SEND roles span a wide range of specialisms, from one-to-one LSA support to highly specialist positions in communication, sensory impairment, and behaviour support.

The main SEND and specialist roles include:

Develop curriculum design, lead assessment approaches, and support colleagues in their specialist area. Common in secondary settings and increasingly in larger primary schools.

Take responsibility for a key stage or curriculum area across the whole setting. These roles are typically at TLR1 or TLR2 level and offer whole-school influence without a full step into senior leadership.

Pastoral roles focus on learner welfare rather than curriculum. Heads of year, pastoral leaders, and heads of key stage manage wellbeing, attendance, and behaviour for a cohort of learners, working closely with families and external agencies.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) role carries statutory responsibility for safeguarding across the setting and is a requirement in every school. Experience as a DSL is highly valued in senior leadership appointments.

The SENCO coordinates provision for learners with SEND across the whole setting, working with staff, families, external agencies, and the local authority. It is one of the most significant specialist leadership positions a teacher can hold.

From September 2024, the mandatory qualification is the National Professional Qualification for SENCOs, with new SENCOs having three years from appointment to complete it. The role frequently carries a TLR or SEN allowance and in many settings sits on the senior leadership team.

National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) are the government-accredited professional development framework for teachers and leaders in England. They cover both specialist teaching roles and leadership development, and by 2024/25 had been taken up by staff in 88.4% of state schools.

NPQs include:

NPQs are funded by the DfE for most teachers in state-funded settings in England, subject to eligibility. They are designed to be completed flexibly alongside a teaching role, typically over 12 to 18 months.

Senior leadership roles, including assistant headteacher, deputy headteacher, and headteacher, are paid on the leadership pay range under the STPCD. This is a separate scale from the classroom pay range, with headteacher salaries varying significantly by school size, phase, and location.

Senior leadership requires demonstrated whole-school impact, not simply excellence in the classroom. Most appointments look for evidence of leading change, managing staff, and contributing to school improvement at a strategic level. Experience in middle leadership, whether through subject, pastoral, or SENCO routes, is typically a prerequisite.

Executive leadership in multi-academy trusts and large federated schools represents a further tier, with roles including executive headteacher and CEO carrying responsibility for multiple settings and significant organisational complexity.

Career progression for teachers does not have to stay within a single setting. Several routes take experienced professionals into broader roles.

Local authority advisory and improvement roles draw on classroom and leadership expertise to support multiple schools, often with a specialism in curriculum, SEND, or school improvement.

Educational consultancy, including work for inspection bodies, training providers, or curriculum developers, is an option for experienced practitioners who want to influence practice at scale.

Teacher training and mentoring, including roles in ITT partnerships, Teaching School Hubs, and ECT induction support, allows experienced professionals to shape the development of the next generation of teachers.

Career progression is not only a matter of moving up a leadership hierarchy. For many teachers, deliberately using supply and temporary work at different stages of a career is part of a broader strategy.

Supply work across different settings, phases, and provision types builds a breadth of professional experience that a single permanent post rarely provides. Long-term placements often lead directly to permanent appointments. And for experienced professionals returning after a career break or considering a change of direction, supply can provide a low-commitment way to test a new phase or setting before committing.

Our article on permanent vs temporary teaching jobs sets out how the employment terms and rights differ across contract types and what each means practically for pay and progression.

Whatever your progression goal, the work available to you shapes the experience you can build. Flexzo Teach connects education professionals directly with settings across all phases, role types, and provision sectors, including short-term supply, long-term placements, and permanent posts.

You set your availability, rate, and preferences. Settings contact you directly. There are no agency margins and no transfer fees between a temporary placement and a permanent offer.

There are several practical approaches to finding education work without going through an agency.

Going entirely without an agency is not the right approach for everyone, and it is worth being realistic about the trade-offs.

Agencies handle your compliance checks, maintain your records, and contact you when work becomes available. If you are new to supply teaching and need to get started quickly, an agency removes significant administrative friction. The question is whether that convenience is worth the ongoing cost in terms of the margin taken from your pay.

For experienced education professionals with an established track record and existing relationships with settings, the case for direct routes is stronger. You are not relying on an agency to vouch for you. Your professional reputation does that.

Many education professionals use agency and direct routes simultaneously, using agency bookings to fill gaps while building the direct relationships and registrations that provide more consistent and better-paid work over time. The two approaches are not mutually exclusive.

