St. Endas College Galway:

Coláiste Éinde aims to support all students to reach their potential in an inclusive school environment.

We have a dedicated staff, who work with specialised Special Educational Needs (SEN) teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to ensure that all our students have access to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum. We acknowledge students’ strengths as well as their complexities.

For those students who have Special Educational Needs, whether they be educational, physical, psychological or social, we endeavour to ensure that their needs are met. We support students at both ends of the spectrum – gifted students and students with learning difficulties. Coláiste Éinde provides SEN support via high quality teaching and highest expectations to empower students to take responsibility for their own learning, thereby enabling them to experience success at Coláiste Éinde and beyond.

The SEN team comprising highly experienced qualified teachers and Special Needs Assistants works closely with the Home School Liaison Teacher and the School Completion Officer to maintain strong links with our feeder schools

We have a wide variety of mechanisms for meeting a range of special educational needs.

 

Some of the In-School Provision that we provide includes:

• In-class support through Team-Teaching and Support Teaching.
• Small group classes
• Individual (1:1) support
• Literacy Intervention
• Numeracy Intervention
• Handwriting development intervention
• Touch typing classes
• Learning mentor support
• Friendship and social skills development
• Computer skills for those students who have been granted assistive technology and need guidance on how to use the technology in order to fully access education.
• Mind mapping
• Study Skill
• After school support stud
• Homework support.

We also have an ASD Special Class (An Realt) and a Hearing Special Class.

 

Some of the most frequently asked questions from parents/guardians are answered in the following links. If you don’t find what you are looking for please do not hesitate to contact the SEN Coordinator directly.

 

How does the school identify students with SEN?

 

At Coláiste Éinde we seek to identify the needs of all our students through regular assessment. This helps us ensure all students are happy and confident in school and make good progress in their learning.

We also identify students’ needs through:

 

• Interaction with previous school on transition
• Observations
• Results from CAT 4 (Cognitive Ability Test) and WRAT 5
• School based tests
• Academic Monitoring
• Weekly Care Team Meetings
• Limited progress is being made.
• There is a significant change in progress or behaviour.
• Communication with parents/guardians including parent/teacher evenings
• Concerns raised by the student, parents/guardians or subject teachers
• Working with other agencies and concerns are raised by outside agencies e.g. NEPS, Occupational Therapist., Speech and Language Therapist, CAMHS, etc.
• Termly and annual reviews for SEN students with Student Support Plans.
• Referrals from Primary Feeder Schools.

 

Once concerns are raised the SEN Coordinator will contact the student’s parent/guardian for consent to carry out further assessments e.g. WIAT III or WRAT 5.

 

Any support offered to students at Coláiste Éinde comes under ‘The Continuum of Support’.

For further information

https://www.education.ie/en/The-Education-System/Special-Education/a-new-model-for-allocating-special-education-teachers-to-mainstream-schools.pdf

 

How will the school prepare and support students transferring from primary school to Coláiste Éinde?

 

At Coláiste Éinde we understand that the transitions at any stage in a student’s career can be a very stressful time for students and parents/guardians alike:

 

• We have strong links with our feeder primary schools. Transition information is shared in order to aid our planning.
• All our new first year students, and their parents/guardians, can visit the school on the common induction evening and spend time familiarising themselves with our school.
• Some students with specific needs may need additional induction events/visits to the school which are agreed and arranged on a case by case basis.
• The Special Needs Coordinator meets with every parent/guardian of a student who has a professional report, i.e. Educational Psychological Report, Speech and Language Report, Occupational Therapist Report, etc., so that a programme can be put into place to enable the student to settle into their new environment
• SNAs may visit schools to work with students with special educational needs in preparation for transition
• The Special Educational Needs Coordinator may visit schools.
 

How will the curriculum be matched to the student’s needs?

 

The learning needs of students will first be met through the high quality teaching delivered by their subject teachers. The subject teacher will differentiate the curriculum to meet the needs of each student. Therefore, where possible students are supported in class through team/support teaching, to provide greatest access to the curriculum. Some students may be withdrawn from class so that targeted teaching can take place. These arrangements are usually short term, flexible and monitored so that the student does not miss a lot of the curriculum from the subject that they have been withdrawn from. SEN students who do not study either Irish or a Third Language may be withdrawn from lessons on a more regular basis, to follow specific individual programmes. Students on the SEN register have a Student Support Plan which includes student voice, strategies to help them access the curriculum and support offered. The student’s subject teachers will have access to this and will use this to plan the curriculum to meet the student’s needs.

