SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS POLICY
Introduction
Carrick National School is a co-educational mainstream primary school catering for children
from mixed social and cultural backgrounds. The purpose of this policy is to provide practical
guidance for teachers and parents and other interested parties on the provision of effective
learning support to pupils experiencing low achievement and/or learning difficulties, as well
as to fulfill our obligations under the Education Act 1998. The following categories of pupils
will receive supplementary teaching from the Learning Support Teacher and the Resource
Teacher under the terms of the General Allocation Model outlined DES Circular 02/05:




Pupils whose achievement is at or below the 12th percentile on standardised screening
tests in English or Mathematics.
Pupils with learning difficulties, pupils with mild social or emotional difficulties and
pupils with mild co-ordination or attention control difficulties associated with
identified conditions.
Pupils who have been identified as being in the low incidence category (Appendix 1
Sp. Ed. Circular 02/05) will receive an individual allocation of support through the
Special Education Needs Organiser. (SENO)
Pupils who have special educational needs arising from high incidence disabilities
(borderline mild general learning disability, mild general learning disability and
specific learning disability).
The school currently has the following provisions to cater for children with Special Education
Needs:
 One shared Learning Support Teacher
 One part-time Resource Teacher for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
 One temporary Teacher of English as an Additional Language (EAL)
Implementation and Review
The implementation of this policy will commence on 01/09/11. It will be reviewed at the end
of every third school year, or as circumstances may warrant.
Guiding Principle: Inclusion
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.
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, aims to enable children with SEN, traveller
children and children whose first language is not English, to become fully integrated
members of our school community. This will be achieved by careful consideration of the
needs of each child and by either modifying activities or by providing support that will help
the child to participate in them.
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.
Objectives
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 – Junior Infant
Screening Test (unless earlier assessment has been carried out) and Mist Test in
Senior Infants
 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 Department of Education & Skills 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 BoM, 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 BoM 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 SEN provision – funding, equipment and personnel.
Principal – Mrs Cheevers
The Principal has overall responsibility for the day-to-day management of provision. She will
work closely with the SEN teachers and will keep the BoM informed about the working of
this policy. She will encourage members of staff to participate in training to help them meet
the objectives of this policy. In consultation with the SEN and class teachers, she will liaise
with the SENO with regard to support hours and is responsible for personnel appointments.
Class Teacher
The class teacher has primary responsibility for the progress of all pupils in his / her class,
including those with SEN. A particular responsibility of the class teacher is to create a
classroom environment in which learning difficulties can be prevented or at least alleviated.
The class teacher liaises with parents and also collaborates with support teachers in
developing and implementing education plans.
Support Teachers
The Learning Support, Resource and EAL teachers are deployed according to need and to
relevant expertise and commitment. The support teachers work closely with the class teachers
providing early intervention and in-class support for literacy and numeracy or withdrawing
pupils as necessary.
Staged Approach
A staged approach to assessment, intervention and review of learning difficulties is being
implemented, in line with DES policy and circular 02/05, with class teacher support at stage
one, learning-support intervention at stage two for those achieving at or below the 12th
percentile on standardised, norm-referenced screening tests, and referral for specialist or
psychological assessment at stage three with subsequent allocation of additional resources as
necessary (see DES circular 02/05).
Selection of Pupils
In allocation of places for support, the following are prioritized:
1. Pupils at stage 3 with low incidence SEN, with resource hours
2. Pupils at stage 3 with high incidence SEN
3. Pupils achieving at or below the 12th percentile in English
4. Prevention of learning difficulties in English – 2nd term in Junior Infants
(Literacy and Numeracy Strategy)
5. Early intervention in English (Senior Infants to 2nd class)
6. EAL (Literacy and Numeracy Strategy and DES circular 07/2012)
7. Pupils falling at or below the 12th percentile in Mathematics
8. Early intervention in Mathematics
Provision of Supplementary Teaching
 A system of withdrawal and / or in-class support will operate, in response to the needs
of the pupils.



