Special Needs Policy
Scoil Pádraig Naofa
Special Needs Policy
January 2019
Guiding
Principles
All our children
have a right to an education, which is appropriate to them as individuals. We
want all our children to feel that they are a valued part of our school
community. As far as possible therefore, it is our aim to minimise the
difficulties that children may experience. We aim to achieve this by adopting
three principles that are essential to developing a more inclusive curriculum.
Three
principles for inclusion
Setting suitable learning
challenges.
We aim to give
every child the opportunity to experience success in learning and to achieve as
high a standard as possible.
Responding to children’s
diverse learning needs.
We
take into account the different backgrounds, experiences, interests and
strengths that influence the way in which children learn when we plan our
approaches to teaching and learning.
Overcoming
potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of
children.
We
recognise that a minority of children will have particular learning and
assessment requirements that will create barriers to learning if we do not
address them through special arrangements.
In
making provision for children with special needs our policy objectives are:
·
To ensure that our duties, as set
out in The Education Act 1998, Equal Status Act 2000, Education Welfare Act
2000 and Education for Persons with Disabilities Act 2004, are fully met, to
enable children with special educational needs to join in the normal activities
of the school along with children who do not have special educational needs.
·
To ensure that all children gain
access to a broad and balanced curriculum and have an equal opportunity to
receive an education that is appropriate to their needs;
·
To identify and assess children
with special needs as early as possible – Mist test in Senior Infants unless
earlier assessment has been made;
·
To use our resources as
efficiently and equitably as possible when assessing and meeting the special
educational needs of our children;
·
To provide a graduated approach
in order to match educational provision to children’s needs;
·
To develop a partnership with
parents/ carers in order that their knowledge, views and experience can assist
us in assessing and providing for their children;
·
To take into account the
ascertainable wishes of the children concerned and, whenever possible, directly
involve them in decision making in order to provide more effectively for them;
·
To ensure collaboration with the
Dept. Ed. and Sc. in order to take effective action on behalf of children with
special needs;
·
To ensure that all staff are
aware of their responsibilities towards children with special needs and are
able to exercise them;
·
To monitor our effectiveness in
achieving the above objectives.
Roles
and Responsibilities
In
attempting to achieve the above objectives the B.O.M. Principal and staff will
take all reasonable steps within the limits of the resources available to
fulfil the requirements outlined in this policy document.
Board
of Management.
The B.O.M will fulfil its
statutory duties towards pupils with special needs. It will ensure that the
provision required is an integral part of the school development plan. Members
will be knowledgeable about the school’s S.E.N’s provision – funding, equipment
and personnel.
Principal
The principal has overall
responsibility for the day- to- day management of provision. He will work
closely with the S.E.N. team and will keep the B.O.M. informed about the
working of this policy. He will encourage members of staff to participate in
training to help them meet the objectives of this policy. In consultation with
the SEN team, he will liase with the SENO with regard to support hours and is
responsible for personnel appointments.
Special
Needs Team
(including the Principal)
The Special Needs team in our
school are responsible for:
·
Overseeing the records of all
children with special needs
·
Coordinating provision for
children with special educational needs.
·
Liasing with and advising fellow
teachers and contributing to in service training of staff.
·
Liasing with parents of children
with special needs.
·
Liasing with external agencies
including the psychology services – organising assessments.
·
Liasing with the health and
social services.
·
Monitoring and evaluating SEN
provision
·
Facilitating planning for class
teacher with support teacher
Liasing
with and advising SNA’s with regard to supporting children with special needs
Responsibilities
of Staff
All staff should be fully aware
of the content of this policy and of the procedures described below.
Enrolment
The school aims to meet the needs
of any child whom the parent wishes to register at the school as long as a
place is available and the admission criteria are fulfilled. The Ed. for
Persons with Disabilities Act 2004 states that “A child is entitled to attend
the school which is most suited to his or her overall needs.” Parents are
required to notify the school of their child’s special needs in advance of
enrolment. The Board of Management will request a copy of the child’s medical or
psychological report. No child can be refused admission solely on the grounds
that he/she has SEN except where the provision required is incompatible with
that available in our school.
