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In St. Michael’s House SNS, we are very fortunate to have a very actve Parents' Association. As a parent of a child in Raheny School, you are automatically deemed a member of the Parents' Association. Parents are encouraged to come to meetings, join in achieves and to bring in lots of new ideas. The PA runs many events throughout the year, which help to raise valuable funds for our school. As our catchment area is so vast, the PA can be an meeting parents who can advise and support each other. The focus is on FUN, so if you can help in any way, please don’t hesitate to join in.
The PA meets every 8 weeks and the Annual General Meeting is held in September /October each year. All are welcome to these meetings.
If you wish to be added to the mailing list for Minutes of the PA Meetings, updates about events, or have any other queries, the Parents' Association can be contacted via email at smhrahenypa@gmail.com
The Raheny school’s Parents' Association is affiliated to the National Parents' Council
In accordance with section 11 of the Children First Act 2015 and with the requirement of Chapter 8 of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools 2017, the following is the Written Risk Assessment of St Michael’s House. Special National School, Raheny.
1. List of School Activities
2. The school has identified the following risk of harm in respect of its activities –
Training of school personnel in Child Protection matters3. The school has the following procedures in place to address the risks of harm identified in this assessment –
Training of school personnel in Child Protection mattersImportant Note:: It should be noted that risk in the context of this risk assessment is the risk of “harm” as defined in the Children First Act 2015 and not general health and safety risk. The definition of harm is set out in Chapter 4 of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post- Primary Schools 2017. |
In undertaking this risk assessment, the board of management has endeavoured to identify as far as possible the risks of harm that are relevant to this school and to ensure that adequate procedures are in place to manage all risks identified. While it is not possible to foresee and remove all risk of harm, the school has in place the procedures listed in this risk assessment to manage and reduce risk to the greatest possible extent. This risk assessment has been completed by the Board of Management on 30th April 2020. It shall be reviewed as part of the school’s annual review of its Child Safeguarding Statement.
Chairperson, Board of Management
Principal/Secretary to the Board of Management
The Board of Management has a commitment to ensure that the school is as safe as is reasonably practicable. The safety statement outlines the health and safety management system that the school has in place.
The Board of Management brings to the attention of its staff the following arrangements for safeguarding the safety, health and welfare of those employed, working and/or visiting the school.
This policy requires the co-operation of all employees. It shall be reviewed annually or more frequently if necessary, in the light of experience, changes in legal requirements and operational changes. St. Michael’s House health and safety department shall carry out a safety audit annually and a report made to the Board of Management nominee (the Principal) for health and safety. All records of accidents and ill-health will be monitored in order to ensure that any safety measures required can be put in place to minimise the recurrence of such accidents and ill-health.
The Board of Management is committed to:
Chairperson, Board of Management
This safety statement has been prepared following consultation with employees, both staff and management.
This safety statement outlines the health and safety policy of St. Michael’s House Special National School, Raheny and in doing so aims to fulfill the requirements of all relevant legislation, in particular the:
The Board of Management under the patronage of St. Michael’s House runs Raheny school. As such Raheny SNS will adopt and follow SMH policies and procedures as appropriate and where requirements are not set out by the Department of Education and Skills.
Raheny SNS is a school that provides a service to pupils with Moderate and Multiple General Learning Disabilities. Both ambulant and non-ambulant pupils would require some form of assistance when leaving the building.
The school is located on Raheny Road and is a two storey building. The junior classrooms, canteen, hall and staffrom are located on the ground floor and the senior classrooms, multisensory room, soft play room, library, home economics room, assisted bathroom, medical room, meeting rooms are located on the first floor.
The school staff consists of:
Clinicians visit the school at varying times during the week.
2.1 Resources for health and safety in the school
St. Michael’s House health and safety department provide advice and support to the school in relation to health and safety matters. Additional health and safety resources that are required are requested through the Board of management.
3.1 Board of Management:
3.2 St. Michael’s House – patron body
3.3 Designated person for safety and health acting on behalf of the Board, e.g. the Principal:
3.4 Post-Holders (with particular functions in safety and health):
3.5 Safety Representative
In accordance with Section 25 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, Raheny School recognises the right of all employees to elect a Safety Representative and also recognises the duties and rights attached with such a position.
