The next horizon for improvement is secondary school.
In what follows, we will look at the needs and entitlements of children entering secondary school who have identified special education needs and those who are entering and later discovered to have a special education need.
My child has been receiving extra help in primary school. What should I look for in a secondary school?
You should look for a school with a special education teacher in place on a full-time basis to support all children with special needs in the school.
A child who has been receiving special education resources or support in primary school is eligible for continued support at secondary level so long as they continue to have a special education need.
Your child will be entitled to the same general provision he or she received in primary school. This support is to be determined based on need with the number of hours of support being determined by the Individual Education Plan (IEP) drawn up in the last year of primary school. In general, students in secondary school are eligible for the same supports as in primary school. Remember that upon entering secondary school a Transition Plan may be in place that slightly alters the previous IEP. The Special Needs Organizer (SENO) assigned to the school should be alerted as well as the appropriate special education teacher(s). Speak to your child’s special education teacher first and be clear about your concerns.
Not all children who have special education needs come to the attention of parents or educators in primary school. In secondary school, the curriculum subjects become incredibly complex each year. There are students who have had no difficulty suggestive of a special education need at primary school who suddenly seem to have many difficulties in secondary school. It is important to recognize that some students, no matter how well they performed in primary school, may have a special education need that does not appear until secondary school.
First, speak with your child’s teachers. Begin with teachers, speak to Year Head, go to Principal if necessary and do not forget the Special Education Needs Organizer (SENO).
If your child is found to have a special education need an IEP should be written. This is, as stated previously, a road map to your child’s education plan. The special education team often referred to as a multidisciplinary team, will be responsible for writing the IEP.
Autism/Asperger’s in Secondary School
Unfortunately, there is little that can be done if a school refuses to enroll a child on the autistic spectrum. There are considerable challenges in the future to our secondary schools in education these children and it is time to get it right. Those schools, which stubbornly refuse to enroll children on the spectrum, are in the stone age of education.
ADHD
As in the case of children on the autistic spectrum, once educators and schools get it correct for children with ADHD they have improved the educational provision of all children.
Special Education in Ireland’s Secondary Schools
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