Moving from Secondary to Special Schools

[ItsOnlyMe1234]

Hi! I’m currently top of UPS in secondary but considering a change into special schools. I’ve been thinking about it a long time and have lots of SEN experience within secondary. Has anyone made the jump? How did you find it? I’m wondering if I school would take me on being an expensive member of staff without having worked in a special school before?

No advice but I literally posted this exact same question but have had no responses yet. Hopefully someone will be along with some experiences soon!

🤞🤞🤞

Hello. I work in a special school and have worked in a mixture of mainstream (secondary) and special schools. Lots of my colleagues have worked in mainstream so definitely, yes it's possible to make the change.
It's not easier - just different. Behaviour can be very incredibly challenging (quite a few members of staff in my school have been injured over the years) and there are staff shortages as there are in mainstream. You'll most likely be teaching a curriculum at primary at KS3 and Entry level up to Level 1-2 at KS4/5. I still work 60 hours on average. I really appreciate working in an environment where children and young people with SEND are the centre of everything. Good luck!

Ps My school value experience and have hired older/more expensive teachers. I think that depends really

I have worked in FE teaching entry level. Small classes and LSAs. It pays much less but the workload is better.

However you need a slightly different skill set to teaching academic subjects. You need to be extremely flexible, teaching cooking to sport to basic Maths. Plus you have to have a flexible and relaxed personality, I'm struggling to word this, but often the lessons go to shit and you have to think on your feet and change it last minute.

A lot of safeguarding incidents every day. A lot of students who are in theory capable but because of sen, mental health difficulties or behaviour have struggled in the past and are bringing all their secondary baggage to you. Accepting that you can't help them all is hard.

It's a different challenge, but I liked it although I missed the academic challenge of teaching my degree subject.

Considering the pay grade doesn't automatically go with a change of school anymore I guess you'd have to see, but they may be reluctant in the current climate.