Guides
15 questions to ask a SEN governess at interview
Everyone is warm at interview. These questions are chosen to show how someone thinks when a day goes wrong, which is most of the job.
About her experience
- Which ages and needs have you worked with one-to-one, and for how long each time?
- Tell me about a placement that did not work. What happened, and what did you do?
- What is the hardest behaviour you have supported, and what helped?
Listen for: specifics. Names of strategies, what she tried first, what she changed. Vague answers about patience and love tell you nothing.
About method
- My child does this [describe one real situation]. What would you do in the first week?
- How do you decide when to help and when to wait?
- How do you record what happened in a day, and who reads it?
- What do you do when a strategy in the plan is not working?
Listen for: whether she observes before acting, whether she fades her help over time, and whether she expects to report to someone.
About working with others
- How have you worked with therapists or a school's SENCO before?
- What would you need from us to do this job properly?
- How do you handle it when a parent and a therapist want different things?
Listen for: someone who has been supervised before and wants to be. The second question also tells you what she will expect of you.
About boundaries and safety
- What are you not prepared to do in this role?
- Are you comfortable with personal care, feeding or medication routines?
- What first aid and safeguarding training do you have?
- What would you do if my child were hurt or went missing while in your care?
- What hours and notice period are you looking for?
Listen for: clear limits stated early. A candidate who says she will do anything usually ends up doing the housework.
After the interview
Call both references yourself and ask one question: would you hire her again for a child with these needs? Then run a short paid trial with a goal or two to work on.
How to hire a SEN governess in the UAE covers the full process, and the SEN governess page explains how we screen before you ever reach this stage.