The role and statutory rights of the Safety Representative are summarised as follows:
3.6 Teaching/Non-teaching staff:
3.7 Other School Users:
Other school users, e.g. pupils and visitors should comply with school regulations and instructions relating to safety and health.
3.8 Contractors
The St. Michael’s House technical services department organises and manages any building related works.
Contractors must comply with statutory obligations as designated under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 and any other relevant legislation such as the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2006.
Hazards
Raheny School is committed to identify hazards and to make suitable provisions for the elimination or reductions of those found to be present. To this end, it shall secure the assistance of competent external safety advice in conjunction with its internal resources to fulfill this role on an annual basis or as required as deemed necessary. These hazards shall be identified in a systematic manner through the use of a safe system audit. This will involve inspection of the school, examinations of the work place, equipment, procedures and records to date.
Our staff and visitors who may detect a hazard or hazardous operation are requested / obligated to report such without delay to the Principal. The hazards listed below are the main risks to staff while working in Raheny SNS. These include:
Pregnant Employees
Raheny School provides specific risk assessment for their pregnant employees. The risk assessment is reviewed as regularly as needed and is discussed with the staff member on an on going basis.
Raheny School provides suitable welfare facilities in accordance with applicable statutory provisions. We recognise that this provision is an essential element in securing safety, health and welfare for all.
Suitable washing and sanitary facilities
To include water flush toilets with washing facility which is subject to daily cleaning.
Canteen
There is a staffroom available for staff, which includes facilities to make tea/coffee and heat/prepare their own lunches. Staff must co-operate in maintaining a high standard of hygiene in this area. All hot drinks are required to have a lid if taken from the staffroom.
Drinking Water
Of suitable drinking quality as provided by council services.
Medication/ Intoxicants
Employees must not come to work whilst under the influece of intoxicants or whie taking medication that may affect their ability to carry out duties safely.
Clothing/ Jewellery/ Accessories
Comfortable, respectable clothes and footware must be worn. Jewellery must be kept to a minimum, e.g. no dangly earrings, necklaces, bracelets
6.1 First Aid and Medical Attention.
6.2 Emergency Evacuation
On discovery of Fire
St. Michael’s House Special N.S., Raheny Road, Raheny, Dublin 5 State clearly that it is a St.Michael’s House School providing a service to people with learning disabilities, and wait for the fire brigade to repeat the address correctly before ringing off.
Do not replace the receiver until the address has been repeated by the fire brigade.
If the principal is absent, the deputy principal will ensure the pupils are out of the classroom and will then take on the duties of the principal. If the secretary is absent, the kitchen chef will take over her duties.
Fire Safety Equipment
The school is also aware of its duties under the Fire Services Act of 1981, in the provision and maintenance of the following: -
Fire fighting equipment is located around the school and the locations can be seen on the emergency evacuation maps.
6.3 Accident Recording & Notification
Notification to the HSA must be given. This is completed on line through the HSA website by the SMH Admin Manager in the North East region.
6.4 Procedure for percutaneous bites
Raheny school endeavours to provide a safe environment for all it’s staff. It has a duty under Section 8 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare at work of his or her employees. Circular 0061/2017 and Circular 0062/2017 outlines the regulations and procedures regarding the Scheme for Leave of Absence following Assault for registered teachers and special needs assistants (SNA) employed in schools. Assault is defined as:
physical contact from a third party causing physical injury to a teacher/ SNA in the course of the teacher’s/ SNA’s duties and during approved school activities.
In the event of an assault the following procedures should be followed:
Raheny School will endeavour to provide instruction, information and training for each employee in relation to their safety, health and welfare. It is our wish to have a workforce and pupils that are pro-active and aware of health and safety. We will provide adequate finances to obtain this objective.
There are a number of training requirements that have been identified for staff that are working in Raheny SNS. They are as follows:
Mandatory Health and safety training and training that is run by SMH is provided and organized through the SMH Staff Training and Development department.
The principal or nominated person monitors the training needs for the staff in the school. The SMH Staff Training and Development department can be contacted to obtain this information when requested. This person contacts the Staff Training and Development department to organize any training/refresher that is required. Any other training deemed necessary is organized and provided by Raheny SNS.
