LEADING

THE SPECIAL NEEDS PROCESS

IN THE

POST-PRIMARY SCHOOL

Context of SEN

What might SEN Support look like? Changes re: allocations.

Preparing for a SEN Inspection.

The role of the SNA at Post-Primary

Tracking and Monitoring Attainment: Targeting SEN & G&T’s

A life in the year of a SEN Department.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Special Education:

How did we get to where we are now?

Historical Context

Institutions/Special Schools

Special Classes

Integration/Inclusion

“…automatic right…”

‘Continuum of Provision’

Current Legislation

Core Principle → Inclusion

The Education Act 1998

The Education (Welfare) Act 2000

Equal Status Act 2000

Disabilities Bill 2004

Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 (EPSEN)

&

Data Protection Acts 1988 & 2003

Inclusion: What is it?A process of increasing the participation of

pupils in and reducing their exclusion from school curricula, cultures and communities (Booth and Ainscow, 1998).

Inclusion requires schools to adapt and develop their culture, management, organisation, content, approaches to teaching and delivery of programmes to accommodate the educational needs of all students to the greatest possible extent.

Integration → Inclusion

Supporting the child so that

s/he can take part in the (unchanged) programmes and

environment of the school.

Student adapts to suit the School!

A willingness to restructure their programmes and environments in response to the

diverse needs of the pupils who attend.

School adapts to suit the Student!

Placing students with SEN in

mainstream classes - SESS

‘children with special needs cannot

simply be placed in mainstream

settings in the hope that normality

will rub off on them’ Mc Namara and

Moreton (1993)

UNIVERSAL

ACCESS

Special Educational Needs

Categories

1. Physical / sensory disability

2. General learning disability

3. Specific learning disability

4. Emotional / Behavioural Disturbance

5. Autistic Spectrum Disorders

6. Specific Speech & Language Disorder

7. Gifted / exceptionally talented children

8. Multiple disabilities

No

Category of Special Educational Need

Incidence

1 Physical Disability Low2 Hearing Impairment Low3 Visual Impairment Low4 Emotional Disturbance Low

5Severe Emotional Disturbance

Low

6Borderline Mild General Learning Disability

High

7Mild General Learning Disability

High

8Moderate General Learning Disability

Low

9Severe/Profound General Learning Disability

Low

10Autism/Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Low

11Specific Learning

High

Challenges: Range of IQ

> 130 very superior

120-130 superior

110-120 high average

90-110 average

85-90 low average

50-70 Mild G. L. Disability

35-49 Moderate G. L. Disability

20-34 Severe G. L. Disability

< 20 Profound G. L. Disability

C. 59,000 Teacher Posts

12,000 LS & RT Posts

1000 Special Classes

12,725 SNA’s ( 293 – 1998)

2005 - €605m

2015 - €1.5bn

Current Level of Provision in

Ireland

School Culture & Leadership

Learning Environment

Assessment

Individualised Education Plan

Curriculum

Teaching Methodologies

Data Collection/Monitoring of Progress/Outcomes

Team approach

Parental & Student Involvement

Staff Development

SEN INSPECTION:

Classroom Observation

Schedule

MAIN FINDINGS • Teaching and learning in the lessons observed was good overall with many examples of very good practice. • Careful planning structures, to meet the identified needs of students with SEN, are being established by the very good work of the SEN co-ordinator with the support of senior management and the core SEN team. • Very good progress has taken place in the organisation and provision for SEN in the school. • Timetabling of the additional hours allocated for SEN takes place in conjunction with the construction of the overall timetable. • Students have access to the full curriculum, but some small class groups have been formed and support is delivered through a model of withdrawal. • The development of communication, organisation and teamwork skills was an intrinsic part of the student experience in most lessons. MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS • The practice of withdrawing students from mainstream subject lessons to receive support in the subject they are being withdrawn from, should be avoided. • Co-operative teaching practices such as team-teaching should be developed. • Building upon the existing structures, a more formal system of sharing information on students with SEN with all teachers should be established. • Formal structures for the assessment of outcomes for students with SEN and student support files should be further developed.

