It is generally accepted that teachers should first learn to teach in a mainstream setting before moving into a specialised Special Educational Needs (SEN) role, but this is not always possible. My own experience in teaching highlights this. My first job out of university was in the school I had completed my final year placement in. I loved the school and had done well in my last observations and received top grades. The day before term started, I was invited back to cover sick leave in the school's Senior Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) class. Nothing could have prepared me for the weeks that followed. I questioned how I had ended up in a position where, after four years of study, I knew nothing.