If you are currently registered with an agency and want to move towards direct work, there are a few things worth checking before you act.

Finding agency-free work is not limited to traditional supply cover. The shift towards flexible working in education, including part-time roles, job shares, and fixed-term contracts arranged directly with settings, creates additional routes for education professionals who want flexibility without the agency model.

Our article on flexible teaching jobs covers the full range of flexible arrangements available and what each means for your pay and rights.

Flexzo Teach is a collaborative staff bank built specifically to enable direct connections between education professionals and educational settings.

You set your availability, rate expectations, and compliance profile once. Settings across mainstream, specialist, alternative, and further education provision can find you, contact you directly, and book you without an agency taking a margin from the arrangement.

Key features of the platform include:

You can find out why education professionals join Flexzo Teach and explore the full range of platform features before registering.

Beyond the formal framework, there are qualities that hiring managers consistently identify as decisive.

Candidates who can describe specific situations where their teaching made a measurable difference, and who can reflect honestly on what worked and what they would do differently, stand out from those offering generic responses.

A school with a strong inclusion ethos wants to see that you share it. A setting in a challenging community wants to know you understand it. Research into the setting’s values, recent Ofsted reports, and any particular initiatives they have running signals that you are applying to them specifically, not just applying broadly.

Every panel will ask a safeguarding question. Knowing the current statutory guidance, understanding what to do if a learner makes a disclosure, and being clear about who the designated safeguarding lead is in a setting are minimum expectations. Vague or uncertain answers to safeguarding questions end interviews.

A candidate who can articulate what they are still learning and how they are addressing it is more credible than one who claims they have no weaknesses. Schools are not looking for the finished article; they are looking for someone who is self-aware and committed to growth.

Most teaching interviews follow a predictable pattern of topic areas, even when the specific questions vary. Being prepared across these areas matters:

The strongest answers use specific examples rather than generalities, and they connect the example to a tangible outcome for the learner.

This is where many candidates either stand out or fall short, and where preparation makes the most difference.

Find out as much as you can about the group before you plan. Class size, age, ability range, and whether there are learners with SEND or EHCPs are all relevant to your planning and demonstrate professional awareness when you ask about them in advance.

Plan for a lesson that shows clear learning objectives, a range of activities, and moments where you check for understanding. Panels look for evidence that you can adapt mid-lesson, not just deliver a pre-planned sequence.

Leave time to reflect on the lesson in the panel interview. You will almost certainly be asked about it. Candidates who can evaluate their own lesson accurately, including what they would change, are viewed more favourably than those who either overclaim success or are unable to critically assess their own performance.

Before the interview, your application needs to get you in the room. Our how to apply page sets out what a strong educator application looks like, including what to include and what to leave out.

The type of role you are applying for also shapes the interview. Permanent posts carry more weight in the selection process than temporary or supply arrangements. Our article on permanent vs temporary teaching jobs covers the practical differences in detail.

The questions you ask at the end of an interview are as revealing as the questions you answer. Generic questions suggest generic preparation. Setting-specific questions signal genuine interest.

Consider asking about induction support for new staff, what the school’s approach to staff wellbeing looks like in practice, how the department or phase team works together, and what success looks like in this role at the end of the first year. Asking about workload and professional development is entirely appropriate and not a red flag.

This is where the two phases diverge most noticeably.

Primary teachers are generalists. In most settings, you teach the same class across most or all subjects throughout the week. You develop deep knowledge of individual learners, their progress, and their personal circumstances. The relationships are close, sustained, and often emotionally rewarding.

Secondary teachers are subject specialists. You typically teach one or two subjects across multiple year groups, seeing many more learners in a week but for fewer hours each. Relationships are built differently, and pastoral connection depends more on form tutor responsibilities than subject delivery.

Neither is less demanding. The nature of the demand differs.

Both phases carry significant workload, but it is distributed differently.

Primary teachers carry the weight of curriculum breadth. Planning across multiple subjects, managing transition from one area of learning to another, and maintaining detailed knowledge of each learner’s development across all areas is a sustained cognitive load.

Secondary teachers face workload pressure from exam preparation, assessment, and marking at depth in their specialist subject. Departments with large cohorts in subjects with extended writing requirements, such as English or history, can carry particularly heavy marking loads.