Students who have SNA access will have a care plan which will work towards building independence.

Additional specialist advice is sought when appropriate.

 

How will the school and the parents/guardians know that the support has made a difference to the student’s learning?

 

 The progress of all students, including those with special educational needs, is tracked using the school’s assessment system.

Students are assessed regularly through:

• Teacher marking, observations and questioning as well as more formal assessments such as curriculum based or standardised tests.
• Discussing the progress each student is making at Pastoral Meetings and through Academic Monitoring
• Reviewing the student’s Student Support Plan each term
• Assessing the students’ progress both in terms of his/her regular learning within the class and regarding specific intervention programme(s). The impact of the support is carefully measured to ensure that the learning outcomes have been achieved and if not, to identify what adaptations are necessary. It may be decided that a further period of support would be beneficial for the student
• Always contacting parents/guardians if a student requires additional support from an external agency
• Regular consultation with students and parents/guardians. We see students and parents as partners in the education process and by consulting everyone we can gain as full a picture of need as possible and therefore are able to meet the need most effectively.
 

How is the effectiveness of provision for students with SEN evaluated?

 

• The SEN team routinely monitor the effectiveness of provision for students with SEN through the use of the school’s usual procedures such as:
• formal assessment
• evaluation of progress data
• work students produce
• students are involved in the setting and review of personal targets with their SEN teachers to ensure they are making progress towards planned targets and outcomes.
 

How does Coláiste Éinde involve other bodies in meeting the needs of students?

 

The school participates fully with all external agencies to ensure learners’ needs are best met. Below is a list of such agencies:

• School’s NEPs (National Educational Psychological Service) Psychologist. The school’s NEPs also works with staff to offer support, advice and training.
• SENO Special Educational Needs Organiser
• NCSE (National Council for Special Education)
• Enable Ireland
• Speech and Language Therapist
• Occupational Therapist
• CAMHS
• Visiting Teacher for the Blind/visually Impaired
• Visiting Teacher for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing
• GAP
 
 

What are the entitlements for an Irish Exemption?

 

Arrangements for the exemption of students from the study of Irish was revised in 2019. Psychological assessments and cognitive ability scores are no longer necessary to process applications for the exemption from the study of Irish.

Section 2.2 of Circular 0053/2019 sets out the exceptional circumstances in which consideration may be given to granting a student an exemption from the study of Irish:

a. students whose education up to 12 years of age (or up to the final year of their primary education) was received outside the state and where they did not have opportunity to engage in the study of Irish

Or

b. students who were previously enrolled as recognised students in a primary or post-primary school who are being re-enrolled after a period spent abroad, provided that at least three consecutive years have elapsed since the previous enrolment in the State and are at least 12 years of age on re-enrolment

Or

c. students who:

i) present with significant learning difficulties that are persistent, despite having had access to a differentiated approach to language and literacy learning in both Irish and English over time. Documentary evidence to this effect, held by the school should include Student Support Plan Plans detailing
• regular reviews of learning need as part of an ongoing cycle of assessment
• target-setting
• evidence-informed intervention and review, including test scores (word reading, reading comprehension, spelling, other scores of language/literacy) at key points of review.

and

ii.) at the time of the application for exemption present with a Standardised Score on a

discrete test in either Word Reading, Reading Comprehension or Spelling at/below

the 10th percentile.

For further information

https://www.education.ie/en/Parents/Information/Irish-Exemption/exemptions-from-the-study-of-irish-guidelines-for-post-primary-schools.pdf

 

What is the criteria that allows students with SEN such as, those caused by visual impairment or dyslexia to access State Examinations on an equal basis?

 

Educational Psychological assessments are no longer a requirement to process applications for Reasonable Accommodations in the State Examinations. All testing is carried out in the school. Students need to meet set criteria to avail of Reasonable Accommodations in their State Examinations. Accommodations that were provided at Junior Cycle will be reactivated at Leaving Certificate (exceptions to this are the use of a scribe and the use of an individual centre).

 

For more information

https://www.examinations.ie/schools/EN-1013-79847199.pdf

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