The safety statement will be brought to the attention of all staff upon commencement of employment as per Section 20(3) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. All staff are required to read and sign off as having read the safety statement. The safety statement will be reviewed on an annual basis. Changes will be made as and when necessary to reflect changes within legislation, work processes or introduction of work equipment that affects the contents of the safety statement. Any changes will be communicated to the staff team as required.
9.1 Safety representative
Raheny School recognises that employee involvement in health and safety is an integral part of the operations of the school, and sees health and safety as being of value within these operations.
Thus the Board of management encourages employees to elect from their ranks a Safety Representative.
The Safety Representative will consult with the Principal and the Board of management through procedures on any relevant health and safety issue. The Board will at all times consider and act, if appropriate, on any issue brought to their attention by the Safety Representative.
The Board of Management will provide any necessary training and information to the Safety Representative in accordance to Section 25 Part 4 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, to enable the Safety Representative to fulfill his/her duty.
The Board of Management will measure, monitor and evaluate its safety and health management system to make sure it is robust. This will be measured against agreed standards such as:
Health and safety audits
An annual health and safety audit will take place of the building and its activities. This will be completed by the health and safety department of SMH. The Board of Management is provided with a comprehensive report on its findings and recommendations for any corrective actions that are required.
Internal safety inspections
Every two months the Deputy Principal and Staff Representative will complete a health and safety checklist of the building. This is to highlight any environmental or system issue that will need to be addressed. Reports are then submitted to the Principal. On a quarterly basis these checklists are discussed with the Chairperson of the Board to review on-going health and safety issues for the school. Every classroom team will complete a health and safety checklist of their classroom every two months. This is to highlight any environmental issue that will need to be addressed.
Results from audits will be combined with information from on going measuring of performance to improve the school’s overall approach to safety and health management.
If employees disagree with the Safety Statement, every effort will be made to ensure that they fully understand the relevance and importance of the Safety Statement. If an employee continues to not comply with the Safety Statement, this will be discussed with the School Principal and if non-compliance persists, the Principal will refer to the DES Grievance Procedures.
This statement shoud be read in conjunction with the schools Code of Behaviour, Anti Bullying Policy and the school's Enrolment Policy.
This statement was ratified by the Board of Management on 4th April 2019 and will be reviewed annually. This policy will be made available to parents/ guardians of children in the school and placed on the school’s website.
Chairperson, Board of Management
Principal
Date of next review: December 2021.
This anti-bullying policy operates in conjunction with the SMH SNS Code of Behaviour and together these policies recognise the individuality of each child's needs to be accommodated while at the same time acknowledging the right of every child to education in a disruption free environment.
In accordance with the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools bullying is defined as follows:
Bullying is unwanted negative behaviour, verbal, psychological or physical, conducted by an individual or group against another person (or persons) and which is repeated over time.
The following types of bullying behaviour are included in the definition of bullying:
Isolated or once-off incidents of intentional negative behaviour, including a once-off offensive or hurtful text message or other private messaging, do not fall within the definition of bullying and should be dealt with, as appropriate, in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.
However, in the context of this policy, placing a once-off offensive or hurtful public message, image or statement on a social network site or other public forum where that message, image or statement can be viewed and/or repeated by other people will be regarded as bullying behaviour.
Negative behaviour that does not meet this definition of bullying will be dealt with in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.
Additional information on different types of bullying is set out in Section 2 of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools.
Bullying can be:
Emotional |
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Physical |
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Verbal |
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Cyber |
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Identity Based Behaviours Including any of the nine discriminatory grounds mentioned in Equality Legislation (gender including transgender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community).
Homophobic and Transgender |
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Race, nationality, ethnic background and membership of the Traveller community |
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Sexual |
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Bullying is usually distinguished from friendly teasing or conflict situations. SMH SNS differentiates between these two as outlined by the following:
Any teacher may act as a relevant teacher if circumstances warrant it.
5. The education and prevention strategies (including strategies specifically aimed at cyber- bullying and identity-based bullying including in particular, homophobic and trans phobic bullying) that will be used by the school are as follows (see Section 6.5 of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools):
School – wide approach
Implementation of Curricula
Links to other Policies
The following policies are relevant to bullying: Code of Behaviour, Child Protection Policy, Bus Supervision and Yard Supervision, Internet Safety/ Acceptable Use Policy.
