ST. NESSAN’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE (Pobal Choláiste Neasáin Naofa)
Learning Support Policy
June 2012
1
St. Nessan’s Community College Learning Support Policy SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY/MISSION STATEMENT St Nessan’s Community College is a multi-denominational, coeducational school. It is comprehensive in its intake and in its curricular provision. St Nessan’s Community College is committed to maintaining an educational environment where the growth, learning and development (Fás, Foghlaim, Forbairt – school motto) of our students can flourish. To further the aims of St Nessan’s Community College as expressed in the mission statement: ●
The pursuit of high standards in all endeavours will be expected and every effort will be directed towards the attainment of such standards.
●
The school will do its utmost within its resources to provide appropriate opportunities so that every individual has the opportunity to gain maximum benefit from their experience in St Nessan’s Community College.
●
The rights, responsibilities and dignity of all individuals within the school community will be respected. However, the Common Good takes precedence where there is a conflict between individuals.
Whole School Policy on Learning Support This policy is rooted in the school’s fundamental aim to foster in students a spirit of self-reliance, independence, co-operation and responsibility and to provide them with skills for life-long learning. Aims of Learning Support The principal aim of learning-support is to optimise the teaching and learning process in order to enable students with learning difficulties to: •
Fully utilise all supports provided under the D.E.I.S. scheme.
2
•
To comply with terms of E.P.S.E.N. act where they have been signed into law.
•
To access support under the ‘literacy and numeracy for learning and life’ document. The national strategy to improve Literacy and Numeracy among children and young people 2011-2012
•
Engage meaningfully with the curriculum;
•
Develop as learners;
•
Develop skills and competencies needed for senior cycle or training for work life and leisure.
Subsidiary Aims
•
To enable students to participate in the full curriculum;
•
To develop positive self-esteem and positive attitudes about school and learning in students;
•
To enable students to monitor their own learning and become independent learners;
•
To provide additional support in English and /or Mathematics;
•
To involve parents in supporting their children;
•
To promote collaboration among teachers in the implementation of whole-school policies on learning support for students;
•
To guard the self-esteem and self-image of the learner.
Staff Roles and Responsibilities The role of supporting learning is a collaborative responsibility shared by all: •
The Board of Management/ VEC;
3
•
Principal;
•
Learning Support Teacher(s);
•
Parents;
•
Students.
Role of the Board of Management/VEC The Board of Management and the VEC have responsibility: •
To ensure that Learning Support Policy is developed and evaluated at regular intervals;
•
To approve the Learning Support Policy;
•
To consider reports from the Principal on the implementation of the learning support policy
Role of the Principal The Principal: •
Assumes overall responsibility for the development and implementation of the school’s policies on learning-support and special needs in co-operation with the Learning Support Coordinator;
•
Works with teachers and parents in the development of the school plan on learning support and special needs;
•
Monitors the implementation of the school plan on learning support and special needs on an on-going basis;
•
Oversees the implementation of the assessment and screening programme to identify students with very low achievement and
4
learning difficulties so that these students can be provided with the support they need; •
Helps teachers increase their knowledge and skills in the area of learning support;
•
Liaises regularly with the Learning Support coordinator;
•
Ensure compliance with current legislation and educational initiatives authorised by the Department of Education and Skills.
•
Set targets and goals for literacy and numeracy attainment under the D.E.I.S. scheme.
•
Implement the new National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020
•
Lead the development of a ‘School Improvement Plan’ as envisaged in the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020
•
Set literacy and numeracy targets so as to halve the number of 15 year olds performing at or below level 1 on PISA literacy and numeracy tests by 2020.
•
Undertake a robust self-evaluation and to implement the threeyear school improvement plan which includes specific targets for the promotion and improvement of literacy and numeracy. From 2012-2013.
•
Introduce the new national assessment system for all students at the end of second year. From 2014-2015.
•
Ensure efficient transfer of 6th class literacy and numeracy standardised testing results between primary and secondary schools.
•
Introduce standard report card on literacy and numeracy attainment. Ensure report card is sent to all second year parents from 2015.
•
Report annually to Board of Management on progress in attaining literacy and numeracy targets. From 2015.
5
Role of the Learning Support Co-ordinator The Learning Support Co-ordinator will assume direct responsibility for co-ordinating learning support and special needs services. The duties of the Learning Support Co-ordinator include: •
Maintaining a list of students who are receiving learning support and/or special educational services;
•
Help to co-ordinate the caseloads/work schedules of the learning support and resource teachers;
•
Supporting the implementation of a tracking system at wholeschool level to monitor the progress of children with learning difficulties;
•
Advise parents on learning support services;
•
Liaising with external agencies such as psychological services to arrange assessments and special provision for students with special needs;
•
Arrange for classroom accommodation and resources, as appropriate.
