For students choosing the Education Programme, a wide range of placements with a focus on special educational needs is available (as an alternative to the regular School Placement), reflecting the spectrum of provision in England.

Opportunities include placements with special needs units in mainstream secondary schools, and with teachers responsible for special needs in mainstream primary schools, as well as placements in special schools for children with moderate or severe learning difficulties (including autism), and schools for behaviourally disturbed young people.

Typically, placements entail a steady transition from an observational role to direct engagement with the practice and practicalities of teaching and learning. Students are also encouraged to find out about, and make a contribution to, the broader life of the school. Weekly seminars with the ASE placement tutor offer a chance to talk through and reflect upon the placement experience. The tutor also observes the student in the classroom and supervises the writing of a journal and portfolio to help explore links and divergences between theory and practice.

A co-requisite seminar course, Education in England: Pedagogy and Policy, provides important contextual knowledge for the Special Needs Placement experience.