Station teaching, as a co-teaching model of in-class support, operates in Junior and
Senior Infants to provide prevention and early intervention, and in 1st and 2nd class to
provide early intervention.
Paired reading operates for one term each school year with classes 3rd to 6th to provide
in-class literacy support for all pupils to develop reading fluency, accuracy and
comprehension.
In-class support for Mathematics using the parallel teaching model of co-teaching
operates in 1st and 2nd class and 3rd and 4th class whenever possible.
The Learning Support Teacher will maintain the following documentation in
individualised files
1. Individual Pupil Profiles and Education Plans
2. Short term planning and programme record
3. Assessments
4. Other records, e.g. tape recordings of oral work
5. Samples of written work
6. Reading analysis records
Pupil Profile and Individual / Group Education Plan
The pupil profile and individual / group education plan will be in accordance with the criteria
as advised in the Learning Support Guidelines, issued by the DES in 2000. The plan will
address the pupils’ full range of needs and will include:
 Details from Class Teacher
 Assessment results
 Other relevant information, e.g. reports from other agencies
 Learning strengths and attainments
 Priority learning needs
 Learning targets
 Class-based learning activities
 Supplementary support activities to include ICT
 Home support activities
Each plan will be monitored through teacher observation, the keeping of planning and
progress records and through the pupil’s own feedback.
A detailed review will take place in September, January and April. The Learning Support
Teacher and/or Class Teacher may meet parents to discuss the child’s progress in the light of
the review.
Time-tabling
The provision of learning support is in addition to the regular class teaching in English and
Maths.
Efforts are made to ensure that pupils do not miss out on the same curricular area each time
they attend learning support.
The provision of learning support may include withdrawal of pupils from their classroom
and/or in-class tuition In-class support, if appropriate, will be jointly designed and monitored
by the Class Teacher and Support Teacher(s).
Communication Strategies
The operation of an effective communication system between all parties involved in meeting
the learning needs of the child is considered essential.
The various strands of this system include:
 Informing parents of concerns regarding progress in school.
 Outlining the school’s practice with regard to diagnostic testing and follow up
procedures.
 Consultation between Class teacher and Learning Support teacher following a low score
on a screening test
 Consultation between Principal and/or Learning Support / Resource teacher and/or Class
teacher and parents following a low score on a screening test, including the seeking of
approval for diagnostic assessment and provision of supplementary teaching
 Ongoing communication between the LS/RT and the class teacher
 Regular communication between the LS/RT and parents
Referral to Out-of-school Agencies
 The Principal and Support Teachers co-ordinate the referral of pupils to outside agencies,
e.g. Educational Psychologist.
 The Principal and/or Learning Support Teacher and/or Class Teacher meet with the
parents to discuss the need for the referral and to seek consent.
 The class teacher completes the necessary referral form in consultation with the
appropriate school personnel.
 The external professional visits the school to meet with the pupil, parents, principal, class
teacher and the Learning Support Teacher as appropriate and assessment is conducted.
 This is followed by a return visit at which findings are discussed, recommendations are
considered and an appropriate response is agreed.
 Where concern arises regarding the manner or speed of the follow–through post
assessment, such concern is pursued by the Principal with the out-of-school agency.
Continuing and Discontinuing Supplementary Teaching
In general children should not stay for more than two years in Supplementary Learning
Support Teaching unless they are still at or below the 12th percentile.
Following the end of instructional term, review as detailed above, a decision is made to
continue / discontinue the provision of supplementary teaching.
The criteria on which this decision is made include:
 Has the pupil achieved some/all of the learning targets set?
 Will the pupil be able to cope in the classroom learning context?
A decision to continue the provision of supplementary teaching will result in a revision of the
pupil’s Education Plan.
The decision-making process will involve consultation between the Class Teacher, Learning
Support / Resource Teacher, Principal and parents. Account will also be taken of the overall
learning support demands in the school.
Ratification and Communication
This policy was ratified by the Board of Management of Carrick NS on 20/06/10.
A copy of the policy will be made available to teachers, parents of Special Educational Needs
pupils and other parents on request.