Early Years SEN Tutor — Abu Dhabi

Role Overview

We are recruiting an Early Years SEN Tutor in Abu Dhabi for individualised face-to-face support with young children who benefit from additional structure, repetition, communication support and carefully adapted early-learning activities. The tutor should be confident balancing developmental goals with emotional safety and positive engagement.

Support Scope

• Deliver personalised one-to-one Early Years SEN/SEND tutoring based on the child's developmental stage, learning profile, curriculum and agreed educational goals.

• Build communication, receptive and expressive language, vocabulary, listening and participation through play-based and highly structured activities.

• Support early literacy through phonological awareness, sound recognition, systematic phonics where appropriate, oral blending, early reading, mark making and emergent writing.

• Develop early numeracy through counting, number sense, matching, sorting, patterns, shapes, comparison, practical problem solving and mathematical language.

• Use visual schedules, first-then routines, clear transitions, modelling, repetition, task chunking, multisensory teaching and predictable lesson structures.

• Adapt pace, language, sensory load, materials and response demands to support attention, regulation, confidence and successful participation.

• Use positive, respectful behaviour-support strategies and reinforcement without punitive or shaming approaches.

• Support functional learning behaviours such as turn-taking, waiting, following simple routines, requesting help, making choices and increasing independence.

• Work from relevant educational goals, school targets, IEP/individual support-plan information or parent priorities where these are appropriately shared with the tutor.

• Record concise observations on engagement, successful strategies, progress and next steps, and provide clear parent feedback after lessons.

• Maintain appropriate professional boundaries: this is an educational tutoring role and does not involve diagnosing conditions or providing speech therapy, occupational therapy, psychotherapy or other clinical treatment unless the tutor is separately qualified, licensed and engaged for that service.

Minimum Requirements

• A recognised qualification in Early Childhood Education, Education, Special Education/SEND, Psychology, Child Development or a closely related field.

• Minimum 2 years of relevant experience supporting young children with SEN/SEND or additional learning needs in an Early Years, school, intervention, tutoring or structured learning-support setting.

• Practical experience supporting one or more needs such as autism, ADHD/attention differences, speech and language needs, developmental delay, learning differences, sensory needs or social-communication differences.

• Strong understanding of Early Years development and the importance of developmentally appropriate, play-based and relationship-based learning.

• Ability to differentiate early literacy, phonics, numeracy, communication and learning-readiness activities for different developmental profiles.

• Experience using visual supports, structured routines, task breakdown, multisensory teaching and positive reinforcement.

• Calm, patient and emotionally safe approach with strong observation skills and the ability to respond flexibly when a child becomes dysregulated or disengaged.

• Strong safeguarding awareness, professional boundaries, reliability and clear communication with parents.

• Willingness to follow relevant educational recommendations and support plans while staying within the scope of an educational tutor.

• Valid UAE residence / legal work authorisation and a valid MOHRE Private Tutor Work Permit, or eligibility to obtain the permit before accepting tutoring assignments.

• Reliable personal transportation and willingness to travel to students' homes or approved learning venues in Abu Dhabi.

Preferred Experience

• Experience supporting inclusion in Early Years classrooms or one-to-one learning support in Abu Dhabi or wider UAE schools.

• Experience implementing educational targets from IEPs, support plans or therapist/school recommendations without stepping outside the tutor's scope.

• Training in autism, ADHD, communication support, early intervention, ABA/RBT or other evidence-informed SEN approaches.

• Experience supporting transitions between nursery, FS1, FS2, Reception and early primary where appropriate.

• Experience working with EAL learners who also have additional learning needs.

• Training or experience in sensory-aware, communication-supportive and neurodiversity-affirming educational practice.

Professional Boundaries

This is an educational tutoring role. The tutor may reinforce educational strategies and appropriately shared support-plan goals, but must not diagnose a child or represent tutoring as speech therapy, occupational therapy, psychotherapy, behavioural therapy or another regulated clinical service unless separately qualified, licensed and specifically engaged to provide that service.

Application

Please state your qualifications, Early Years SEN/SEND experience, types of needs supported, relevant training, availability and the Abu Dhabi areas you can cover. All tutor matching and appointment decisions remain subject to human review by Simone's Tutoring.