6. The school’s procedures for investigation, follow-up and recording of bullying behaviour and the established intervention strategies used by the school for dealing with cases of bullying behaviour are as follows (see Section 6.8 of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools):
The primary aim in investigating and dealing with bullying is to resolve any issues and to restore, as far as is practicable, the relationship of the parties involved (rather than to apportion blame).
Stage One
PARENTAL CONCERN
Any pupil or parent/ guardian may bring an alleged bullying incident to a teacher in the school. Should a parent/guardian have any concerns, which need to be discussed with the relevant teacher, all staff members are more than willing to facilitate such a meeting. Parents can liaise with the relevant teacher using the home school notebook or make a call to the school office to arrange a convenient time for all parties involved. This arrangement ensures that all concerns are dealt with in a dignified, meaningful manner, without infringing on valuable teaching time.
As it is a serious accusation to make against a child, the school requires a signed ‘statement’ from a parent/ guardian who believes their child is being bullied. This statement should include as much detail as possible relating to who, when, where, and what happened over a period of time. Parents will be advised in writing that the alleged perpetrators' parents need to be told and may be given a copy of the statement. A copy of this statement may then be presented to the parent(s) of the alleged perpetrator.
All reports will be investigated and dealt with by the relevant teacher. Teaching and non-teaching staff such as SNA’s, secretary, bus escorts, house mother and cleaners must report any incidents of bullying behaviour witnessed by them, or mentioned to them, to the relevant teacher.
PARENT AND/OR SCHOOL STAFF CONCERN
Teachers respect the need to support the esteem of each party involved in an incident. When the relevant teacher becomes aware that a child is regularly involved in incidents he/she will start a record of such incidents/ reports, the actions taken and any discussions with those involved regarding it. These will be recorded in the Green class folder or in a class notebook for confidential information.
The purpose of this record is:
The teacher will investigate and act appropriately as per procedures. If the relevant teacher suspects that bullying occurred, the Principal/Deputy Principal should be informed.
Parents of those involved should be notified and given an opportunity to discuss the matter with the relevant teacher.
If not too serious, the situation could be monitored for a while.
Victim and alleged perpetrator to be treated seriously and with fairness.
If the situation is serious and is continued for a time, then the Principal will make a referral to St. Michael’s House Psychology Department.
Direct contact between parents of both children will be encouraged and facilitated by the school. However it must be made clear to all involved (each set of pupils and parents/ guardians) that in any situation where disciplinary sanctions are required, this is a private matter between the pupil being disciplined, his or her parents/ guardians and the school.
The relevant teacher will continue to monitor the situation and talk to victim and perpetrator(s) periodically and speak to parents.
The relevant teacher will repeat the discussion with class (es) about rights, responsibilities, by using role-play, etc.
A record should be kept of how the matter was handled and the outcome. When the class moves on, the succeeding teacher should be informed of any problems.
INVESTIGATING A REPORT OF BULLYING
Stage One
Staff investigating a report of bullying will adopt the following:
Should the action taken at this stage prove not to have resolved the issue, the staff will proceed to stage two.
Stage Two
The Principal will arrange to meet with the parents of the child who is seen to be bullying and separately with the parents of the victim of bullying. In the event that a referral to St. Michael’s House Psychology Department has been made, then the psychologist from St. Michael’s House will be invited to attend the meeting. The co-operation of parents is essential.
The children themselves may be required to attend part or this entire meeting. The child who is bullying will be placed on report. This means that school staff monitors the child’s behaviour in all areas during the day.
The child has on-going meetings with his/her teacher and together they agree a review for that day. All positive behaviour, progress on work etc. will be noted. At the end of the day, the teacher writes his/her own comment. The purpose of this report is to focus as much as possible on the positive qualities and efforts of the child, and to motivate the child to move away from negative behaviour.
Initially a review of the reports will be carried out on a weekly basis, in a meeting with the Principal, teacher, parents and child. If progress is being made, longer intervals between meetings may be decided upon. The co-operation of parents is essential.
