Education of Students with Challenging
Behaviour arising from Severe Emotional
Disturbance/Behavioural Disorders
INTO Special Education Conference
8th December 2012
NCSE
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Supports an inclusive education that enables
students to achieve their potential
Provides schools with the additional educational
supports necessary to help pupils with special
educational needs receive an appropriate
education
Commissions and conducts research and
Provides expert, independent and evidenceinformed policy advice to the Minister for
Education and Skills on special education for
children and young adults
Why did we develop this policy advice?
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Special schools for students with severe
EBD were finding it exceedingly difficult to
cater for the needs of some of their
students
Some young people, with a clinical
diagnosis of EBD, were not attending
and/or engaging with school because of
extreme levels of challenging behaviour
Levels of challenging behaviour are posing
extreme challenges to the educational
system, both in meeting the needs of the
presenting students and those students
with whom they are to be educated
What students are the focus of the
paper?
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Focus: 20-30 students with most acute
needs at the extreme end of the
continuum of students with EBD
Issues also arose in relation to the
education of students within the broader
categories of EBD and severe EBD and
proposals were made regarding the issues
identified
An overview is provided of education and
health supports and pathways towards
intervention for all students along the
continuum of EBD
Evidence Base
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National and international research
Views expressed during consultation
process
Experiences of NCSE Council
members and staff
Visits to two special schools for
severe EBD
Feedback from relevant people on
the draft paper
Principles
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Inclusive environment
Early identification and intervention
Attendance at local schools, where
possible
Education available on an
appropriate basis throughout the
country
Behaviours include:
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Repeated acts of physical aggression towards other
students and staff, including violent kicking,
punching and biting
Breaking up furniture, throwing chairs and tables at
staff and other children
Bringing weapons to school, such as knives and
scissors
Breaking glass and using it as a weapon
Students making their own weapons and using these
in a dangerous or threatening manner
Repeated incidence of offensive verbal assault and
threatening behaviour
Violent head-butting and spitting
Self-injurious actions for example cutting, head
banging persistent scraping of skin, suicidal
attempts etc.
Main Recommendations : mainstream
schools
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Early Intervention
Whole School Approaches
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Implementation of NEPS guidelines
Validated educational programmes
Expertise in the management of
challenging behaviour
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every teacher is up-skilled in the management
of behaviour
each school has one teacher with specialist
training in behaviour management.
Main Recommendations for
mainstream schools
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Additional supports to be timebound, reviewed regularly and
conditional on the development of
an individual education plan which
includes educational and
behavioural targets
Main Recommendations: Special
Schools and Classes
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NEPS should provide comprehensive
service to special schools/classes
Staffing levels must be sufficient to
ensure that students are enabled to learn
and safety of students is ensured
Schools enabled to provide structured
engagement with parents
Special schools should be fit for purpose
Any new buildings should be located,
where possible on the campus of a
mainstream school
Main recommendations: Students with
exceptionally challenging behaviour
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Timely access to CAMHS teams and other social
services, if required
Comprehensive and multi-disciplinary assessment
of child’s needs when referred to health services
Mandatory training for teachers and SNAs upon
appointment to special schools for severe EBD
Teaching provision in special schools catering for
students with exceptionally challenging
behaviours arising from severe EBD should be
increased
DES to issue clear guidelines regarding realistic
and appropriate measures to be taken to contain
children during episodes of violent behaviour
Main recommendations: Students with
exceptionally challenging behaviour
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Parents to be clearly informed of the
schools code of behaviour, including the
practices in place for containment and
protection of the child during violent
episodes
Whole school support should be available
through NEPS following critical incidences
of a seriously violent nature
Appropriate security systems to be in
place in classrooms for children with
severe EBD
Some facts
In 2011-2012:
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Over €600m in additional resource teaching and
care supports were allocated to schools by the NCSE
to support up to 35,000 students with special
educational needs
Of this, €200m of additional teaching and care
supports were sanctioned by the NCSE to assist
schools in the management of behaviour
Of this, resource teaching posts cost c€65m and
care supports at a cost of c€150m
NCSE allocated these teaching and care supports to
approximately 12,000 children where the
management of behaviour was a contributory factor.
Some facts
The demand for additional
teaching supports to support
children with behavioural disorders
has increased by 23% since 2009.
 Cost of implementing NCSE
recommendations is c. €12m.
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Finally
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Report has been presented to the
Minister who is now considering the
recommendations