Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Secondary school head teacher to special educational needs head teacher

A secondary school head teacher already meets 69% 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 secondary school head teacher
69 % overlap
Strong match
To special educational needs head teacher
37 You already bring
7 Still to learn
56 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

38.6/ 100

1 How much of what a special educational needs head teacher is expected to do is already part of a secondary 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 secondary 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 37 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 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 manage government-funded programmes management skills
  • already held apply for government funding information skills
  • already held promote education programmes communication, collaboration and creativity

All 37 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 19 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 management skills 2 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn manage budgets required
  • still to learn use office systems required
  • optional, not held assess the development of youth optional
  • optional, not held manage student admissions optional
  • optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
02 education 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn learning needs analysis required
  • still to learn special needs education required
  • optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
  • optional, not held primary school procedures optional
03 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
04 information skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn assess financial viability required
  • optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
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

2 further areas 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 37 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 learning difficulties 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 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 manage government-funded programmes skill
  • already held promote education programmes skill
  • already held secondary school procedures knowledge
  • already held trade union regulations knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held advise on lesson plans optional
08 working with computers 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held assess the development of youth optional
  • 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 plan shifts of employees optional
  • optional, not held primary school procedures optional
  • optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
16 held skills the special educational needs head teacher role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role administer exams skill
  • 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 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 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 school budget skill
  • not needed by the target role manage space utilisation skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare youths for adulthood skill
  • not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
  • not needed by the target role represent the organisation skill
9 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 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 primary school procedures optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

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

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A secondary school head teacher already covers 69% of what a special educational needs head teacher is expected to do: 37 skills carry over, 19 of which the special educational needs head teacher role treats as required.

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

7 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is disability care.

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

Its learning distance is 38.6 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.