Ready for Everyone

Most parents have some anxieties about how their child will manage in pre-school or primary school. This can be especially true for parents of children with special educational needs who may have additional concern.

The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a model of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme. Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE Programme and reap the benefits of quality pre-school education.

Your child does not need to have a diagnosis to benefit from AIM.

AIM for parents

More information on AIM is available here.

• Children with special educational needs attend a variety of settings such as mainstream schools, mainstream schools with special classes and special schools.
• Many children with special educational needs attend their local primary school in a mainstream class with other children of different ability levels and with additional support, as necessary. The Department of Education has set out the Continuum of Support framework to assist schools in identifying and responding to the individual needs of children. Using this framework helps to ensure that interventions are incremental, moving from class-based interventions to more intensive and individualised support for those children with more complex and enduring needs. The DE has provided guidelines for schools in supporting children with special educational needs available here.
• Some children with more complex special educational needs attend a special class in their local mainstream school. These classes have lower pupil-teacher ratios, for example, a class for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) will have one teacher for every six students. Students enrolled in these classes should be included in the regular mainstream class for a part of the day or the week, in line with their strengths and abilities.
• Special schools are generally for children with very complex special needs who wouldn’t manage in a mainstream school even for part of the week. Special schools have very small class groups.
• Once you have found a place in a school which you think is right for your child, you should discuss your child’s needs with the principal to help the school to develop a support plan for your child.
• The Starting School Guidelines for Parents/Guardians of Children with Special Educational Needs booklet is available from the National Council for Special Education here.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) works to improve the delivery of education services to persons with special educational needs arising from disabilities with particular emphasis on children. Really useful information from the National Council for Special Education is available here.

• Gaeloideachas, in partnership with AsIAm, Ireland’s National Autism Charity, has developed new resources to help children and young people with autism and/or dyslexia to reach their full potential in a naíonra or Irish-medium or Gaeltacht school. They will also help teachers and other students to better understand the needs of children and young people with autism.
• The resources for children and young people with autism - including posters, booklets, worksheets, sensory checklists and a passport for naíonraí to help with the transition to primary school are available here
• The resources for children and young people with dyslexia are available here

AON – Assessment of Need

BOM – Board of Management

DES – Department of Education and Skills

EBD – Emotional/Behavioural Disturbance

GLD – General Learning Disability

IEP – Individual Education Plan

NCSE – National Council for Special Education

NEPS – National Education Psychological Service

OT – Occupational Therapist

SEN – Special Educational Needs

SENCo – Special Education Needs Co-Ordinator

SENO – Special Education Needs Organiser

SET – Special Education Teacher

SLD – Specific Learning Disability

SLT – Speech & Language Therapist

SSLD – Specific Speech and Language Disorder

SSP / F – Student Support Plan / File