Pupil to teacher ratios also differ by phase. The DfE reports a ratio of 20.8 learners per teacher in nursery and primary settings, compared to 16.7 in secondary schools. That difference in class size shapes the texture of the working day considerably.

Career pathways exist in both phases, but secondary settings tend to offer more structured opportunities for subject-specific progression.

Subject leads, heads of department, and curriculum leads are more prominent in secondary schools. These roles typically attract TLR payments and offer a clear route from classroom teacher to middle leader without requiring a full step into whole-school leadership.

Primary schools offer progression through subject leadership, phase leadership, and SENCO responsibilities, though the structures are often smaller and the number of available posts is more limited. Headship and deputy headship in primary schools can come earlier in a career than in secondary, precisely because the organisational scale is different.

Both phases accommodate flexible and part-time arrangements, though primary schools can find job sharing logistically more straightforward given the class-based structure.

Our article on full-time vs part-time teaching roles sets out the rights and pay implications of part-time work in detail. For those interested in the range of temporary arrangements available in both phases, the short-term teaching contracts article covers fixed-term and supply options.

Supply work exists in both primary and secondary settings, but the experience differs.

Primary supply tends to involve more generalised cover, often with a class you will stay with for the full day. Secondary supply typically means moving between subjects and year groups, which can feel more fragmented but also more varied.

Secondary shortage subjects, particularly maths, science, and computing, are in consistent demand across supply as well as permanent roles. SEND-experienced supply teachers are sought after across both phases.

There is no universal answer, and many education professionals move between phases over the course of a career. Some questions worth considering:

Neither phase is inherently more rewarding. The match between what the phase demands and what you find professionally meaningful is what matters.

Flexzo Teach connects education professionals with educational settings across both primary and secondary phases, as well as SEND, alternative provision, early years, and further education. Roles include short-term supply, long-term placements, and permanent posts.

You set your availability, phase preference, and rate expectations. Settings contact you directly, with no agency intermediary. You can explore the full range of what the platform offers on the platform features page before registering.

Our articles on full-time vs part-time teaching roles and short-term teaching contracts go into more detail on the specific rights and employment terms that apply to each arrangement.

None of these represent a lesser commitment to education. In many cases, flexible workers bring a clarity and focus to their contracted hours that sustained full-time workloads can make harder to maintain.

Flexible working has moved from a niche consideration to a workforce priority.

The DfE’s school workforce data shows that 8 in 10 teaching assistants and 6 in 10 administrative staff work part-time across state-funded schools in England. The pattern of flexible working in education is therefore already embedded at scale, particularly in support roles.

For qualified teachers, the picture has been slower to develop but is changing. The government has extended its Flexible Working Ambassadors Programme, which supports schools in building flexible working cultures, and has confirmed that PPA time can be taken remotely. The case being made is straightforward: retaining an experienced teacher in a part-time role is better for learners than losing them from the profession entirely.

82% of school leaders offering flexible working reported that it had helped retain teachers who might otherwise have left. That is a significant endorsement from within the system.

The legal protections for flexible and part-time workers in education are robust. Part-time teachers in maintained schools are paid pro-rata to the STPCD, with access to the same pay progression, TLR payments, CPD, and pension contributions as full-time colleagues.

The National Education Union’s guidance on supply staff is worth reading alongside this, particularly for those doing supply alongside or instead of a permanent arrangement. It covers pension access, holiday pay entitlements, and the Agency Workers Regulations, which entitle agency supply teachers to equal pay with directly employed teachers after 12 weeks in the same role.

The key distinction remains between being employed directly by a setting and being placed through an agency. Direct employment brings STPCD alignment and Teachers’ Pension Scheme access from day one. Agency supply does not, unless the 12-week threshold has been met.

A common concern is whether flexible or part-time working limits career development. In maintained schools, it should not.

Part-time teachers are entitled to pay progression on the same basis as full-time colleagues. They can hold TLR responsibilities and receive proportionate payment and non-contact time for them. They cannot be excluded from training or CPD because of their working pattern.

That said, some leadership pathways can be harder to access in a part-time or supply arrangement simply because they require a sustained presence in a setting. Supply work, by its nature, does not provide the continuity that senior leadership development typically demands. This is a practical consideration rather than a legal barrier.

Flexible teaching roles can be harder to find through standard job listings, which tend to default to full-time. Dedicated searches, direct applications to settings, and platforms specifically designed around flexible working all improve the chances of finding something that genuinely fits.

