sen 041016 participant
TRANSCRIPT
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)
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
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
ROLE IDENTIFICATION
– Subject Teachers
– SNA
– LS Teacher
– Resource Teacher
– Special Class Teacher
– LCA / JCSP Teachers/
Coordinators
– EAL Teacher
– SEN Co-ordinator
– Guidance Counsellor
– Chaplain
– HSCL
– SENO
– SESS
– NEPS
– EWO
– External Agents
– SEAMLESS PROVISION
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
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 Attainment How 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