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Special Needs Teaching
Hi, I intend to train as an educational psychologist but I'm also looking at other similar jobs or routes to get there and I'm been thinking about teaching Special Needs, however I'm a bit confused on how to become one, can anyone give me any advice? 
I haven't come across any specific PGCE's in special ed but I have seen a few offering a specialism in special ed, is this enough to work as a special ed teacher when you qualify or do you need to firstly gain experience as a mainstream teacher before working in the special ed area?
Thanks a lot
I haven't come across any specific PGCE's in special ed but I have seen a few offering a specialism in special ed, is this enough to work as a special ed teacher when you qualify or do you need to firstly gain experience as a mainstream teacher before working in the special ed area?
Thanks a lot
*tut tut* you should have pm'ed me again 
There are no qualifications to train as a special teacher - not since the 1980's. a standard pgce/BEd (Hons) is the only thing you can do - train as a mainstream teacher. some special schools take teachers without experience (NQT's), some need you to teach a couple of years, and some want you to be an experienced mainstream teacher with experience of working with people with disabilities (as a TA prior to teacher training, summer school, volunteer etc, supply). I know plenty of NQT's with very little experience of teaching/disability and they are now teaching in special schools.
you can do a masters in SEN, or maybe a special learning need such as dyslexia or severe learning difficulties. that, and a pgce, and a little volunteering one summer will do you very well.
There are no qualifications to train as a special teacher - not since the 1980's. a standard pgce/BEd (Hons) is the only thing you can do - train as a mainstream teacher. some special schools take teachers without experience (NQT's), some need you to teach a couple of years, and some want you to be an experienced mainstream teacher with experience of working with people with disabilities (as a TA prior to teacher training, summer school, volunteer etc, supply). I know plenty of NQT's with very little experience of teaching/disability and they are now teaching in special schools.you can do a masters in SEN, or maybe a special learning need such as dyslexia or severe learning difficulties. that, and a pgce, and a little volunteering one summer will do you very well.
The Boosh
*tut tut* you should have pm'ed me again There are no qualifications to train as a special teacher - not since the 1980's. a standard pgce/BEd (Hons) is the only thing you can do - train as a mainstream teacher. some special schools take teachers without experience (NQT's), some need you to teach a couple of years, and some want you to be an experienced mainstream teacher with experience of working with people with disabilities (as a TA prior to teacher training, summer school, volunteer etc, supply). I know plenty of NQT's with very little experience of teaching/disability and they are now teaching in special schools.
you can do a masters in SEN, or maybe a special learning need such as dyslexia or severe learning difficulties. that, and a pgce, and a little volunteering one summer will do you very well.
There are no qualifications to train as a special teacher - not since the 1980's. a standard pgce/BEd (Hons) is the only thing you can do - train as a mainstream teacher. some special schools take teachers without experience (NQT's), some need you to teach a couple of years, and some want you to be an experienced mainstream teacher with experience of working with people with disabilities (as a TA prior to teacher training, summer school, volunteer etc, supply). I know plenty of NQT's with very little experience of teaching/disability and they are now teaching in special schools.you can do a masters in SEN, or maybe a special learning need such as dyslexia or severe learning difficulties. that, and a pgce, and a little volunteering one summer will do you very well.
hehe, I should have done shouldn't I?
I was just looking at other options, or options to consider before the EdPsych training It's just that I've read 2nd and 3rd year EdPsych doctoral trainees have to find their own LEA employment to be able to carry on the training which scared me slightly so I thought I'd do a bit of exploring outside the EdPsych idea! 
If you want to work as a special educational needs teacher in a state school you must first be a qualified teacher, normally with at least two years' mainstream teaching experience. You would then undertake additional training to teach pupils with special educational needs. To work in independent schools it is not essential to be a qualified teacher, but they usually prefer.
Glamour Girl
If you want to work as a special educational needs teacher in a state school you must first be a qualified teacher, normally with at least two years' mainstream teaching experience. You would then undertake additional training to teach pupils with special educational needs. To work in independent schools it is not essential to be a qualified teacher, but they usually prefer.
nope! sorry - you are wrong. you can teach in a special school as soon as you have finished your mainstream training (be that BA (Ed) BEd (Hons), PGCE etc). There are no formal, national qualifications for special needs teachers - hence why they spend most their time running around like headless chickens without a clue what to do. there hasnt been any national, required SEN qualifications for about 20-30 years.
Not sure if this is of any interest to you, but the University of London offers a degree in Special Educational Needs (undergraduate). I thought they also offered a SEN postgrad course, but the link is broken.
Not the best uni, but I don't care
The Institute of Education, University of London offers a Graduate Diploma in Special/Inclusive Education, even with a focus on disability of sight.
They also have a MA/MSc in Special Education (Psychological Perspectives) and MA/MSc Special Education (Inclusion and Disability Studies).
Not sure if any of this interests you, but hey
Not the best uni, but I don't care
The Institute of Education, University of London offers a Graduate Diploma in Special/Inclusive Education, even with a focus on disability of sight.
