Special needs assistant level 5

Berry2016

Hi ,I'm hoping I can get some information about special needs assisting ,I am about to start the fetac level 5 course and I'm wondering what other qualifications do I need ? I would like to work with children with disabilities , can anybidy who is in this type of work give me some info .
Thank you

implausible

What Level 5 course are you doing? Technically, all you need is a Junior Cert. In reality, most jobs will specify a QQI (used to be FETAC) Level 5 in Early Childhood Education & Care or Special Needs Education. Either way you need 8 modules, at least one of which to be in Special Needs, to get a full certificate. Work Experience in a special needs setting will be vital. Any experience you can gain with young people (sports coaching, volunteering with clubs etc) will be of benefit and give you an edge in an interview.

Some people gain employment with this course alone, while many have to pursue level 7 or 8 as employment has got quite competitive.

Berry2016

implausible wrote: »

What Level 5 course are you doing? Technically, all you need is a Junior Cert. In reality, most jobs will specify a QQI (used to be FETAC) Level 5 in Early Childhood Education & Care or Special Needs Education. Either way you need 8 modules, at least one of which to be in Special Needs, to get a full certificate. Work Experience in a special needs setting will be vital. Any experience you can gain with young people (sports coaching, volunteering with clubs etc) will be of benefit and give you an edge in an interview.

Some people gain employment with this course alone, while many have to pursue level 7 or 8 as employment has got quite competitive.[/

I am looking into starting level 5 special needs assisting with a view to complete level 6 afterwards, I would love to pursue a career in this area of work bit I really don't know much about it . Do you know anything about the content of these courses ? When I get my place on this course and am Gardai vetted I plan on volunteering as much as possible ,Can you give me anymore advice on special needs assisting ?
Thank you so much for reply

implausible

Berry2016 wrote: »

I am looking into starting level 5 special needs assisting with a view to complete level 6 afterwards, I would love to pursue a career in this area of work bit I really don't know much about it . Do you know anything about the content of these courses ? When I get my place on this course and am Gardai vetted I plan on volunteering as much as possible ,Can you give me anymore advice on special needs assisting ?
Thank you so much for reply

If you've signed up to the Level 5 course, you should have a list of the modules being covered. Do some googling and read up about them to find out about the content and how they're assessed.

The best advice I can give is to do relevant work experience in more than one setting e.g. primary school, special school. That way you'll have a practical understanding of what you're learning in college.

Berry2016

implausible wrote: »

If you've signed up to the Level 5 course, you should have a list of the modules being covered. Do some googling and read up about them to find out about the content and how they're assessed.

The best advice I can give is to do relevant work experience in more than one setting e.g. primary school, special school. That way you'll have a practical understanding of what you're learning in college.

Thank you for advice . I will try to get as much experience as possible .