Teach pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Most disabled pupils and pupils with special educational needs learn in mainstream schools.

No matter what settings you train and work in – whether it’s mainstream schools, special schools, or both – you’ll work with pupils with complex needs.

You can find a teacher training course and filter by ‘courses with a SEND specialism’ if you have a particular interest in the area.

However, it’s not essential to do a course specialising in SEND.

As you train and teach you’ll get the skills you need to work with disabled pupils and pupils with special educational needs.

This will enable you to work in a range of settings throughout your career.

Teach pupils with sensory impairments

You need specific qualifications to teach a class of pupils with hearing impairments, vision impairments or multi-sensory impairments.

Become a special educational needs coordinator

A special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) assesses, plans and monitors the progress of disabled pupils and pupils with special educational needs.

Once you’re a qualified teacher you’ll need to complete the National Award in Special Educational Needs Coordination (NASENCo) when you take up your SENCO post.

Get free one-to-one support

Talk to an adviser with years of teaching experience about the different settings you can teach in. Chat by phone, text or email, as little or as often as you need.

Find out more about advisers