The child who is the victim of bullying will also meet with the Principal and his/her parents. The aim of such a meeting(s) will be to address the child's emotional needs and devise strategies for the child to deal with the bullying. This may involve reinforcing the programme being covered in class, or other strategies.
If the situation is not resolved, the Principal will inform the Board of Management.
Stage Three
In cases where the relevant teacher considers that the bullying behaviour has not been adequately and appropriately addressed within 20 school days after he/she has determined that bullying behaviour has occurred, it must be recorded by the relevant teacher in the recording template at Appendix 3.
In determining whether a bullying case has been adequately and appropriately addressed the relevant teacher must, as part of his/her professional judgement, take the following factors into account:
The relevant teacher must use the recording template at Appendix 3 to record the bullying behaviour in the following circumstances:
When a case of bullying has been brought to the attention of the Board of Management, any resolution or final actions will also be reported to them.
Established Intervention Strategies
7. The school’s programme of support for working with pupils affected by bullying is as follows (see Section 6.8 of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools):
Help, support and counselling will be given as is appropriate to both victims and the bullies. We will support the victim in the following ways:
We will also discipline, yet try to help and support the bully in the following ways:
Supervision and Monitoring of Pupils
The Board of Management confirms that appropriate supervision and monitoring policies and practices are in place to both prevent and deal with bullying behaviour and to facilitate early intervention where possible. The following areas have been identified as hot spots for bullying in our school:
Prevention of Harassment
The Board of Management confirms that the school will, in accordance with its obligations under equality legislation, take all such steps that are reasonably practicable to prevent the sexual harassment of pupils or staff or the harassment of pupils or staff on any of the nine grounds specified i.e. gender including transgender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community.
This policy was adopted by the Board of Management on 9th December 2020.
This policy has been made available to school personnel, published on the school website and is readily accessible to parents on request and provided to the Parents’ Association. A copy of this policy will be made available to the Department and the patron if requested.
This policy and its implementation will be reviewed by the Board of Management once in every school year. Written notification that the review has been completed will be made available to school personnel, published on the school website when ready and will be accessible to parents on request and provided to the Parents’ Association. A record of the review and its outcome will be made available, if requested, to the patron and the Department.
Chairperson, Board of Management
Date of next review: December 2021
St. Michael’s House Special National School (SMH SNS), Raheny is a special school providing primary & post-primary education to pupils from age four to eighteen.
In accordance with the requirements of the Children First Act 2015, Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017, the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools 2017 and Tusla Guidance on the preparation of Child Safeguarding Statements, the Board of Management of SMH SNS has agreed the Child Safeguarding Statement set out in this document.
The Board of Management recognises that child protection and welfare considerations permeate all aspects of school life and must be reflected in all of the school’s policies, procedures, practices and activities. In its policies, procedures, practices and activities, the school will adhere to the following principles of best practice in child protection and welfare:
The school will:
The school will also adhere to the above principles in relation to any adult pupil with a special vulnerability.
The following procedures/measures are in place:
Note: The above is not intended as an exhaustive list. Individual Boards of Management shall also include in this section such other procedures/measures that are of relevance to the school in question.
This Child Safeguarding Statement was adopted by the Board of Management on 30th April 2020.
Chairperson, Board of Management
Principal/Secretary to the Board of Management
In keeping with the ethos of St. Michael’s House Special National School (SMH SNS), this policy reflects our commitment to providing a safe and secure learning environment for all pupils. It applies to all staff in SMH SNS.
SMH SNS promotes the use of positive approaches with children with behavioural support needs and a restriction free environment. On occasion, the use of restrictive interventions may be required as a last resort and for the purpose of protecting a child's wellbeing and the wellbeing of others, but this is always the least restrictive approach possible, for the shortest period of time possible and proportionate to the risks.
This policy has been reviewed in conjunction with St. Michael’s House (SMH) Positive Behaviour Support Policy (2019), and Policy on the Use of Restrictive Practices (2019). SMH categorises restrictive practices as mechanical, physical, environmental and chemical. SMH SNS use these restrictive practices, in exceptional circumstances, as outlined in this policy.
