Special Needs Teaching

Special Needs Teaching is the art of teaching students with special needs. It is a highly specialized field that requires a great deal of patience, creativity, and understanding. Special needs students can present a wide range of challenges, and it is the teacher's job to find ways to effectively address those challenges. In order to be a successful special needs teacher, one must have a deep understanding of the various types of special needs, as well as the strategies and techniques necessary to teach them.

Special needs teaching assistants (SNTAs) work as part of a team in schools and other educational settings to support children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and disabled children and young people.

They play a vital role in helping these children and young people to access the curriculum and to make progress in their learning. SNTAs also support the class teacher in managing the class and the SEN pupils within it.

SNTAs typically work with pupils on a one-to-one basis or in small groups. They may also work with the whole class, under the direction of the class teacher, to support specific SEN pupils.

The duties of an SNA can vary depending on the needs of the pupils they work with but may include:

• helping pupils with personal care such as washing, toileting and eating
• supporting pupils with their learning, including Literacy and Numeracy
• working with pupils on social and emotional skills such as cooperation and turn-taking
• maintaining records of pupils’ progress and providing feedback to teachers
• liaising with parents, carers and other professionals such as speech and language therapists

To work as an SNA, you will need to have a caring and patient nature and the ability to build good relationships with pupils and their families. You will also need to be able to work flexibly, as the needs of the pupils you work with can change over time.