Are you a qualified special educational needs educator looking for your next rewarding teaching position?
The great news is, SEN teachers are in high demand right now! The less good news is that you still have to create an impressive application if you hope to secure an interview.
But if CV writing isn’t your strong point, that’s OK. Check out our step-by-step writing guide below, complete with an SEN teacher CV example to help you.
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SEN Teacher CV example
This CV example illustrates the ideal structure and format for your SEN Teacher CV, making it easy for busy hiring managers to quickly identify your suitability for the jobs you’re applying for,
It also gives some guidance on the skills, experience and qualifications you should emphasise in your own CV.
SEN Teacher CV layout and format
In today’s fast-paced job market, recruiters and employers are often short on time. If they can’t locate the information they’re searching for within a few seconds, it could result in them overlooking your application.
To avoid this happening, it’s critical to structure and format your CV in a way that allows them to quickly identify your key skills and offerings, even when they’re pressed for time.
Tips for formatting your SEN Teacher CV
- Length: It’s essential to keep your CV concise, regardless of whether you have one year or thirty years of experience. Recruiters are frequently managing multiple roles and responsibilities and do not have the luxury of reading lengthy CVs. Therefore, limit your CV to two sides of A4. If you have little industry experience, one page is sufficient.
- Readability: Help out time-strapped recruiters by formatting your CV for easy reading. Using lots of bullet points and lists will help them to skim through your info, while clearly formatted headings will allow them to navigate towards the content which is most useful to them.
- Design: Your CV needs to look professional, sleek and easy to read. A subtle colour palette, clear font and simple design are generally best for this, as fancy designs are often harder to navigate.
- Photos: Headshot photos aren’t required in a CV by most employers, but some creative and artistic industries like to see them. If you decide to include one, make sure you look smart and professional in the picture.
Quick tip: Creating a professional CV style can be difficult and time-consuming when using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. To create a winning CV quickly, try our quick-and-easy CV Builder and use one of their eye-catching professional CV templates.
CV structure
To make it easy for busy recruiters and hiring managers to digest your CV, divide the content into several key sections when writing it:
- Contact details: Always list your contact details at the very top to avoid them being missed.
- Profile: Start with an introductory paragraph that catches recruiters’ attention and summarises your offerings.
- Work experience/career history: List your relevant work experience in reverse chronological order, starting with your current position.
- Education: Provide a concise summary of your education and qualifications.
- Interests and hobbies: You can include an optional section to showcase any hobbies that demonstrate transferable skills.
Now you understand the basic layout of a CV, here’s what you should include in each section of yours.
Contact Details
Write your contact details in the top corner of your CV, so that they’re easy to find but don’t take up too much space.
You only need to list your basic details, such as:
- Mobile number
- Email address
- Location – Don’t list your full address. Your town or city, such as ‘Norwich’ or ‘Coventry’ is perfect.
- LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL – Remember to update these before listing them on an application.
SEN Teacher CV Profile
Your CV profile is basically a short introductory paragraph, which summarises your key selling points and highlights why you’d make a good hire.
So, write a well-rounded summary of what you do, what your key skills are, and what relevant experience you have.
It needs to be short, snappy and punchy and, ultimately, entice the reader to read the rest of your CV.
CV profile writing tips:
- Make it short and sharp: It might be tempting to submit a page-long CV profile, but recruiters won’t have the time to read it. To ensure every word gets read, it’s best to include high-level information only; sticking to a length of 3-5 lines.
- Tailor it: No matter how much time you put into your CV profile, it won’t impress if it’s irrelevant to the role you’re applying for. Before you start writing, make a list of the skills, knowledge and experience your target employer is looking for. Then, make sure to mention them in your CV profile and throughout the rest of your application.
- Don’t add an objective: Leave your career objectives or goals out of your profile. You only have limited space to work with, so they’re best suited to your cover letter.
- Avoid generic phrases: “Determined team player who always gives 110%” might seem like a good way to fill up your CV profile, but generic phrases like this won’t land you an interview. Recruiters hear them time and time again and have no real reason to believe them. Instead, pack your profile with your hard skills and tangible achievements.
Example CV profile for SEN Teacher
What to include in your SEN Teacher CV profile?
- Experience overview: To give employers an idea of your capabilities, show them your track record by giving an overview of the types of companies you have worked for in the past and the roles you have carried out for previous employers – but keep it high level and save the details for your experience section.