•
Assist in the implementation of The National Strategy to improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020 under the guidance of the Principal.
Role of the Subject Teacher •
The subject teacher has primary responsibility for the progress of all Students in his/her class, including those selected for learning support;
•
For each student who is in receipt of learning support, the subject teacher will collaborate with the learning support teacher in the development of an Individual Profile and Learning Programme by identifying appropriate learning targets and by 6
organising classroom activities to achieve those targets; (Pending full implementation of EPSEN act,2004) •
With regard to teaching students with low achievement, the following General approaches and methods are recommended: o Group teaching; o Team teaching; o Modifying presentation and questioning techniques, differentiation, to maximise the involvement of students with low achievement in class activities; o Placing an emphasis on oral language development across the curriculum; o Supporting students in the key basic skills in Literacy and Numeracy; o Acknowledging that the development of children’s literacy and numeracy skills in post-primary schools is not just the responsibility of teachers of languages and mathematics. o Setting learning targets at an appropriate level; o Providing learning activities and materials which are suitably challenging but which also ensure success and progress.
•
A key role of successful learning support is a very high level of consultation and co-operation between the subject teacher and the learning support teacher. Central to this consultation is the development, implementation and review of the Individual Education Plans. Full implementation of the EPSEN act is dependent on the Department of Education and Skills providing sufficient resources for such consultation and planning to take place.
Role of Learning Support/Resource Teacher
7
The activities of the learning support teacher should include both teaching and non-teaching duties. The Learning Support teacher’s activities should include, where possible; •
Development of an Individual Profile and Learning Programme for each student who is selected for learning support, in consultation with parents;
•
Contributing to the development of policy on Learning Support at whole school level;
•
Providing advice to the subject teacher (if requested)about students who are experiencing learning difficulties in such areas as; o Individual student assessment o Programme planning o Curriculum differentiation o Approaches to language development o Approaches to reading o Approaches to spelling o Approaches to writing o Approaches to mathematics
•
Contributing at the school level to decision making regarding the purchase of learning resources, books and materials to be made available to students with learning difficulties in their mainstream classrooms and in the learning support teachers classroom;
•
Liaising with external agencies such as educational psychologists, speech and language therapists etc. to arrange assessments and special provisions for students with special needs;
•
Collaborate with the Principal teacher and meet with him/her to discuss issues relating to the development and implementation of the school plan on learning support, and to the provision of 8
Learning Support; •
The Learning Support teacher should implement school policies on preventing learning difficulties, screening students for learning difficulties, interpreting the outcomes of diagnostic assessments and providing learning support and other forms of support where it is deemed necessary;
•
In addition to providing learning support to students, the Learning Support teacher is involved in administering a range of formal and informal assessments and in maintaining records of the outcomes of those assessments;
•
Research the student’s specific learning difficulty, to become au fait with this impediment to learning;
•
Implement recommendations from outside agencies, wherever possible;
•
Maintain confidential records on each of his/her students;
•
Assess their students on an on-going basis, and record their progress;
•
Meet with parents to review each student who is in receipt of resource hours: o To review the student’s attainment of agreed targets; o To discuss the next instructional term; o To revise the student’s Individual Profile and Learning Programme;
•
Provide advice to subject teacher in such areas as individual student assessment, programme planning, differentiation of curriculum, as well as approaches to language development, reading, writing and Mathematics for students in receipt of resource hours.
Role of Parents Parents can prepare for and support the work of the school by:
9
•
Supporting the work of the school by participating with their child in such activities as: o Using Information and Communications Technology (ICT’S) where available, to support learning in English and /or Mathematics; o Book sharing/reading stories; o Paired reading (listening to and giving supportive feedback on oral reading); o Discussions about school and other activities to build vocabulary and thinking skills; o Where their child is in receipt of learning support, implementing suggested home based activities outlines in their child’s Individual Profile and Learning Programme and discussing the outcomes with the child’s teachers
•
Talk positively about school and school work;
•
Parents should keep the subject teacher informed of the progress that they observe in their child’s learning. They should also let the school know of any learning difficulties that they observe in their child at home.
