All advertising is free till May 1st 2008. Please contact Webmaster@CraicOn.com

Scoil Eoghain - An Assessment of Quality of Support for Pupils with Special Educational Needs

Posted Monday, October 4, 2010

 E-mail this page    Printer-friendly page

5.1 Pupils with special educational needs

A policy statement has been drafted which sets out broad aims for special education provision in the school.

However, this policy gives little practical guidance in relation to identification procedures, organisation of supports, consultation and collaboration, planning of programmes, and procedures for ongoing monitoring and review.

In addition, the staged approach to assessment, identification and programme planning needs to be implemented more consistently in
this school.

Three teachers provide specific support for pupils with additional and special educational needs: Two work as learning-support teachers; one is shared with two other schools and one is substituting for a teacher on leave.

The shared learning-support teacher works with pupils from the two most senior classes.

The substitute learning-support teacher supports pupils from senior infants through to fourth class.

A significant number of pupils receive learning support in this school.

The third support teacher is part-time and works with pupils who have English as an additional language and with those pupils who have assessed special educational needs.

The board should seek to ensure that a qualified primary teacher is appointed to each of the support posts.

The support rooms are attractively presented and the support teachers have prepared individual and group learning programmes as appropriate.

Regular, informal discussion occurs between mainstream and support teachers regarding these learning programmes.

There is some good collaborative practice evident between one mainstream teacher and a support teacher and this practice should be emulated.

It is recommended that formal structures are put in place to facilitate mainstream and support teachers in determining learning targets and reviewing pupils’ progress.

A policy on discontinuing learning support for individual pupils should be devised collaboratively.

All three support teachers withdraw pupils from the mainstream classrooms.

Very little consistent in-class support is provided.

The quality of teaching observed in the learning-support setting varied.

There is need for members of the support team to upskill themselves so that they can provide the best intervention possible for pupils.

There is evidence that some pupils are making progress in their learning and benefit from learning support.

However, the particular needs of pupils in the senior classes should be addressed in a more purposeful manner and as a matter of priority.

It is recommended that targeted in-class support be provided as part of this process.