Special educational needs (SEN) teaching assistant

As an SEN teaching assistant, you would:

• prepare learning materials
•  adapt teaching support to meet each student's needs
•  support group and class activities
•  look after children's physical, social and emotional welfare
•  create a safe and interesting environment for students
•  update records and attend review meetings
•  work closely with teachers and other professionals like speech and language therapists

• sensitivity and understanding
• to enjoy working with other people
• the ability to create the best conditions for learning or teaching new things
• to be flexible and open to change
• the ability to understand people’s reactions
• excellent verbal communication skills
• active listening skills
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

You can get into this job through:

• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• volunteering
• applying directly

Your school will support you with specific training, like British Sign Language and Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) courses. They may also provide training on conditions like dyslexia or autism.

With experience, you could train to become a higher level teaching assistant (HLTA).

With further study you could become a fully qualified special educational needs or mainstream teacher. You can learn about routes into teaching from Get Into Teaching.