Role of the Students Students who are in receipt of learning support should, as appropriate: •
Become familiar with the medium and short-term learning targets that have been set for them and they should be given the opportunity to contribute to the setting of such targets;
•
Develop ‘ownership’ of the skills and strategies that are taught during learning support and learn to apply these learning strategies to improve their own learning;
•
Contribute to the evaluation of their progress by participating in appropriate assessment activities, including self-assessment.
10
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES In order to ensure that all students with special needs and learning difficulties are catered for in St Nessan’s Community College the following procedures have been developed. The procedures relate to the following areas: 1. Testing of First Year Applicants 2. Curricular and Timetabling issues 3. Individual Education Plans (when signed into law) 4. Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate Special Accommodations 5. Special Needs Assistants 6. 1rst Year Induction Programme 7. Junior Certificate Schools Programme (J.C.S.P) 8. Leaving Certificate Applied (L.C.A.)
Testing of First Year Applicants In order to determine the learning and special needs of students enrolling in the school all first year applicants are assessed in February/March prior to their entering the school. Testing also takes place in September of first year. The tests used are: 1. The Drumcondra Reasoning Test 2. WRAT (Wide Range Achievement Test) 3. Literacy Burt reading test. 4. Numeracy Test These tests are carried out by the Learning Support Co-ordinator with assistance from learning support community in the school. Screening takes place based on the results from these assessments and further information will be sought on students with:
11
•
A reading age 2 or 3 years or more below their chronological age
This information will be acquired by liaising with: •
Local Primary Schools
•
Parents
•
SENO (Special Education Needs Organisers)
•
NEPS- Psychological Reports
•
Outside agencies e.g. o Health Services Executive o Dyslexia Association o Enable Ireland o Occupational Therapists o DCD UNIT o National Council for the Blind
All relevant information will be gathered before the Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO’s) visit. This information determines what assistance the school will apply for e.g. Resource hours, Special Needs Assistants, Assistive Technology. The school applies for assistance for students through the Special Education Needs Organiser. The application process is co-ordinated by the Learning Support co-ordinator and the Principal. Further testing will take place, once the student has commenced in September. Testing will take place during the three weeks Induction Programme which all first year students participate in. The current testing regime will end in 2014-2015 Academic year with the introduction of new nationally standardised tests for all Second year secondary students. Primary schools will administer standardised tests in 2nd, 4th and 6th classes and these results will follow students to secondary school.
12
The Principal alongside the Learning Support Co-ordinator will target incoming first years for support based on the transfer data received from the primary sector.
Curriculum and Time-Tabling Issues Once the SENO receives the Special Needs Application he/she will determine the additional resource hours and other support which will be made available to the student. Upon receipt of this information the learning support department will consider the students psychological reports and the resources allocated to the student in looking at curriculum and timetabling issues relating to the student, in conjunction with the Principal. In timetabling for students with special needs St. Nessan’s Community College adopts a policy of inclusion. All special needs students are integrated as fully as possible into the existing curriculum in the school with adaptions made to suit the particular student. •
St. Nessan’s Community College may operate a reduced curriculum for special needs students in consultation with parents and students.
This may involve students not taking part in a particular subject up to Junior Certificate. Instead these students will get extra tuition in areas where they have difficulty; •
Students who have an exemption from Irish may be place in a separate class during Irish class so they can get extra tuition during the time where resources allow;
•
Students whose educational psychologists assessment recommends that they do not take a foreign language may in consultation with parents be placed in a separate group to get extra tuition during French class where resources allow;
•
In working out the timetabling we will consider the particular difficulties of each student and each student’s educational psychological report. 13
•
St. Nessan’s is a fully wheelchair friendly environment and other accommodations for partially sighted or hard of hearing students are made in consultation with the visiting teacher for the blind and visiting teacher for the hearing impaired.
•
Team teaching is the preferred mode of delivery of learning support for high incidence disabilities. The main class teacher is supported in his/her role, by another teacher. This enables a number of different teaching strategies to be employed, within the one lesson. This has the effect of presenting similar material, in a variety of teaching styles, which facilitates student learning.