Our school in the first instance applies the principles outlined in our Code of Behaviour which provide guidelines to staff on the use of day to day positive behavioural management strategies. These are designed to help all pupils to modify/manage their own behaviour in the long-term. We apply a Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) model where the pupil is supported on a three-tiered level: a school wide PBS approach, a classroom based PBS approach and an individually targeted approach. With the latter, every pupil who presents with behaviours of concern has a Positive Behaviour Support Plan (PBSP). This plan is specific to the pupil, developed by the teacher and special neds assistants, with clinical advice as appropriate/available and in consultation with the pupil's parent(s)/guardian(s), whose signed consent is sought for the plan.
This PBS approach is about understanding the function of a behaviour through recording and analysing data followed by the teaching of functionally equivalent skills to replace the behaviour of concern. The PBS approach acknowledges that children develop their safety awareness and behavioural self-management at different rates and communicate their need for support in managing their behaviour in different ways. As teachers, we modify our approach through listening to the message being communicated. Positive Behaviour Support Plans outline all the proactive strategies to be put in place to reduce a pupil's challenging behaviour and its impact on him/her/others. If these strategies and supports are not always sufficient to maintain the safety and wellbeing of the child or others, the plan will include a reactive strategy for what to do when the behaviours are occurring, such as a low arousal approach or removal of other pupils to a place of safety.
As much as possible, our reactive strategy is based upon the message/function of the behaviour. This means that we facilitate a child to ‘solve the problem’ (access our attention, change their location, finish work, request pain relief, etc) using other skills. We do this to resolve the incident as quickly and as safely as possible. Our philosophy is to regulate before we educate. This is particularly important for pupils with anxiety and /or ASD.
In exceptional circumstances, where there is a risk that a person may be in immediate danger as a result of aggressive challenging behaviour or from a health and safety point of view, the use of restrictive strategies may be necessary (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Act 37a). In such instances, this policy on the use of restrictive practice applies.
If it is necessary to use a restrictive practice, it must be the lowest level of restriction that is effective for a particular intervention and should applied for the least amount of time possible. The detail of how and in what circumstances the restrictive practices are used with the pupil is included in his/her School Positive Behaviour Support Plan. The guidelines below are followed which include constant monitoring and review.
The Board of Management takes seriously its duty of care to pupils, employees and visitors noting that:
The paramount concerns are for the safety and welfare of the pupils in the school as well as for the safety and welfare of the adults who look after them. Therefore, we will aim to implement our duty of care to all affected by our work at all times.
The policy is based on guidance from the following:
This policy should be read in conjunction with the following school policies and structures:
The term Restrictive Practices refer to the use of mechanical restraint, physical restraint, environmental restraint or chemical restraint for the purpose of requiring a child to refrain from behaviour that may cause damage or injury.
Mechanical RestraintThe application and use of materials or devices on or close to a child’s body that he/she cannot easily remove and that restrict freedom of movement of a part or all of their body or that restrict his/her normal access to the body or parts thereof. Some examples of mechanical restraints are: belts, straps, harnesses, modified seatbelts (guards/locks/harnesses), restrictive clothing, cuffs, splints, bed rails, recliner chairs and wheelchair trays.
Physical RestraintThe use of physical interventions such as holding or guiding/blocking a child or part of his/her body, for the purpose of preventing his/her free movement (MHC, 2010). Examples of such interventions are: standing in the way of a child so as to block/guide them in another direction, some holds used for medical/nursing procedures and certain restrictive CALM techniques.
Note: CALM escape, release and de-escalation techniques are exempt from this category, as they are not restrictive in nature.
Chemical RestraintThe use of medication to control or modify a child’s behaviour when no medically identified condition is being treated (HIQA, 2016). This form of restraint is also known as ‘psychotropic medication as restraint’, which is defined as the use of sedative or tranquilising drugs for the treatment of problem behaviours (MHC, 2010), where this use extends beyond a short-term measure of up to 3 months. Chemical restraint is only considered as a last resort and on prescription of a medical practitioner.
Note: Drug treatments for any underlying medical or psychiatric conditions that a person may have are not included in this category. Treatment for anticipatory anxiety prior to procedures such as phlebotomy, medical/dental examination and/or treatments are also not considered to be restrictive practices.
