance is 35.5 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.