- Targeted skills: Employers need to know what skills you can bring to their organisation, and ideally they want to see skills that match their job vacancy. So, research your target roles thoroughly and add the most important SEN Teacher skills to your profile.
- Key qualifications: Be sure to outline your relevant Special Educational Needs Teacher qualifications, so that anyone reading the CV can instantly see you are qualified for the jobs you are applying to.
Quick tip: If you are finding it difficult to write an attention-grabbing CV profile, choose from hundreds of pre-written profiles across all industries, and add one to your CV with one click in our quick-and-easy CV Builder. All profiles are written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.
Core skills section
Create a core skills section underneath your profile to spotlight your most in-demand skills and grab the attention of readers.
This section should feature 2-3 columns of bullet points that emphasise your applicable skills for your target jobs. Before constructing this section, review the job description and compile a list of any specific skills, specialisms, or knowledge required.
Important skills for your SEN Teacher CV
Knowledge of special education needs – Understanding and knowledge of a wide range of special education needs, such as learning disabilities, autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and physical disabilities.
Assessment and evaluation – Assessing and evaluating students’ needs, progress, and learning styles to create individualised learning plans.
Teaching strategies – Adapting teaching strategies to meet the diverse needs of students with special needs.
Communication – Utilising strong communication skills, including verbal, nonverbal, and written communication, to effectively communicate with students, parents, and other professionals.
Patience – Remaining calm and patient in challenging situations, as well as maintaining a positive attitude and encouraging environment.
Creativity – Taking an innovative and creative approach to teaching, using a variety of teaching methods and materials to engage students with special needs.
Cross-functional collaboration – Working collaboratively with other teachers, specialists, and professionals to support students with special needs.
Behaviour management – Utilising effective behaviour management skills to create a safe and positive learning environment.
Assistive technology – Utilising assistive technology tools and software to support students with special needs.
Knowledge of legislation and policies – Maintaining knowledge of special education laws and policies in the UK, including the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice.
Quick tip: Our quick-and-easy CV Builder has thousands of in-demand skills for all industries and professions, that can be added to your CV in seconds – This will save you time and ensure you get noticed by recruiters.
Work experience section
Recruiters will be itching to know more about your relevant experience by now.
Kick-start this section with your most recent (or current) position, and work your way backwards through your history.
You can include voluntary and freelance work, too – as long as you’re honest about the nature of the work.
Structuring each job
If you don’t pay attention to the structure of your career history section, it could quickly become bulky and overwhelming.
Get in recruiters’ good books by creating a pleasant reading experience, using the 3-step structure below:
Outline
Start with a solid introduction to your role as a whole, in order to build some context.
Explain the nature of the organisation you worked for, the size of the team you were part of, who you reported to and what the overarching purpose of your job was.
Key responsibilities
Follow with a snappy list of bullet points, detailing your daily duties and responsibilities.
Tailor it to the role you’re applying for by mentioning how you put the target employer’s desired hard skills and knowledge to use in this role.
Key achievements
Finish off by showcasing 1-3 key achievements made within the role.
This could be anything that had a positive effect on your company, clients or customers, such as saving time or money, receiving exemplary feedback or receiving an award.
Sample job description for SEN Teacher CV
Outline
Provide instruction and support to students aged 5-11 with various disabilities, specifically with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in a mainstream primary school.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and implement individualised education plans (IEPs) for students with SEN
- Collaborate with the multidisciplinary team, including parents, teachers, and therapists, to identify and address students’ academic and social-emotional needs
- Create and implement differentiated instructional strategies to adapt to diverse learning styles
- Provide ongoing assessment and progress monitoring to measure student growth
Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our quick-and-easy CV Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.
Education and qualifications
After your work experience, your education section should provide a detailed view of your academic background.
Begin with those most relevant to SEN Teacher jobs, such as vocational training or degrees.
If you have space, you can also mention your academic qualifications, such as A-Levels and GCSEs.
Focus on the qualifications that are most relevant to the jobs you are applying for.
Hobbies and interests
Although this is an optional section, it can be useful if your hobbies and interests will add further depth to your CV.
Interests which are related to the sector you are applying to, or which show transferable skills like leadership or teamwork, can worth listing.
On the other hand, generic hobbies like “going out with friends” won’t add any value to your application, so are best left off your CV.
Once you’ve written your Special Educational Needs Teacher CV, you should proofread it several times to ensure that there are no typos or grammatical errors.
With a tailored punchy profile that showcases your relevant experience and skills, paired with well-structured role descriptions, you’ll be able to impress employers and land interviews.
Good luck with your next job application!