Special educational needs head teacher

Special educational needs head teachers manage the day-to-day activities of a special education school. They supervise and support staff, as well as research and introduce programs that provide the necessary assistance for students with physical, mental or learning disabilities. They may make decisions concerning admissions, are responsible for meeting curriculum standards and ensure the school meets the national education requirements set by law. Special educational needs head teachers also manage the school’s budget and are responsible for maximising the reception of subsidies and grants. They also review and adopt their policies in accordance to current research conducted in the special needs assessment field.

The following job titles also refer to special educational needs head teacher:

director of special educational needs school
special educational needs headmaster
special educational needs principal
special educational needs headteacher
inclusive education principal
head teacher of special educational needs school
headteacher of special educational needs school
SEN head teacher
head teacher in special educational needs
special educational needs school director

Master’s degree is generally required to work as special educational needs head teacher. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Special educational needs head teacher is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to special educational needs head teacher.

special educational needs coordinator
deputy head teacher
nursery school head teacher
secondary school department head
secondary school head teacher

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of special educational needs head teacher. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of special educational needs head teacher with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of special educational needs head teacher.

Learning needs analysis: The process of analysing a student’s learning needs through observation and testing, potentially followed by the diagnosis of a learning disorder and a plan for additional support.
Curriculum standards: The governmental policies concerning educational curricula and the approved curricula from specific educational institutions.
Disability care: The specific methods and practices used in providing care to people with physical, intellectual and learning disabilities.
Education law: The area of law and legislation that concerns education policies and the people working in the sector in an (inter)national context, such as teachers, students, and administrators.
Disability types: The nature and types of disabilities affecting the human beings such as physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional or developmental and the specific needs and access requirements of disabled people.
Project management: Understand project management and the activities which comprise this area. Know the variables implied in project management such as time, resources, requirements, deadlines, and responding to unexpected events.
Learning difficulties: The learning disorders some students face in an academic context, especially Specific Learning Difficulties such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and concentration deficit disorders.
Pedagogy: The discipline that concerns the theory and practice of education including the various instructional methods for educating individuals or groups.
Curriculum objectives: The goals identified in curricula and defined learning outcomes.
Special needs education: The teaching methods, equipment and settings used to support students with special needs in achieving succes in school or community.

These skills are necessary for the role of special educational needs head teacher.

