Special educational needs coordinator to secondary school department head
A special educational needs coordinator already meets 55% of what the secondary school department head role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
51.5/ 100
1 How much of what a secondary school department head is expected to do is already part of a special educational needs coordinator’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 secondary school department head role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A secondary school department head role treats 12 of its required skills as things a special educational needs coordinator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on teaching methods
- assessment processes
- assist in the organisation of school events
- cooperate with education professionals
- curriculum objectives
- curriculum standards
What stands in the way is 10 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 24 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secondary school department head role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a special educational needs coordinator background worth leading with.
- already held provide education management support management skills
- already held provide feedback to teachers communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held promote education programmes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on teaching methods communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held curriculum standards education
- already held evaluate education programmes information skills
All 24 carried skills, including the 12 the secondary school department head role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 6 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 manage secondary school department required
- still to learn assess the development of youth required
- still to learn identify process improvements required
- still to learn assess employees' capability levels required
- still to learn use office systems required
- optional, not held develop course outline optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- still to learn liaise with educational staff required
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- optional, not held teach secondary education class content optional
- optional, not held arrange parent teacher meeting optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with children's parents optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- still to learn lead inspections required
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- still to learn secondary school procedures required
- still to learn learning technologies required
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a secondary school department head role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 manage secondary school department practise this
- 02 assess the development of youth practise this
- 03 identify process improvements 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 24 skills that carry over
- already held advise on teaching methods skill
- already held assessment processes knowledge
- 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 guarantee students' safety skill
- already held instructional strategies knowledge
- already held present reports skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held provide education management support skill
- already held provide feedback to teachers skill
- already held advise on lesson plans skill
- already held create a financial report skill
- already held develop organisational policies 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 learning difficulties knowledge
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
- already held promote education programmes skill
- already held work with virtual learning environments skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held teach secondary education class content optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held arrange parent teacher meeting optional
- optional, not held develop course outline optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with children's parents optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
19 held skills the secondary school department head role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply for government funding skill
- not needed by the target role behavioural disorders knowledge
- not needed by the target role communication disorders knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate educational programmes skill
- not needed by the target role development delays knowledge
- not needed by the target role disability care knowledge
- not needed by the target role disability types knowledge
- not needed by the target role education administration knowledge
- not needed by the target role education law knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow research on special needs education skill
- not needed by the target role government policy knowledge
- not needed by the target role learning needs analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage government-funded programmes skill
- not needed by the target role manage resources for educational purposes skill
- not needed by the target role manage student admissions skill
- not needed by the target role organise projects to fill education needs skill
- not needed by the target role provide specialised instruction for special needs students skill
- not needed by the target role screen reader knowledge
- not needed by the target role special needs education knowledge
3 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 learning technologies required
- still to learn secondary school procedures required
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
Other moves recorded from special educational needs coordinator
- special educational needs head teacher 67% covered · moderate
- assistive technologist 62% covered · moderate
- deputy head teacher 61% covered · moderate
- university department head 59% covered · moderate
Full index of moves from special educational needs coordinator
Common questions about this move
Can a special educational needs coordinator become a secondary school department head?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A special educational needs coordinator already covers 55% of what a secondary school department head is expected to do: 24 skills carry over, 12 of which the secondary school department head role treats as required.
What skills does a special educational needs coordinator need to become a secondary school department head?
10 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is manage secondary school department.
How hard is the move from special educational needs coordinator to secondary school department head?
Its learning distance is 51.5 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.