Guest Blog: An invitation to a Special Needs school's Christmas performance

Today's guest blogger is Eleanor Esson, a consultant in the Special Needs division of Classroom. At this time of year many of the consultants at Classroom are lucky enough to receive invitations to various schools' Christmas productions. Eleanor relates her experience at one such performance below:

On Wednesday, a colleague and I had the privilege to be invited to a lovely SLD (Severe Learning Difficulties) school in Croydon to watch their annual Christmas concert. As a relatively new consultant at Classroom I was not sure what to expect at an SEN concert.

Pupils at this school have a range of Needs, some more severe than others. The pupil’s disabilities in this school would include Severe Autism, Global Delay and Down Syndrome. This would mean that some students may be non-verbal and some may have physical and medical conditions.

Upon arrival at the school we were warmly greeted by very friendly staff, and had coffee with parents. The atmosphere was buzzing as the parents excitedly awaited their children’s performances. This was my first realisation how much more this play would mean to the parents of children with disabilities. Our own lives can seem so far removed from the difficulties that occur in day to day life for not only SEN pupil’s but also their families.

We took our seats behind post-16 pupils who all eagerly anticipated the arrival of their their fellow students. With a burst of music, lights and clapping; we were treated to spectacular performances from each class including music from the 70’s, high school musical and many Christmas songs.

The performance though that I was most struck by, was a wonderful rendition of Michael Jackson's Thriller. The pupils wore fabulous zombie costumes that each pupil had made by hand. Their movements and timing through-out were fantastic. The efforts of the students and their dance teacher had certainly paid off as we all sat captivated by what really was a stunning performance.

After the show I observed one boy proudly showing his older brother all the work he had done that term. This experience really showed me that with the support and guidance of dedicated family and school staff, so much can be achieved by pupils with SEN. The true spirit of Christmas had really shone - The staff and pupils in this school are true inspiration to us all.

Thank's Eleanor. Have any of our other readers been moved by a school Christmas production? Its definitely a highlight of the Consultant's year at Classroom!

Classroom Job Alert

Its Friday, which means it's Classroom's job posting day. As ever - for all teaching positions you must hold a recognised teaching qualification and for Classroom Assistant vacancies experience of working with children in some form is also a requirement.

Please note that due to the volume of applications we receive we can only respond to those applicants who are successful.

SECONDARY TEACHING POSITIONS

• Drama Teacher

One of our regular clients is soon to be looking for a Drama teacher for a two month cover booking. This school is centrally located in the borough of Camden and will need a Drama specialist to start with them after the half term break. They would like to look at CV’s ASAP so if you are a drama specialist looking for a long term role (could be for a month or possibly extend to two months) forward your CV as soon as possible.

• Head of Maths in fantastic independent school

We have supplied teachers to this school for over five years now and can honestly say that this is a fantastic teaching environment in which to work. Teachers love working there it can be a very rewarding experience. Students are well behaved and work to a very high standard. Emphasis will be on keeping achievement levels high and keeping the children actively involved. If you are a teacher with lots of energy and a passion for teaching then this is the ideal job for you. They require a new Head of Maths to start in January. There is a strong possibility that it will be a perm post and this will be discussed at interview stage. Although the start is in January they would like to see CV’s as soon as possible. You will need to be a fully qualified Secondary Maths teacher with head of department experience in order to apply for this job. Experience within the independent sector would be beneficial but it's by no means essential.

Please contact the Secondary team on 020 7636 0600 or email us: secondary@classroomteachers.co.uk

SPECIAL NEEDS TEACHING POSITIONS

• Home Tuition

We are looking for people who are interested in becoming home tutors; to work with children in South-East London who are not able to receive education in school. These pupils have varying needs and circumstances. Some pupils may have come from disadvantaged backgrounds and present challenging behaviour. Other pupils may have Learning Difficulties or be on the Autistic Spectrum. We need teachers who can help these pupil’s re-build their confidence, allowing them to take a positive attitude towards the educational environment. For this role we are looking for people who are compassionate, flexible and self-motivated.

• SLD (Severe Learning Difficulties) Teaching post

This East London School supports students at Primary level with Special needs. Many of the children in the school are non verbal, exhibit challenging behaviour and also have medical needs. The successful candidate will have experience working with students with severe learning difficulties and be familiar with many of the techniques used to support them. They should have knowledge of PECS, Makaton and other forms of communication used with SEN students and also have a working knowledge of P levels.

Please contact the Special Needs team on 020 7636 0600 or email: sen@classroomteachers.co.uk

PRIMARY TEACHING POSITIONS

• Year 3 post - November start

A church of England Primary School in West London is seeking a teacher with long-term lower KS2 experience to take on a Y3 class from mid November through to July next year for a maternity cover. The ideal teacher will have a minimum of one academic year in a class teacher role and will be familiar with the curriculum at this level of KS2. This is a great opportunity for a teacher with enthusiasm and a sense of humour to take on a lovely class in a well supported school with a very positive ethos and genuinely friendly team. The school is well placed for public transport links, and is within a few minutes of Central London. Trial days to take place next week.

