Secondary school department head to special educational needs head teacher
A secondary school department head already meets 58% of what the special educational needs head teacher role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
49.6/ 100
1 How much of what a special educational needs head teacher is expected to do is already part of a secondary school department head’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 15 of its required skills as things a secondary school department head already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assist in the organisation of school events
- cooperate with education professionals
- curriculum objectives
- curriculum standards
- develop organisational policies
- guarantee students' safety
What stands in the way is 11 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 33 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 secondary school department head background worth leading with.
- already held provide feedback to teachers communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held learning technologies education
- already held promote education programmes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on teaching methods communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held assess employees' capability levels management skills
- already held maintain contract administration information skills
All 33 carried skills, including the 15 the special educational needs head teacher role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 23 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 needs analysis required
- still to learn pedagogy required
- still to learn special needs education required
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
- still to learn supervise educational staff required
- still to learn analyse staff capacity required
- still to learn manage staff required
- optional, not held manage student admissions optional
- optional, not held manage government-funded programmes optional
- still to learn disability care required
- still to learn disability types required
- optional, not held development delays optional
- still to learn apply for government funding required
- still to learn assess financial viability required
- still to learn education law required
- optional, not held contract law optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
- optional, not held communication disorders 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 supervise educational staff practise this
- 03 analyse staff capacity 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 33 skills that carry over
- 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 guarantee students' safety skill
- already held instructional strategies knowledge
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
- already held present reports skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held provide feedback to teachers skill
- already held use office systems 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 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 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 plan shifts of employees skill
- already held promote education programmes skill
- already held secondary school procedures knowledge
- already held work with virtual learning environments skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held provide specialised instruction for special needs students optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held trade union regulations 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 behavioural disorders optional
- optional, not held communication disorders optional
- optional, not held contract law optional
- optional, not held development delays optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held manage government-funded programmes optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
- optional, not held trade union regulations optional
11 held skills the special educational needs head teacher role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adolescent socialisation behaviour knowledge
- not needed by the target role arrange parent teacher meeting skill
- not needed by the target role develop course outline 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 liaise with educational staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage secondary school department skill
- not needed by the target role prepare youths for adulthood skill
- not needed by the target role provide education management support skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role teach secondary education class content skill
14 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 education law required
- still to learn learning needs analysis required
- still to learn pedagogy required
- still to learn special needs education required
- optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
- optional, not held communication disorders optional
- optional, not held contract law optional
- optional, not held development delays optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
- optional, not held trade union regulations optional
Other moves recorded from secondary school department head
Common questions about this move
Can a secondary school department head become a special educational needs head teacher?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A secondary school department head already covers 58% of what a special educational needs head teacher is expected to do: 33 skills carry over, 15 of which the special educational needs head teacher role treats as required.
What skills does a secondary school department head need to become a special educational needs head teacher?
11 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 secondary school department head to special educational needs head teacher?
Its learning distance is 49.6 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.