Environmental RestraintThe use of environmental design or barriers to intentionally restrict a child’s movement in, use of or leaving of an area. Such measures include, but are not limited to: locked doors, close tables that prevent a mobile child from leaving a chair, removing powered mobility or alternative communication devices, handles/catches out of reach and strategies that involve the withdrawal or separation of the person from others.
In schools, because of the developing safety awareness of children and the necessity to maintain a safe environment for them, it is necessary to restrict the children's access to certain areas and their unsupervised exit from the building. In this school, the following restrictions apply as standard practice, in order to provide a safe and calm learning environment for pupils:
Various terms can be used to describe environmental restraint strategies that involve separating or withdrawing a child from others e.g. time out, time away, withdrawal, use of quiet space, single separation, seclusion etc.
In the interest of clarity, 4 categories of separation strategy are defined here:
Note: The Department of Education and Skills (as cited in NCSE, 2015) provides for "small safe spaces" in schools that teach children with special educational needs. These rooms are used by children who choose to access it as a "separate area" (non-restrictive) and/or for the small number of children whose individualised School Behaviour Support Plan includes the strategies of withdrawal or single separation.
Note: Access to a Separate Area and Withdrawal are not restrictive strategies in and of themselves, but they becomes restrictive if physical restraint (as defined above) is used when bringing the child to a separate area or when removing others from the area. It is important to note that blocking or physical guiding are forms of physical restraint when they are used to control or direct a child's movement.
Some interventions used in SMH SNS to support children's physical or healthcare needs may appear similar in design or approach to restraints, but are not restrictive. Such interventions include:
The above interventions are not considered to be mechanical or physical restraints or restrictive practices provided they are required for the purpose of improving or maintaining a child’s health or comfort and not used with the intension of restricting the child's freedom of movement.
Two important exceptional circumstances are:
Note: If either of the above exceptional circumstances occurs, the intervention much be considered to have a restrictive element and approval for use must be sought from the Positive Approaches Monitoring Group (PAMG) in these instances.
The following practices are expressly prohibited for all school staff working with pupils in all situations:
N.B. Should a staff member observe or suspect the conduct of a prohibited practice, this should be treated as a safeguarding concern and the Child Safeguarding Statement of the St. Michael's House SNS should be followed.
The Positive Approaches Monitoring Group (PAMG) is a St. Michael's House committee. It exists to promote the use of positive non-restrictive practices with the children and adults who use St. Michael's House services. The PAMG performs 4 key functions: approval (assessing and granting or refusing approval for the use of restrictive practices with the children and adults who use SMH services); monitoring the use of restrictive practices throughout SMH services; recording and reporting (maintaining a database of all approved restrictive practices); and advice and education (encouraging staff to explore alternatives, employ least restrictive strategies and fade out the use of existing restrictions).
The PAMG is chaired by the SMH Director of Quality Improvement and Safety Development. The group meets as 3 sub-groups, so as to consider and make timely decisions on the proposals that are referred to it. Membership of the sub-groups is by invitation of the Director of Quality Improvement and Safety Development and includes a mixture of clinical staff, managers, persons in charge, and school staff. The 3 sub-groups are:
The Board of Management of SMH SNS expects that all teachers, Special Needs Assistants and bus escorts (in exceptional circumstances) are trained in crisis management and physical intervention techniques. This training is provided by CALM (Crisis Aggression Limitation Management). All CALM-trained staff must complete a 2 day theory course on de-escalation strategies. In many schools this is followed by an initial 2 day course on physical intervention techniques and escape techniques, which is re-accredited every year. CALM training covers both non-restrictive and some restrictive strategies. The focus is on de-escalating situations before behaviours become difficult to manage and on reacting to behaviours in the least restrictive way possible. In-house practice sessions are organised periodically throughout the year. SMH has 4 trained tutors who are licenced to deliver this physical intervention training. Their training is refreshed every year.
Whole school positive behaviour support approaches are non-restrictive and are appropriate in a context of a school setting. They are included in the Policies and Procedures of the School relating to: Code of Behaviour and Positive Behaviour Support and to the Use of Restrictive Practices.