•
The Learning Support Department will, following assessment, decide on whether withdrawal is suitable for a particular student. In general, students with low incidence disabilities and/ or specific learning difficulties may be withdrawn for support. In some cases students may be withdrawn on a one to one basis and in others on a group basis (maximum of 3 students)
Individual Education Plans (IEP)* An IEP will be drawn up for each student receiving Learning Support in St Nessan’s Community College. An Individual Education Plan is an individualised document prepared for each student. The IEP covers a short school period of approximately one term. The IEP contains student details, a full snapshot of the student’s current academic, cognitive and adaptive skills and sets out five learning targets for the student. All the learning targets are achievable, measurable and specific to the student. The IEP is written and reviewed by all of the teachers who have Learning Support contact with the student. Subject teachers, parents and outside support agencies are fully consulted during the identification of the learning needs. The first IEP for each student is based on their individual needs as identified by diagnostic testing and assessment carried out on the student when they enter the school. Usually the main areas of concern are literacy and numeracy. The student’s parents are consulted before the IEP is finalised. Subsequent IEPs are based on
14
previous IEP targets being reached, teacher knowledge, parental input and further testing. Each IEP will have a clear review date and will be reviewed by the Learning Support Department when the review date is reached. After an IEP has been reviewed the new IEP will be prepared for the student. The student and their parents are given a copy of each plus any resources required (books or spelling sheets etc.). The subject teachers also have access to each student IEP in the staffroom IEP folder. *Pending implementation of the EPSEN Act 2004, please refer to “Guidelines on the Individual Education Plan Process” issued by NCSE. IEPs represent best international practice but there are considerable resource implications in their full implementation. Normal subject planning is no substitute for a carefully devised IEP. Learning support teachers should have a detailed plan for each student in their care. Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate Special Accommodations Students who are receiving learning support and resource hours may be entitled to extra supports when doing their Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate examinations. These extra supports are called reasonable accommodations. Reasonable Accommodation is available for both Junior Cert and Leaving Cert candidates, under the following headlines: •
Specific Learning Difficulty
•
Physical Difficulties
•
Hearing Difficulties
•
Visual Difficulties
Specific Learning Difficulties Arrangements for this may include the provision of a •
Reader/ Scribe
15
•
Use of word processor
•
Use of tape recorder
•
Spelling waiver
The procedure carried out by St. Nessan’s Community College when applying for reasonable accommodations is as follows: Junior Certificate: All students with Specific Learning Difficulties and with an Educational Psychological Report are entered for Reasonable accommodations. In addition any other student who has received Learning Support and is deemed by the Learning Support teacher to be in need of support is applied for. The Department of Education and Science Guidelines state that“essentially what we intend to do is accept a school’s confirmation on application form as sufficient evidence to enable us to confirm the arrangement”. Leaving Certificate: The Department of Education and Science for special accommodation states “where approval for an accommodation is approved in the Junior Certificate, it does not automatically follow that approval will be granted for Leaving Certificate. A fresh application will be required in respect of the Leaving Cert and each will be considered on its own merits” All applications require: •
An up-to-date Psychological Report
•
Samples of written work of the candidate
If support is being sought on the grounds of Physical, Hearing and Science Psychologist will come to the school and assess the student to determine whether or not the support is necessary. All the above applications are sent to the Department of Education and Science by the Examination Secretary following consultation with-
16
•
Principal
•
Parents/Guardians
•
Student
•
Learning Support Teacher/ Department
Special Needs Assistants Role of the Special Needs Assistant within the College •
To assist the school in providing the necessary non-teaching services to students with special needs;
•
To act as a support for subject teachers;
•
Their duties involve: o Preparations and tidying up of class materials; o Assistance with day to day tasks for students with physical disability e.g. feed, clothing, using toilet etc.; o Assistance as necessary for students with particular difficulty e.g. helping with writing, typing, copying notes from the board, use of computers and other equipment etc.; o Assisting students to board or alight school buses; o Assist out of school visits, walks and other various activities; o Assisting teachers in the supervision of students during assembly and break times; o Accompanying individuals of small groups who may have to be withdrawn from class temporarily; o Participation with school development planning and cooperation with any such changes with policies and practices arising from the planning process;
17
o Engagement with parents in both formal and informal structures as required by school management. Role of Special Needs Assistants in Learning Support Department •
Report at meetings on student’s progress.
•
Participate with school development planning within the department.
How Special Needs Assistants are utilised in the Classroom •
Arrangement of furniture to meet student’s needs e.g. moving desks/seats to facilitate wheelchairs;
•
Assistance with equipment e.g. carrying/setting up of laptops, computers;
•
Assistance with equipment in practical classes;
•
Help students with reading writing where necessary e.g. acting as scribe, acting as a reader, spelling words for students and repeating notes and instructions from the teacher;
•
Can be used to monitor behaviour where necessary e.g. encourage student to keep behaviour in check;
•
Motivate the student to work independently e.g. encourage the students to persevere with tasks and to work quietly on their own sometimes.
18
19