Flexzo Teach connects education professionals directly with settings across all role types, phases, and provision sectors, including part-time placements, supply work, and longer flexible arrangements. You set your availability and rate expectations, and settings contact you directly with no agency intermediary.

You can explore the full range of what the platform offers on the platform features page before registering.

The employment arrangement you enter shapes your legal rights as much as it shapes your pay.

Agency supply teachers are employed by the agency, not the setting. Placements can end with little notice, and the pay rate is set by the agency. This is independent of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), so rates are not guaranteed to reflect your STPCD experience point. After 12 consecutive weeks in the same role at the same setting, the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 entitle you to equal pay with a directly employed teacher, but before that threshold there is no statutory floor beyond the National Minimum Wage.

Where you are employed directly by a setting (even on a short-term or supply basis), the STPCD applies from day one. Pay is calculated at the appropriate point on the Main or Upper Pay Range, and you contribute to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme automatically unless you choose to opt out.

In essence, this means two teachers, who are doing identical work on the same day at the same setting can have entirely different pay arrangements depending on how they were booked.

For a fuller picture of how temporary and permanent employment terms compare, our article on permanent vs temporary teaching jobs sets out the employment rights specific to each contract type.

The figures around agency supply spending in England are striking. According to DfE research into the use of supply teachers, schools spent £1.4 billion on agency supply teachers in 2023-24. That is public money flowing through commercial intermediaries rather than reaching the teachers doing the work or the learners in the classroom.

The DfE research also found that supply teachers were largely dissatisfied with their pay, and that most school leaders disagreed that the current agency system represented good value for money. The National Education Union has documented these concerns in detail, including the TPS exclusion and the impact of agency markups on take-home pay. The government has since announced plans to introduce rate caps on agency markups through a new Crown Commercial Service framework due in 2026, which signals how significant the issue has become at a policy level.

For individual education professionals, the practical implication is simple: the route through which you access work determines a meaningful proportion of what you actually earn.

Neither agencies nor direct platforms are the right choice in every situation. Agencies offer established networks, administrative support, and in some regions a higher volume of daily work than any single platform can match. If you are new to supply teaching and want a quick route into work while your compliance documents are processed, an agency can provide that.

Direct platforms tend to work better for education professionals who want more control over their rate and their availability, who are open to a wider range of role types and settings, or who want the flexibility of a direct booking without the opacity of agency terms.

The two are not mutually exclusive. Many education professionals register with both, using each for different purposes

One of the most significant practical differences between a fixed-term contract with a setting and an agency supply arrangement is pension access. The National Education Union’s guidance on fixed-term contracts confirms that teachers employed on fixed-term contracts in maintained schools automatically contribute to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme unless they choose to opt out — the same arrangement as permanent staff. Agency supply teachers cannot access the TPS through their agency.

The rights you hold on a fixed-term teaching contract include:

One of the most important and least understood aspects of short-term contracts in education is the four-year rule.

Under the Fixed-term Employees Regulations, if you have been continuously employed by the same employer on one or more fixed-term contracts for four years or more, your contract automatically becomes permanent in law unless the employer can demonstrate objective justification for continuing to offer fixed-term arrangements. This applies even if successive contracts have been for apparently distinct purposes.

In practice this means that a teacher who has been on a series of maternity cover contracts, time-limited appointments, or rolling fixed-term arrangements at the same school for four or more consecutive years has legal grounds to request that their status is confirmed as permanent. That request must be responded to in writing within 21 days.

This provision exists specifically to prevent the use of fixed-term contracts from becoming an indefinite alternative to permanent employment. Settings cannot simply roll short-term contracts forward indefinitely to avoid giving staff permanent status.

The non-renewal of a fixed-term contract is treated in law as a dismissal. Where the contract expires at its agreed end date, notice is not normally required. If terminated early or where there is no specified end date, notice must be given in line with the contract terms. Teachers covered by the Burgundy Book have specific notice periods that apply.

After two years of continuous service with the same employer, you have the same redundancy rights as a permanent employee and may be entitled to a redundancy payment if the contract is not renewed.

Before signing a short-term teaching contract, take time to work through the following. Each point has real implications for your rights, pay, and employment status.

Short-term teaching contracts can be found directly through educational settings, through local authority supply pools, and through platforms that connect education professionals with settings without an agency intermediary.

