IPPN

Published: 01 August 2004

The late arrival of the above circular as schools are just about to close for summer holidays is a cause of anxiety for principals and their school communities. The time frame referred to in the circular to implement the new SEN arrangements, does not allow for the professional consultation, planning and decision making which are required of principals.

BoMs, principals, teachers, resource / learning support teachers and parents need sufficient time to discuss the significance of this new 'weighted' system of SEN resource allocation. There will be several significant changes as a consequence of this new approach to resourcing schools for SEN. It is not good professional practice to make hasty decisions based on incomplete information and driven by tight deadlines during holiday periods. The careful management of change is critically important when the education of children with SEN is at stake and where the employment of staff is concerned.

Circular 09/04 states that it is intended to issue a further 'comprehensive circular' to schools 'for the commencement of the new school year'. It also states that applications for SNA support will be responded to 'in advance of the next school year'. This timeframe refers to official school holidays as standarised by the DES!

In our efforts to assist principals with many obvious concerns, IPPN has made contact with Mr. Liam Hughes of the Special Education section in Athlone, seeking answers to several key questions which arise from circular 09/04. I am still awaiting a response and therefore cannot provide any further information relating to your many queries.

Some schools have already completed their 183 day school year, the remainder will have closed by Wednesday June 30th.. In the interest of the Health & Safety of the Principal and the SEN support team, IPPN recommends that the implications of circular 09/04 and other circulars issued in July/August, be addressed at the beginning of the new school year in September. At that stage, all those affected by the new system will be present and available for appropriate consultation.

Is Mise Le Meas,

Seán Cottrell
Director

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Published: 15 July 2004

Circular SPED 09/04 is now downloadable from the DES website:

http://www.education.ie/servlet/blobservlet/sp09_04.doc

IPPN Newsletter Issue 21 was delivered to all school yesterday and today. This issue contains relevant information re SEN .

Is Mise Le Meas,

Seán Cottrell
Director

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Published: 01 July 2004

The DES issued a Press Release today Thursday, re new SEN Allocation System. As it contains direct implications for schools the statement is being sent to you in this E-scéal - see below.

During the next few days the IPPN Executive will examine this Press Release and circulate professional guidance on the relevant issues.

Is Mise Le Meas,
Seán Cottrell
Director

PRESS RELEASE

Dempsey Approves Special Needs Allocation System

18th June 2004

The Minister for Education and Science, Noel Dempsey T.D., has approved the allocation of an additional 350 teaching posts for special needs and a new system for the allocation of resources for special needs in primary schools.

The new system will involve a general weighted allocation for all primary schools to cater for pupils with higher incidence special needs, those with learning support needs, borderline mild and mild general learning disability and dyslexia. It will also allow for individual allocations in respect of pupils with more acute needs.

The general weighted allocation system will greatly reduce the need for individual applications and supporting psychological assessments and will put resources in place on a more systematic basis, thereby giving schools more certainty over their resource levels. This will allow for better planning in schools, greater flexibility in identifying and intervening earlier with regard to pupils' special needs, as well as making the posts more attractive to qualified teachers.

The previous allocation system placed significant demands on principals, teachers and psychologists. It has also proven to be time-consuming, thereby delaying the allocation of resources for special needs. "We had to take action to reform the system and I believe that the model we are now introducing will, over time, significantly improve the capacity of the system to cater for children with special needs in a speedier, more effective way," said Minister Dempsey. "The revised system will reduce the administrative burden on schools and allow them to concentrate on the delivery of services to pupils with special needs. It will also allow psychologists to devote more time to advising teachers on planning for individual children and for whole school provision," added the Minister.

The revised system will have regard to the fact that there appears to be a greater incidence of disabilities in boys. It is also weighted in favour of the most disadvantaged schools. It will mean that every school will be given an allocation for pupils in the higher incidence disability categories without having to submit individual applications. As has been practice hitherto in relation to learning support teachers, the Department will be clustering small schools together to enable the allocation of full-time posts.

In the most disadvantaged schools (over 240 schools), a teacher of pupils with special needs will be allocated for every 80 pupils to cater for the subset of pupils with higher incidence special needs. In all boys schools, the ratio will be one teacher for every 140 pupils, in mixed schools one for every 150 pupils and in all girls schools one for every 200 pupils. In addition, all schools will be able to apply for separate specific allocations in respect of pupils with lower incidence disabilities.

The Department of Education and Science will now communicate with schools in relation to their allocations. Permission will be given to fill all specific allocations immediately. The general weighted allocations will be filled following the determination of clustering and reallocation arrangements. To ease the transition to the new system, the Department has already agreed not to redeploy teachers from full-time posts via the panel redeployment process.

Ends

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Published: 30 June 2004

Details of In-Service days for next year

Following a request to the Department of Education & Science, the Teacher Education Unit, formerly known as the In Career Development Unit (ICDU) has confirmed that there will be a total of six 'non contact' days for Primary School In-Service training in the next school year. The breakdown of these days is as follows:

• 1 day - In-service training for PE
• 1 day - School based planning for PE
• 2 day - In-service training for Music
• 1 day - School based planning for Music
• 1 day - School Development Planning

If you have any further queries about these six days, please contact either your Education Support Centre or your School Development Planning Facilitator.

Student Transfer Form - Primary to Post-Primary

When pupils transfer from a primary school to a second level school (or to another primary school) principals often query how much information should be passed on and in what format it should be offered. IPPN has developed a sample one page document which can be used to address this information transfer issue. We have already been in discussion with the National Education Welfare Board, the National Council for Curriculum Assessment and the National Association of Principals and Deputies (2nd Level) seeking their views on a multi-purpose standardised format. A refined document will be developed for the next school year, meanwhile a current working draft is available to those who wish to use this June.

Some issues to be considered:

1. Frequently, most pupil information is transferred verbally. The use of a standardised Student Transfer Form does not prevent or replace the value of such verbal reports.
2. Historically a standard form did exist but ceased usage due to its out of date format.
3. The absence of standardised information about students has been used as a justification for 'entrance assessments/exams'
4. Given the growing culture of transparency and accountability, it is important that schools have their own written record of the information that was formally handed over to parents/other schools.
5. Due to data protection considerations, it is prudent to obtain parental permission before sending the Student Transfer Form to the receiving school.
6. A copy should be given to the parents/guardians of the pupil.
7. In the case of a sixth class pupil transferring to second level, the Student Transfer Form can also act as an end of year report to parents, thus avoiding duplication of paperwork.
8. Any information provided by the class teacher/support teacher should be confined to facts and professional opinions which can be backed-up in the event of enquiry.
   A copy of the sample Student Transfer Form is downloadable from the 'Organisational Policies' area in the 'Resources' section of www.ippn.ie or you can go directly to http://www.ippn.ie/resorg.php You will need your roll number and password to gain access. Feedback from principals about this form will be gladly received.

Is Mise Le Meas,

Seán Cottrell
Director

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