Introduction
Approximately 20% of pupils are defined as having special
educational needs - caused by physical disability, speech and
language problems, behavioural problems or learning difficulty at
some point during their school careers. Councils are
responsible for providing appropriate education for them.
Most children can be given extra support in mainstream
schools. A small percentage attend special schools.
Councils have a duty to assess the provision required to meet
children's special needs. Special needs officers are employed
to manage the process and to make recommendations on possible
support. Around two per cent of children of all children are
likely to require what is known as a 'statement' - a formal
document detailing the special needs and provision being made to
meet them. Special needs officers work for county, unitary
and metropolitan councils. They are also known as special
educational needs assessment officers.
Work Environment
Special needs officers are based in offices within education
departments. However, they are usually responsible for all
the schools in a geographical area and spend a large proportion of
their time in visiting schools and attending meetings and case
conferences. Hours of work are 37 per week, but flexible.
Some evening and weekend work is required.
Daily Activities
Requests for assessment normally come from schools; sometimes from
parents. Special needs officers first ask the school to provide
written information - which includes the reasons for the assessment
request, details of special measures already in place, medical
reports, examples of the child's work, and notes of parents'
wishes. When they have weighed all the facts, they decide either to
give responsibility for planning further assistance directly to the
school or to undertake a very detailed review of the child's needs
known as a 'statutory assessment'. Before making the
decision, they might ask advice of colleagues, educational
psychologists or the authority's senior education officer
responsible for special needs. If the decision is made to
conduct an assessment, the special needs officer consults parents,
teachers (normally the school's special needs co-ordinator and the
head teacher), educational psychologists, doctors and possibly
social workers. Following the statutory assessment they decide
whether or not to issue a 'statement' of recommendations.
They then write a 'statement', summarising the views of everyone
consulted and recommending what extra support the child should
receive - for example, speech therapy, physiotherapy, extra help
with literacy and numeracy or help in changing some forms of
behaviour.
After consulting the parents they recommend a school where the
action listed on the statement should be carried out. This is often
at the child's current school. Special needs officers have to
work within a very strict timescale laid down by law. There
are deadlines for each decision and the entire process up to issue
of a statement must normally be completed within six months of
receiving the assessment request. A statement must be reviewed
every year through a meeting held between school staff and
children's parents. In some cases, for example where changes
are requested to the provision or the child is moving from primary
to secondary school, the special needs officer attends the
meeting. After discussion with the child, parents and all the
professionals involved, they may decide to recommend changes to the
support provided. Special needs officers usually spend a
large amount of time each day on the phone, talking to parents and
to professional colleagues. They might spend several hours
each week drafting statements and one or two days visiting schools
and attending reviews. Parents may appeal against a council's
decision not to carry out an assessment or against the provision
offered in the final statement. In such cases, special needs
officers may have to prepare reports for a senior education officer
who will attend a Special Educational Needs Tribunal and defend the
council's decisions.
Skills & Interests
Special needs officers need to be:
- diplomatic;
- able to form relationships with children, parents and
colleagues;
- able to handle stressful situations sensitively and accept that
some parents may become aggressive if their wishes cannot be
met;
- good communicators and be able to write clear reports;
- able to plan their own time and prioritise their
workloads.
Entry Requirements
Councils normally ask for at least an A level standard of
education and some experience of dealing with special needs.
Many special needs officers are graduates. Some have experience in
educational administration. Many are former teachers.
Training is given on the job by experienced colleagues.
Future Prospects & Opportunities
A small council might employ special just one special needs
officer. In a large council there might be six to
eight. There are prospects of promotion to senior education
officer/ deputy director of education.
Further Information & Services
Department for Education www.education.gov.uk
Education jobs www.eteach.com
General Teaching Council for Wales www.gtcw.org.uk
Graduate Teacher Training Registry www.gttr.ac.uk
Teacher Training & Education in Wales www.teachertrainingcymru.org
You may find further information about this area of work through
Careers Wales (www.careerswales.com/) or
in your local library, careers office or school careers
library.