Flexzo Teach operates as a collaborative staff bank, connecting education professionals directly with settings across mainstream, specialist, and alternative provision. There are no agency margins, and the booking is made directly between you and the setting. You can also explore the full range of what the platform offers on the platform features page before registering.

Beyond the STPCD, part-time teachers in all settings are protected by the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000. These regulations make it unlawful to treat a part-time worker less favourably than a comparable full-time worker without objective justification.

In practical terms, a part-time teacher should not be excluded from training opportunities, passed over for progression, or treated differently in redundancy selection simply because they work reduced hours. If you believe you are being treated less favourably, you can request a written statement from your employer explaining the reason, which must be provided within 21 days. If unsatisfied, you can bring a claim to an employment tribunal.

Part-time teaching is a considered choice for many education professionals, not a concession or a stepping stone. The following circumstances commonly lead people to part-time arrangements:

None of these represent a lesser commitment to the profession. In many cases, part-time teachers bring a level of focus to their timetabled hours that full-time colleagues, stretched across a much larger workload, find harder to maintain.

If you are currently in a full-time post and want to move to part-time hours, you have the right to make a flexible working request from day one of employment. Following changes that came into force in April 2024, employees can now make two such requests in any 12-month period.

Your employer must respond within two months, and they must consult with you before refusing. They can refuse on specific business grounds but must explain their reasoning in writing. You have the right to appeal, and if the refusal was unreasonable or discriminatory, you can bring a claim to an employment tribunal.

Not all part-time working in education involves a permanent contract. Supply, short-term placements, and fixed-term contracts can all be worked on a part-time basis, offering a different kind of flexibility — around when you work as much as how many hours.

It is worth understanding how these arrangements differ from a part-time permanent post before you decide which suits you. Our article on permanent vs temporary teaching jobs covers the key differences in rights, pay, and stability across contract types.

Part-time teaching roles exist across all phases and provision types — primary, secondary, SEND, alternative provision, and further education — though they are not always easy to find through standard job listings, which tend to default to full-time.

Flexzo Teach connects education professionals directly with educational settings across all role types and hours arrangements, including part-time placements and flexible working agreements. You set your availability and preferences, and settings contact you directly, without an agency intermediary.

The experience is closer to permanent employment, with the key difference being that the post has a defined end point.

Fixed-term contracts are formal employment contracts for a specific period — a year, two terms, or a defined project. They carry more employment protections than day-to-day supply, including access to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme if employed directly by the setting, and redundancy rights after two years of continuous service.

The defining characteristic of temporary work is that it ends. That uncertainty affects financial planning and employment security, but it also creates genuine flexibility — over when you work, where you work, and how intensively you commit.

This is where the practical differences between permanent and temporary work matter most.

Permanent employees have full employment rights from day one, including unfair dismissal protection after two years, redundancy rights, statutory sick pay, and maternity and paternity entitlements. They are employed directly by the setting and benefit from the full terms of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document.

Directly employed temporary teachers (those on fixed-term contracts with the setting itself) have similar protections, though their rights to redundancy pay and unfair dismissal protection depend on their length of continuous service.

Agency supply teachers have a more limited set of rights. They are employed by the agency, not the setting. Their placement can end with very little notice. However, after 12 weeks in the same role at the same setting, the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 entitle them to the same basic pay and conditions as a directly employed teacher doing equivalent work.

Understanding which category you fall into before you start is important. Being employed directly by a setting versus being placed through an agency has significant implications for your pay, rights, and pension access.

Permanent teaching tends to work well for those who want income stability and a predictable salary, find professional meaning in long-term relationships with learners and colleagues, and are ready to commit to a specific setting and community. It is also the clearer path for anyone looking to progress into leadership or specialist roles, or who has financial commitments that depend on a guaranteed income.

Whether you are looking for short-term cover, a long-term placement, or a permanent post, Flexzo Teach connects education professionals directly with educational settings across all role types and provision sectors — without agency intermediaries.

You set your availability, your rate expectations, and your preferences. Settings contact you directly. There are no margins taken on what you earn, and no transfer fees complicating the move from a temporary placement to a permanent offer.

If you are weighing up your options and want to understand what is available to you, the why join Flexzo Teach page sets out how the platform works and what it offers education professionals across both temporary and permanent roles.