Stages
of Assessment and Provision
Access to the school’s broad and
balanced curriculum is achieved for most children by differentiation of class
work by the class teacher. When a class teacher identifies a child with SEN the
class teacher should consult the learning support teacher and provide in-class
interventions. The first line of responsibility for the progress of all pupils
in the class lies with the class teacher. Class teachers will discuss their
concerns with the child’s parents.
The triggers for this intervention could be;
·
The child makes little or no
progress even when teaching approaches are directed at an identified area of
weakness
·
The child shows signs of
difficulty in developing literacy and numeracy skills, which result in poor
attainment
·
Persistent emotional or
behavioural difficulties which do not respond to behaviour management
techniques used by the school
·
Has sensory or physical
difficulties
·
Has communication and/ or
relationship difficulties
The class teacher will complete
and monitor the Record of Additional Support. The class teacher should regularly
review the plan with appropriate parental involvement. If concerns remain after
approximately 2 school terms, then the class teacher should consult the S.E.T
with regard to moving to Stage 2.
Stage
2
In cases where the Record of
Additional Support indicates that progress has not improved or if the results
of tests (M.I.S.T., Drumcondra Primary Reading Test/ Numeracy Test, and teacher
observation) indicate this to be the case, intervention in the form of a
support teacher will be accessed. Again, class teachers will discuss their
concerns with the child’s parents. The action taken will be as follows:
·
The class teacher and support
teacher will differentiate the curriculum in specific areas with achievable
goals to be implemented by the class teacher and support teacher.
·
If there are others in the class
with similar difficulties in one or more of the specific areas then a group
educational plan will be implemented.
·
These programmes will be reviewed
and updated twice yearly.
·
Where progress is such that the
child is no longer giving cause for concern the child will revert to the usual
curriculum available to all children.
If significant concerns remain
after a period of at least 1 school term, then it may be necessary to implement
Stage 3.
When it has been identified that
a child is still struggling and performing below the tenth percentile despite
intervention at stage 1 and 2 as outlined above, the class teacher with the
support teacher and Principal will consult with the child’s parents with regard
to intervention from outside agencies such as:
1: A psychological assessment
will be arranged (see Education for Persons with Disability Act 2004)
2: Other outside agencies may
need to be contacted, who will advise on a range of provision including IEP targets and
strategies.
The triggers for intervention could be that,
despite receiving an individualised programme the child,
·
Makes little or no progress over
a long period of time
·
Continues to work at levels
substantially below that expected of a child his/her age.
·
Continues to have literacy and
numeracy difficulties
·
Has emotional or behavioural
difficulties which substantially and regularly interfere with the child’s
learning, or that of other children, despite an appropriate behaviour
management programme and IEP
·
Has sensory and/ or physical
needs, and requires additional specialist equipment or regular visits from an
advisory service
·
Has ongoing communication, or
relationship difficulties that prevent social development, and act as a barrier
to learning.
When the special educational
needs of the child have been confirmed by the psychologist an application for
resource hours will be forwarded to the SENO. The SENO will determine whether
the child falls into the category of Lower Incidence or High Incidence. Lower
incidences will be awarded resource hours while the school makes provision for
High incidence cases under the General Allocation Model.
If it
is felt by the psychologist that a child is not coping in the classroom
setting, a special needs assistant may be applied for.
If the psychologist recommends an exemption
from Irish the Principal will see to this under guidance from the Department of
Ed. and Sc.
Individual Education Plan
Based on Psychologist’s report,
tests, Record of in-class intervention, the class teacher with the support
teacher, SNA (if assigned), parents and representatives of outside agencies (if
necessary) formulate an Individual Education Plan.
These IEP’s which employ a small
– steps approach, feature significantly in the provision that we make in
school. By breaking down the existing levels of attainment into finely graded
targets, we ensure that the child experiences success.
This plan includes:
·
the nature and degree of the
child’s abilities, learning strengths and needs, and the degree of the child’s
special needs
·
the present level of performance
·
services to be provided
·
the targets which the child is to
achieve over a period of time.
Review of IEP’s
Following
an agreed term of instruction the class teacher will consult with the support
teacher, the child and SNA if appointed, and agree on the out comes of the IEP.
The parents are invited to discuss or make recommendations to the review if
they so wish. Again, outside agencies may play a part in formulating the IEP.
Inclusion
We are fully committed to the
principle of inclusion and the good practice, which makes it possible. Our
policy, as set out in this document, will enable children with SEN to be an
integral part of our school community.