Please contact the Primary team on 020 7636 0600 or email us: primary@classroomteachers.co.uk

CLASSROOM ASSISTANT & SUPPORT VACANCIES

• One to One Suppost Assistant

We currently have long-term and block bookings in South London Primary Schools working one-to-one with students who may have autism, emotional and behavioural difficulties or mental health difficulties. The positions require someone with a patient and calm disposition with previous experience working with students who have special educational needs. You will need to be able to work using your own initiative as well as responding to instructions and guidance.

• Experienced Support Assistant for Pupil Referral Unit (PRU)

A Secondary PRU in East London requires an experienced support assistant to work with students who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. The position is to work with a group of boys in Key stage 3 supporting them with sporting activities. It would be an advantage to have a sporting background but this isn’t essential. However, you do need to have previous experience either in a Pupil Referral Unit or working with students who have Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. The school needs someone who can be flexible as you may be working as a general Learning Support Assistant but also doing some one-to-one work with students.

Please contact the Support team on 020 7636 0600 or email: classroomassistant@classroomteachers.c.uk

Thats all for this week. Remember to keep us up to date with your current availability! We look forward to hearing from you.

What does it take to be a special needs teacher?

So, you're a mainstream teacher and you want to broaden your horizons. You've often thought about Special Needs teaching but it's not an option as you don't hold any SEN qualifications - right?

Well, not necessarily is the initial answer! When we register teachers with Classroom one of the questions we will inevitably ask is "do you have any interest in working in special needs"? The response we get is more often than not the same - "I am very interested but I am not qualified". It's a popular misconception that you can ONLY work with special needs students if you posess the correct certificates and certainly if you hold qualifications then you stand a great chance of securing an SEN post. But its also true that many teachers who started out in the mainstream have successfully made the transition in to certain areas within the special needs arena without any specialist qualifications.

It goes without saying that certain SEN posts DO require particular qualifications or training. For example, Eleanor in our Special Needs team is currently looking for a teacher of the deaf and for this role you most certainly do need to be qualified. In the same vein, most teaching roles with Non verbal students (eg Autism) will require you to communicate using Maketon and PECS. As our own specialist SEN team will testify - there are a multitude of jobs which require specialist skills when working in SEN and if you wish to explore these options then you could find yourself with a very rewarding new direction to your teaching.

At the same time - there are SEN jobs out there which dont require specialist training. As Lucy, manager of Classroom's SEN team discusses, they also look at the mainstream experience that a teacher has had, particularly since inclusion has become the norm. What about the pupil in your Year 6 class who had learning difficulties? Or the partially sighted student whom you supported during your Chemistry lesson? All valuable teaching experience which you can bring to a specific SEN environment. Of particular interest is Lucy's revelation that they often place teachers in to an EBD (Emotional and behavioural difficulties) post who have little or no specific EBD unit experience. What those of you who have taught in London or various other inner city schools might not realise is that you have probably developed great behavioural management tools that you can transfer into an EBD environment and our SEN team are always keen to tap in to these skills.

Of course not everyone reading this will feel that the teaching experience they have gained will give them sufficient insight in to working specifically with SEN students. Lucy has spoken with plenty of teachers in this situation and her number one piece of advice is to consider developing your SEN skills via the Teaching Assistant route. Classroom has a very large support division and has regularly placed teachers in to SEN settings as a teaching assistant in order to become familiar with the environment and start to develop the skills necessary to cope in an SEN post. In asking her to sum up the qualities she feels are best suited to teaching in the SEN sector, Lucy recommends that teachers with empathetic personalities will do well. Traits such as patience, resilience and versatility are also highly valued. A lot of teachers transferring from the mainstream come to SEN expecting a very rigid structure and whilst rules and expectations are always present - an SEN environment is ever changing. As Lucy suggests - "expect the unexpected"!

For those teachers with a keen interest in Special needs teaching but with little practical experience - the following websites might be worth a browse. Alternatively - if you fancy chatting to someone about SEN then Classroom's specialist team of Lucy, Julie and Eleanor are always very happy to address any of your concerns!

Further Reading:

http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/

http://www.equals.co.uk/

http://www.senteacher.org/

Classroom Job Alert

Its Friday - which means its Classroom's day to post a selection of its best or most immediate job vacancies. It is our intention to post job alerts every Friday - though obviously certain times of the year will have more vacancies than others.