Cooperate with education professionals: Communicate with teachers or other professionals working in education in order to identify needs and areas of improvement in education systems, and to establish a collaborative relationship.
Assist in the organisation of school events: Provide assistance in the planning and organisation of school events, such as the school’s open house day, a sports game or a talent show.
Guarantee students’ safety: Ensure all students falling under an instructor or other person’s supervision are safe and accounted for. Follow safety precautions in the learning situation.
Supervise educational staff: Monitor and evaluate the actions of the educational staff such as teaching or research assistants and teachers and their methods. Mentor, train, and give advice to them if necessary.
Manage budgets: Plan, monitor and report on the budget.
Develop organisational policies: Develop and supervise the implementation of policies aimed at documenting and detailing the procedures for the operations of the organisation in the lights of its strategic planning.
Manage staff: Manage employees and subordinates, working in a team or individually, to maximise their performance and contribution. Schedule their work and activities, give instructions, motivate and direct the workers to meet the company objectives. Monitor and measure how an employee undertakes their responsibilities and how well these activities are executed. Identify areas for improvement and make suggestions to achieve this. Lead a group of people to help them achieve goals and maintain an effective working relationship among staff.
Show an exemplary leading role in an organisation: Perform, act, and behave in a manner that inspires collaborators to follow the example given by their managers.
Monitor educational developments: Monitor the changes in educational policies, methodologies and research by reviewing relevant literature and liaising with education officials and institutions.
Provide feedback to teachers: Communicate with the teacher in order to provide them with detailed feedback on their teaching performance, class management and curriculum adherence.
Use office systems: Make appropriate and timely use of office systems used in business facilities depending on the aim, whether for the collection of messages, client information storage, or agenda scheduling. It includes administration of systems such as customer relationship management, vendor management, storage, and voicemail systems.
Write work-related reports: Compose work-related reports that support effective relationship management and a high standard of documentation and record keeping. Write and present results and conclusions in a clear and intelligible way so they are comprehensible to a non-expert audience.
Apply for government funding: Gather information on and apply for subsidies, grants, and other financing programmes provided by the government to small- and large-scale projects or organisations in various fields.
Present reports: Display results, statistics and conclusions to an audience in a transparent and straightforward way.
Analyse staff capacity: Evaluate and identify staffing gaps in quantity, skills, performance revenue and surpluses.
Assess financial viability: Revise and analyse financial information and requirements of projects such as their budget appraisal, expected turnover, and risk assessment for determining the benefits and costs of the project. Assess if the agreement or project will redeem its investment, and whether the potential profit is worth the financial risk.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of special educational needs head teacher. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Labour legislation: Legislation, on a national or international level, that governs labour conditions in various fields between labour parties such as the government, employees, employers, and trade unions.
Assessment processes: Various evaluation techniques, theories, and tools applicable in the assessment of students, participants in a programme, and employees. Different assessment strategies such as initial, formative, summative and self- assessment are used for varying purposes.
Funding methods: The financial possibilities for funding projects such as the traditional ones, namely loans, venture capital, public or private grants up to alternative methods such as crowdfunding.
Trade union regulations: The compilation of legal agreements and practices for operations of trade unions. Legal scope of trade unions in their quest of protecting the rights and minimum working standards of workers.
Contract law: The field of legal principles that govern written agreements between parties concerning the exchange of goods or services, including contractual obligations and termination.
Primary school procedures: The inner workings of a primary school, such as the structure of the relevant education support and management, the policies, and the regulations.
Learning technologies: The technologies and channels, including digital, to enhance learning.
Behavioural disorders: The often emotionally disruptive types of behaviour a child or adult can show, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).
Communication disorders: The malfunction in a person’s ability to comprehend, process and share concepts in various forms, such as verbal, non verbal or graphical during language, hearing, and speech communication processes.
Development delays: The condition in which a child or adult needs more time to reach certain development milestones than that needed by the average person not affected by a development delay.
Kindergarten school procedures: The inner workings of a kindergarten, such as the structure of the relevant education support and management, policies, and regulations.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of special educational needs head teacher. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Manage government-funded programmes: Implement and monitor the development of projects subsidized by regional, national or European authorities.
Assess the development of youth: Evaluate the different aspects of development needs of children and young people.
Provide specialised instruction for special needs students: Instruct students in need of specialised attention, often in small groups, catering to their individual needs, disorders, and disabilities. Promote the psychological, social, creative or physical development of children and teenagers using specific methods such as concentration exercises, role-plays, movement training, and painting.
Escort students on a field trip: Accompany students on an educational trip outside the school environment and ensure their safety and cooperation.
Evaluate education programmes: Evaluate ongoing training programmes and advise on potential optimisation.
Assess employees’ capability levels: Evaluate the capabilities of employees by creating criteria and systematic testing methods for measuring expertise of individuals within an organisation.
Identify education needs: Identify the needs of students, organisations and companies in terms of provision of education in order to aid in the development of curricula and education policies.
Plan shifts of employees: Plans shifts of employees to ensure completion of all customer orders and satisfactory completion of the production plan.
Promote education programmes: Promote ongoing research into education and the development of new education programmes and policies in order to obtain support and funds, and to raise awareness.
Manage contracts: Negotiate the terms, conditions, costs and other specifications of a contract while making sure they comply with legal requirements and are legally enforceable. Oversee the execution of the contract, agree on and document any changes.
Maintain contract administration: Keep contracts up to date and organise them according to a classification system for future consultation.
Work with virtual learning environments: Incorporate the use of online learning environments and platforms into the process of instruction.
Advise on lesson plans: Analyse policy issues which impact on students’ experience of education. Advise on the ways in which lesson plans for specific lessons can be improved in order to reach education goals, engage the students and adhere to the curriculum.
Manage student admissions: Assess students’ applications and manage correspondence with them concerning their admission, or rejection, pursuant to the regulations of the school, university or other educational organisation. This also includes obtaining educational information, such as personal records, on the student. File the paperwork of the admitted students.
Secondary school procedures: The inner workings of a secondary school, such as the structure of the relevant education support and management, the policies, and the regulations.
Create a financial report: Finalise project accounting. Prepare an actual budget, compare the discrepancy between the planned and actual budget, and draw final conclusions.
Advise on teaching methods: Advise education professionals on the proper adaptation of curricula in lesson plans, classroom management, professional conduct as a teacher, and other activities and methods related to teaching.
Maintain relations with children’s parents: Inform children`s parents of the activities planned, program`s expectations and children`s individual progress.
Lead inspections: Lead inspections and the protocol involved, such as introducing the inspection team, explaining the purpose of the inspection, performing the inspection, requesting documents, asking appropriate questions, and maintaining a high level of professionalism when investigating subjects.

1345 – Education managers

 

 

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References

1. Special educational needs head teacher – ESCO