Special Education Teacher Duties & Responsibilities

The role and function of a Special Education Teacher includes the following duties and responsibilities:

  • Teaching either individuals or small groups of pupils within or outside the class;
  • Preparing lessons and resources;
  • Marking and assessing work;
  • Developing and adapting conventional teaching methods to meet the individual needs of pupils;
  • Assessing children who have long or short-term learning difficulties and working with colleagues to identify individual pupils’ special needs;
  • Liaising with other professionals, such as social workers, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and educational psychologists
  • Keep track of and reflect on students’ progress
  • Using special equipment and facilities, such as audiovisual materials and computers to stimulate
  • Organising learning outside the classroom in activities such as community visits, school outings or sporting events;
  • Assisting in severely disabled pupils’ personal care/medical needs;
  • Administration, including updating and maintaining records on pupils’ progress;
  • Interest in learning;
  • Using specialist skills, such as teaching Braille to pupils with visual impairments or sign language and lip reading to students who have hearing impairments;
  • Collaborating with the classroom teacher to define appropriate activities for the pupils in relation to the curriculum;
  • Liaising closely with parents and guardians;
  • Behaviour management.
  • Attending statutory annual reviews or other related meetings, regarding students with an SEN, which may involve reviewing statements of special educational needs;
  • Receiving in-service training;

Note that this is not an exhaustive list of Special Education Teacher duties and responsibilities. Job functions for specific Special Education Teacher roles may vary, depending on the industry and type of employer.


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