special educational needs assistant
Special educational needs assistants assist special education teachers in their classroom duties. They tend to the physical needs of students with a variety of disabilities and help out with tasks such as bathroom breaks, bus rides, eating and classroom switches. They also provide instructional support to students, teachers and parents and prepare lesson programmes. Special educational needs assistants supply support for students tailored to their specific needs, help out with challenging assignments and monitor students' progress and classroom behaviour.
special educational needs assistant special educational needs assistants assist special education teachers in their classroom duties. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include learning needs analysis, social development, disability care, learning difficulties, special needs education.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £21,448 a year for Educational support assistants (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £18,465 to £25,501 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 6113). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Service and sales workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only special educational needs assistant, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 5. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- English Language
- Psychology
- Education and Training
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mathematics
- Public Safety and Security
- History and Archeology
- Geography
What you'd actually do
- Provide assistance to students with special needs.
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards, and gymnasiums, or on field trips.
- Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
- Carry out therapeutic regimens, such as behavior modification and personal development programs, under the supervision of special education instructors, psychologists, or speech-language pathologists.
- Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does special educational needs assistant do?
Special educational needs assistants assist special education teachers in their classroom duties. They tend to the physical needs of students with a variety of disabilities and help out with tasks such as bathroom breaks, bus rides, eating and classroom switches. They also provide instructional support to students, teachers and parents and prepare lesson programmes.
What skills does special educational needs assistant need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include learning needs analysis, social development, disability care, learning difficulties, special needs education, handle children's problems. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace special educational needs assistant?
Our AI-durability model gives special educational needs assistant a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.