For September - a lot of positions are already filled - however we are still looking for excellent teachers and teaching assistants and below are a selection of jobs which may interest you. Please note that for ALL teaching vacancies you MUST have a valid teaching qualification recognised in the UK:

SECONDARY SCHOOL VACANCIES

• Science and Maths Teachers - Good School

2 Science teachers and 1 Maths teacher required for a well run mixed comprehensive school in East London. All the posts are Maternity cover, the duration being months to a full academic year.

The Science candidates would be expected to teach General Science to KS3 and focus on their Science specialism (Chemistry, Biology or Physics) at KS4 Level. The Maths post requires a teacher experienced in teaching KS3 and 4 (GCSE) classes.

The start date for the Science and Maths posts is November 2009 (after the 1/2 term break)

• ICT Vacancies

We are recruiting ICT teachers for 2 excellent London schools. One is based in Central London and the other based in West London. Both schools ideally require candidates with A Level experience but would also be willing to look at candidates with GCSE experience if they are willing to take the challenge of taking on more responsibility with A Level teaching.

The start date for both schools is November 2009 - after the 1/2 term break.

Please contact the Secondary division on 020 7636 0600 or email: secondary@classroomteachers.co.uk

PRIMARY SCHOOL VACANCIES

• Year 3 Teacher

A small one form entry Primary school in Lewisham seeks an experienced teacher to take on a class of 22 children with immediate effect. The school are inviting applications from teachers who have taught specifically in lower KS2 in a London Primary school on a long-term basis; ideally you will have a thorough working curriculum knowledge coupled with an imaginative teaching style that will genuinely engage the class and motivate them to learn. Enthusiasm, character and a sense of independence are a must!

The school is a very multicultural environment with a high proportion of children with English as their second language. Experience in teaching in a similar environment would also be beneficial. The post will commence within the next week and will be for the duration of this academic year.

• Year 6 Job Share

A small one form entry school in the borough of Merton are seeking an experienced KS2 teacher for this 3 day Yr 6 job share. The position will run Mondays through to Wednesdays.

Ideally this school is looking for a teacher with KS2 experience in a London school setting on a long-term basis. If you have Yr6 and Yr6 SATS experience then we would especially like to hear from you. This position requires a teacher with superb planning schools and strong classroom management skills.

Please contact the Primary division on 020 7636 0600 or email: primary@classroomteachers.co.uk

SPECIAL NEEDS TEACHING VACANCIES

• ICT and English Position

A well-run Pupil Referral Unit in Bexley is looking for an ICT and English teacher. If you have one or both of these as your specialist subjects then this could be the job for you! The position will initially be daily with the possibility of becoming long-term. Working with emotional and behavioural difficulties is challenging and rewarding. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged teenagers.

• Maths Post

A very supportive PRU in Havering require an experienced Maths teacher with an excellent knowledge of the KS3 and KS4 curriculum. The right teacher must have good behaviour management and experience working with challenging behaviour. The class sizes are small with excellent support. This position has the potential to go perm for the right teacher.

• Teacher of EBD (Emotional and behavioural difficulties)

We require an experienced EBD teacher to work in the borough of Bromley. The position requires the teacher to work 2 days in an intervention Centre supporting 2 members of staff; and 3 days visiting schools in the area assessing the needs of EBD students and offering support and guidance on the best course of action to take. You must be confident and articulate with an excellent working knowledge of EBD, the role requires contact with heads of department and senior management. A fantastic opportunity for an ambitious EBD teacher.

• Year 3 and 4 Teacher

A lovely Special needs school in Lambeth is looking for a qualified teacher until the summer term 2010. The position is to work with a year 3 and 4 class with a mix of severe learning difficulties and medical needs. Some of the children will be in wheelchairs and require special medical equipment while others may be non verbal and use PECs and Makaton communication techniques. This is a really nice group of students; however the role does require a teacher who has had prior experience with these needs. This is a long term position with the possibility of being taken on permanently by the school after 2 terms.

Please contact the SEN division on 020 7636 0600 or email: sen@classroomteachers.co.uk

CLASSROOM ASSISTANT & SUPPORT VACANCIES

• Qualified Nursery Nurses

Our division are always looking for qualified Nursery Nurses (NVQ Level 3) for day to day and long term bookings across London. If you have experience within the last two years and have an up to date CRB we would love to hear from you.

• Classroom Assistants with Special Needs Experience

Our SEN schools based in Lambeth, Southwark and Ealing are looking for day to day and long term teaching assistants with special needs experience. You must have experience within the last two years along with the patience, passion and flexibility for day to day and long term cover.
If you hold an up to date CRB and have the relevant experience then send your CV as soon as possible.

Please send your CV to: support@classroomteachers.co.uk

*Please note that due to the volume of applications for support roles we are unable to respond to all applicants. If you have not heard from us within 7 days please note that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

Thats all for this week. Remember to keep us up to date with your current availability! We look forward to hearing from you.