Primary school head teacher to special educational needs head teacher
A primary school head teacher already meets 67% of what the special educational needs head teacher role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
41.2/ 100
1 How much of what a special educational needs head teacher is expected to do is already part of a primary 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 this move works
A special educational needs head teacher role treats 18 of its required skills as things a primary 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 8 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 primary school head teacher background worth leading with.
- 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 promote education programmes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held analyse staff capacity management skills
All 36 carried skills, including the 18 the special educational needs head teacher role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 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 learning difficulties required
- still to learn learning needs analysis required
- still to learn special needs education required
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- still to learn manage budgets required
- 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
- 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
3 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 assess financial viability practise this
- 03 disability types study 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 develop organisational policies skill
- already held education law knowledge
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held instructional strategies knowledge
- 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 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 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 primary school procedures knowledge
- already held promote education programmes skill
- already held trade union regulations knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held advise on lesson plans optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held manage student admissions optional
- optional, not held provide specialised instruction for special needs students optional
- optional, not held advise on lesson plans optional
- optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
- optional, not held communication disorders optional
- optional, not held development delays optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held manage government-funded programmes optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
17 held skills the special educational needs head teacher role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role administer exams 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 develop professional network skill
- not needed by the target role lead board meetings skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with board members skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational staff skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational support staff skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with shareholders skill
- not needed by the target role maintain students' discipline skill
- not needed by the target role manage enrolment skill
- not needed by the target role manage maintenance operations skill
- not needed by the target role manage resources for educational purposes skill
- not needed by the target role manage school budget skill
- not needed by the target role manage space utilisation skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role represent the organisation 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 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 kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
Other moves recorded from primary school head teacher
Common questions about this move
Can a primary school head teacher become a special educational needs head teacher?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A primary school head teacher already covers 67% of what a special educational needs head teacher is expected to do: 36 skills carry over, 18 of which the special educational needs head teacher role treats as required.
What skills does a primary school head teacher need to become a special educational needs head teacher?
8 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by education. The single most important is disability care.
How hard is the move from primary school head teacher to special educational needs head teacher?
Its learning distance is 41.2 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.