- What is your understanding of the role of the SET teacher?
Special education teachers should be familiar with a wide range of teaching approaches, methodologies and resources to cater for particular learning styles and to meet a variety of needs.
Teaching approaches will include a combination of team-teaching initiatives, co- operative teaching, early intervention and small group or individual support.
Special education teachers, in consultation with class teachers, should plan their interventions carefully to address pupils’ priority learning needs and to achieve the targets identified in the relevant Continuum of Support plan. Short-term planning should reflect the Support Plan targets and should break down the development of skills and content into small incremental steps to address each pupil’s specific needs on a weekly basis. Outcomes for pupils should be routinely assessed, recorded and used to review progress.
Work activities
- Assessing and recording children’s needs and progress.
- Helping pupils to cope with and overcome problems that arise because of impairments or learning difficulties.
- Developing and fostering the appropriate skills and social abilities to enable the optimum development of pupils.
- Encouraging students to develop self-confidence and independence, and to reach their potential.
- Setting specific, time-related targets for each child and liaising with parents and education professionals.
- Teaching the children, either in a separate room or with the other pupils.
- Meeting and advising parents.
- Liaising with other professionals such as psychologists and speech and language therapists.
Skills and qualities
- Creative, friendly, caring, optimistic and adaptable.
- Ability to establish a good working relationship with students.
- Excellent organisational skills.
- Caring and motivated by the best interests of the students.
- Energy and enthusiasm.
- Willing to engage in ongoing professional development.
- Ability to maintain discipline.