2016

MAIN FINDINGS • The teaching and learning observed was consistently very good with many examples of excellent practice. • Very good teacher-student rapport was evident. • Good communication and collaboration between the SEN department, subject departments, parents/guardians, and students, is established practice in the school. • High quality preparation and planning for SEN provision takes place. • All students have access to a broad curriculum. • A core team of trained teachers of SEN provide most of the additional supports, which is excellent practice. MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS • Team-teaching should be explored and introduced. • Timetabling of all known additional hours should be planned for in advance, and factored into the overall timetable, at the time of its construction. • Formal meeting time should be timetabled for the core SEN team, to plan and coordinate SEN provision. • A formal system of sharing information on students with SEN should be established.

2016

Circular No 70/2014

The intensity of additional support that is provided for students with low achievement and students with special educational needs should be based on their needs and should be provided differentially through the continuum of support process. Individualised learning targets should be set for each student in accordance with their abilities and needs. The range of teaching supports should include team-teaching, small group teaching and, where necessary, individualised teaching to address specific learning needs. Individualised learning needs can be addressed in a variety of ways and should not be solely equated with withdrawal from class for one-to-one or group tuition. Configurations of team-teaching have been shown to provide an appropriate model for engaging with individual needs in the collective setting of the classroom.

Schools should ensure that the additional teaching resources (learning support, high-incidence support and low-incidence support) are used in their entirety to support students identified with special educational needs, including the conducting of co-ordination activities required to ensure the most effective and optimal use of the resource hours for those children.

- Differentiation, Appropriate Curricula, Effective Deployment etc etc

Circular 70/2014

A continuum of support :

All

Some

A Few

Educational Planning

Essential to the ‘whole school approach’ to meeting students’ needs.

– Educational plans include:• Assessment

• Clear measurable learning targets

• Resources and interventions

• Regular reviews

A collaborative approach

1 Discrete Scheme, 11,000+ Support Teachers allocated – School’s Educational Profile

Baseline component provided to each mainstream school

Advice re: deployment and utilisation in schools

School Educational Profile

– Complex SEN

– Educational Achievement

– Social Context of school

Proposed Scheme

A better and more equitable way

• An additional 900 teaching posts will be provided to support the introduction of this new allocation model. This substantial additional provision will ensure that:

• Up to 1,000 schools will receive additional allocations, where the new model indicates additional need.

• No school will receive an allocation of resources less than the allocation they received in the 2016/17 school year.

• The new special education teacher allocation model will allocate teachers to schools on the basis of the profiled educational needs of each school.

• The new model will also reduce the administrative burden on schools, as schools will no longer have to complete an application process annually.

• The combination of a baseline allocation based on school size and profiled allocation will give a fairer allocation for each school which recognises that all schools need an allocation for special needs support but which provide a graduated allocation which takes into account the actual level of need and pupils in each school.

How might we Identify Students?

• Resources in place for 2 years

• Advice re: Reporting and Recording Outcomes: Individualise Learning Plans (Academic, Attendance, Quality of Life, End of School)

The Special Needs Assistant

Paraprofessional Support

Dual nature of Role: Care and Independence

Responsibility for the care needs and well being of the student in a manner that values, respects and supports the student as well as promotes independence.

Works in collaboration with the class teacher.

A pivotal and important role in the SEN team and in the school.

Avoid velcro practice

Review: enhanced student experience and outcomes

Initial definition & purpose have been extended – pedagogical, therapeutic, behavioural, administrative tasks

Containment, Isolation, unintentional barriers to peer socialisation

Need for clarity: Role and expectation

The Special Needs

Assistant

There is an art to ‘doing’ inclusion well. Effective

adult support requires finesse, subtlety and

elegance. It requires the most nuanced and

careful action and – at times –

inaction….everyone in the classroom works

together in visible and invisible ways to make

the dance appear effortless”

Causton Theoharris

Working with SEN students

Tracking and Monitoring Student

Attainment

Tracking and Monitoring

Student AttainmentHow to develop and maximise the effectiveness of the role of Academic Monitor

How to embed a deeper and more sustained application of Assessment for Learning practices across the curriculum

How to enhance the quality and purpose of written reports

How to enhance the quality of written and oral feedback to formatively assist student progress and attainment

Role of the Academic Monitor

Work in conjunction with Year Head and Class Heads to look after academic needs of year group

Create academic profile for each student

Check term reports & monitor exam results

Compile standardised testing data

Discuss outcomes with students and parents

Identify underachieving/gifted + talented students

“Caring is the bedrock of all successful Education…”

“Students learn best in a caring environment. They listen to people who ‘matter to them’ and ‘to whom they matter’….”(The Challenge to Care in Schools, Noddings, 2005)