Special Education Needs & Inclusion
At Killicomaine Junior High School, Mrs Maxwell the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo), supported by Miss McCollum, the Inclusion Assistant work to ensure that pupil needs are addressed.
We welcome pupils of all abilities and endeavour to engage the support of outside agencies to provide advice and guidance to best direct the provision we put in place to support pupils. We also value input and support from parents – we understand that at times, Special Educational Needs can be an overwhelming process and welcome your contact to update us, inform us and to clarify any queries that you may have.
Before pupils begin their journey in Killicomaine, the SENCO liaises with the feeder primary schools to gather as much information as possible, to help to ensure the pupil transition is smooth. We also work with the Education Authority to gather details of provision that needs to be put in place in the instance that a pupil has a Statement of Educational Need.
Pupils who are on the Special Needs Register are given targets in an Individual Education Plan (IEP), these targets are reviewed twice a year – many pieces of information contribute to these reviews, subject teacher review, parental input, pupil input, classroom assistant input (if appropriate), data gathered from assessments/standardised tests and input from outside agencies when engaged. These targets are intended to guide pupil progress and will focus on a few key identified areas at a time.
When pupils are preparing to leave Killicomaine, we liaise closely with their chosen school and ensure that all relevant information is shared to assist in a smooth transition onward. The support and advice of outside agencies may also be engaged in this process, if considered necessary.
Some of the additional support in class that identified pupils have access to, comes in the form of our highly valued team of Classroom and General Assistants. Their combination of experience, enthusiasm, patience and training help to ensure that pupils feel supported, but not overwhelmed and that pupil needs are addressed most effectively.
Equal doesn’t mean fair.
Newcomer
At Killicomaine we have many pupils for whom English is a second language. Pupils arrive in our school with differing English language ability and the support that we put in place is specific to meet the needs of the individual pupil. Miss McCollum works hard with Mrs Maxwell to ensure that pupils have access to resources and key information in a format that they can understand.
All Newcomer pupils will be assessed using the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in order to establish their language needs and to plan for progress forward.
We know that language develops best when used and we encourage pupils to speak in English as much as possible and to become actively involved in school life. The inclusion of pupils with English as a second language adds diversity and cultural enrichment to the tapestry of our school.
