Inclusion

At St. Patrick’s, we aim to include all children with additional needs in the mainstream setting.

Our vision for St. Patrick’s is to make it possible for every child, including those with additional needs to:

• Have full access to the National Curriculum.
• Be able to participate in every aspect of school life.
• Achieve their full potential.
• To have any additional needs identified as early as possible.

We strongly believe that all teachers are teachers of children with additional needs. At classroom level teachers take responsibility for differentiating the curriculum and implementing the Individual Education Plans or Individualised Programmes for those children who have been identified as having additional needs.

The Inclusion Manager assists with identification and is responsible for the day to day management and co-ordination of practices and resources in relation to additional needs. A staged approach is used:

• Initial concerns maybe raised by parents/carers, class teacher, teaching assistants, health professionals or the Inclusion Manager.
• A decision as to further action will be made and shared with all concerned parties. This may include:
  • close monitoring
  • assessment
  • the setting of small interim targets
  • some additional support
• Further assessments, intervention and support may be required, at which stage the child will receive an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or Individualised Programme and be placed on either School Action or School Action Plus stage of support.
• A very small number of children with exceptional additional needs may require a full assessment to be undertaken by the Education Authority. This is known as Statutory Assessment. As a result of the assessment the child may receive a Statement of Educational Needs. A Statement usually entitles the child to a very high level of support or, very occasionally, an alternative educational setting. Statements are formally reviewed each year at the Annual Review.

Throughout these stages parents/carers are consulted and informed. Further information is available in our Policy for Children with Special Educational Needs.