They also have a MA/MSc in Special Education (Psychological Perspectives) and MA/MSc Special Education (Inclusion and Disability Studies).
Not sure if any of this interests you, but hey
Hey! Brilliant - didnt know you could do an honours degree in special educational needs. i have a masters in the subject.
If you look at the summary for the BA (Hons) SEN it states:
"Students who plan to continue onto teaching will find that the skills they develop on the BA SEN degree will be in demand in the workplace. Please note that students who wish to enter into a career in secondary school teaching should take this programme as part of a combined degree, together with a national curriculum subject, to allow the possibility to progress onto the PGCE (Secondary) following successful completion."
So this is not a degree which qualifies you as a teacher, and in order to train as a teacher you need a subject-specialism (i.e. maths) in order to do the pgce afterwards. There are no "SEN" PGCE's either.
But cool findings. The Institute of Ed SEN+Disability studies is going to be cutting edge stuff, but you still you need an honours degree (and maybe a pgce) to get on.
If you look at the summary for the BA (Hons) SEN it states:
"Students who plan to continue onto teaching will find that the skills they develop on the BA SEN degree will be in demand in the workplace. Please note that students who wish to enter into a career in secondary school teaching should take this programme as part of a combined degree, together with a national curriculum subject, to allow the possibility to progress onto the PGCE (Secondary) following successful completion."
So this is not a degree which qualifies you as a teacher, and in order to train as a teacher you need a subject-specialism (i.e. maths) in order to do the pgce afterwards. There are no "SEN" PGCE's either.
But cool findings. The Institute of Ed SEN+Disability studies is going to be cutting edge stuff, but you still you need an honours degree (and maybe a pgce) to get on.
The Boosh
Hey! Brilliant - didnt know you could do an honours degree in special educational needs. i have a masters in the subject.
If you look at the summary for the BA (Hons) SEN it states:
"Students who plan to continue onto teaching will find that the skills they develop on the BA SEN degree will be in demand in the workplace. Please note that students who wish to enter into a career in secondary school teaching should take this programme as part of a combined degree, together with a national curriculum subject, to allow the possibility to progress onto the PGCE (Secondary) following successful completion."
So this is not a degree which qualifies you as a teacher, and in order to train as a teacher you need a subject-specialism (i.e. maths) in order to do the pgce afterwards. There are no "SEN" PGCE's either.
But cool findings. The Institute of Ed SEN+Disability studies is going to be cutting edge stuff, but you still you need an honours degree (and maybe a pgce) to get on.
If you look at the summary for the BA (Hons) SEN it states:
"Students who plan to continue onto teaching will find that the skills they develop on the BA SEN degree will be in demand in the workplace. Please note that students who wish to enter into a career in secondary school teaching should take this programme as part of a combined degree, together with a national curriculum subject, to allow the possibility to progress onto the PGCE (Secondary) following successful completion."
So this is not a degree which qualifies you as a teacher, and in order to train as a teacher you need a subject-specialism (i.e. maths) in order to do the pgce afterwards. There are no "SEN" PGCE's either.
But cool findings. The Institute of Ed SEN+Disability studies is going to be cutting edge stuff, but you still you need an honours degree (and maybe a pgce) to get on.
Yeah, the only reason I posted the link to the undergrad SEN program was cause the postgrad did not work. Interesting though.
IoE stuff is indeed cutting-edge, highly competitive and well-respected. If you could get on one of those... woah.
They also have information on EdPsych stuff.
yourjoyismylow
Yeah, the only reason I posted the link to the undergrad SEN program was cause the postgrad did not work. Interesting though.
IoE stuff is indeed cutting-edge, highly competitive and well-respected. If you could get on one of those... woah.
They also have information on EdPsych stuff.
IoE stuff is indeed cutting-edge, highly competitive and well-respected. If you could get on one of those... woah.
They also have information on EdPsych stuff.
yeah they are good, but i doubt very much its hard to get on their postgrad courses (undergrad could be different...). the heart of disabilities studies is in lancaster and leeds, and the institute of ed. is limited in its scope for some types of SEN (manchester, birmingham, northampton, exeter and southampton are beacon universities for severe and profound learning difficulties), also, they havent been in the top 10 of the subject tables for ages (not that they are anything to go by), but im impressed by the wide scope they offer now. I'm Tempted to look there for a job after my phd! Care to join me?
The Boosh
yeah they are good, but i doubt very much its hard to get on their postgrad courses (undergrad could be different...). the heart of disabilities studies is in lancaster and leeds, and the institute of ed. is limited in its scope for some types of SEN (manchester, birmingham, northampton, exeter and southampton are beacon universities for severe and profound learning difficulties), also, they havent been in the top 10 of the subject tables for ages (not that they are anything to go by), but im impressed by the wide scope they offer now. I'm Tempted to look there for a job after my phd! Care to join me?
I would love to, but I am probably moving to California at the end of the year
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