Policy & Procedures:
Training:
Education Based:
Environmental:
These practices are restrictive in nature and therefore must be discussed with the Principal in the first instance. They require team discussion, parental consent and approval of the School Principal, and, in certain instances, the Board of Management and St. Michael's House Positive Approaches Monitoring Group (see table below for details of how the various levels of restrictive practices are decided, documented and approved):
Note: The Principal may approve an intervention provisionally and agreed with parents and in some instances with relevant multi-disciplinary staff, while waiting on approval from PAMG.
Approach | Documentation | Person Responsible |
Any new or additional general environmental restrictions not already listed in the school policy (e.g. new locked areas) | School’s policy to be amended | Any policy amendments are submitted to the Board of Management for approval |
Approach | Documentation | Person Responsible |
Withdrawal (see definition above) | Detailed in the pupil's School Positive Behaviour Support Plan (PBSP), which:
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Plan is developed by Teacher & Special Needs Assistants (SNAs), in conjunction with the Principal, with advice of clinicians as available/appropriate. Plan has signed consent of Parent(s)/Guardian(s). |
CALM Techniques Levels 1&2:
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'Modification to Seatbelt on Transport' form, signed by parent(s)/guardian(s). Detailed in pupil's School PBSP (See above). |
As above. |
Approach | Documentation | Person Responsible |
CALM Techniques Levels 3&4:
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Detailed in the pupil's School PBSP (see above). 'CALM Post-Incident Report' form is completed after any/each use of strategy. PAMG Request for Approval (with copy of School PBSP attached). |
Plan is developed by team: teacher, relevant clinician(s), parent/guardian, in consultation with the School Principal. Plan has signed consent of Parent(s)/Guardian(s). Form is submitted to PAMG. |
Transport harness/vest |
Detailed in clinical report or guidelines, as appropriate. 'Modification to Seatbelt on Transport' Form is completed and signed by parent(s)/guardian(s). PAMG Request for Approval Form. |
As above. |
Wheelchair or buggy use with an otherwise ambulant pupil (other than for physical/ healthcare reasons) |
Detailed in pupil’s School PBSP (see above). PAMG Request for Approval Form (with copy of School PBSP attached). |
As above. |
Straps/trays/reins to keep a pupil from standing up or to otherwise control his/her movement |
As above. |
As above. |
Gloves, splints, helmets, all-in-one clothing to manage a pupil's self-injurious or injurious behaviour or to maintain their dignity. |
As above. |
As above. |
Medication prescribed for the management of behaviour. |
Detailed in pupil’s School PBSP (see above). Medical/ Psychiatry Guidelines PAMG Request for Approval Form (with copy of School PBSP & Medical/Psychiatry Guidelines attached). |
Clinician submits PAMG Request for Approval Form. |
Single Separation(see definition above) |
Detailed in pupil's School PBSP (see above). Recorded on 'Use of Single Separation' record sheet (reason for use, times, duration, etc) PAMG Request for Approval (with copy of School PBSP attached). |
Plan is developed by team: teacher, relevant clinician(s), parent/guardian, in consultation with the School Principal. Plan has signed consent of Parent(s)/Guardian(s). Principal reports to next BOM meeting (no identifying details given). |
Approach | Documentation & Reporting | Person Responsible |
Best practice guides that restrictive practices should only be used as part of a planned approach, with appropriate documentation, recording and governance (approval). On occasion, however, emergency situations arise which require an immediate decision to be made by those caring for or supporting the pupil to use a restrictive practice in order to safeguard the safety and wellbeing of the pupil or others. |
Record the use of the strategy in contemporaneous notes to include notes on:
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If restrictive strategies are used in an emergency situation, with a pupil for whom they are not detailed in a written PBSP:
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These are devised for pupils who present with behaviours of concern. These are written by the teacher and class team with input from the multi-disciplinary team. This plan should ideally contain the following:
This policy recognises that each staff members’ understanding of behaviours and all prevention techniques are essential to ensure behaviours do not escalate.
Deciding whether or not to use a CALM Physical Restraint
The school endeavours to encourage staff to do a dynamic risk assessment i.e. STOP AND THINK before employing a CALM physical intervention as follows:
ACTION | CONSIDER | CHOOSE |
STOP & THINK Adopt a calm, non-threatening stance and posture Use a slow controlled voice Give clear visual or verbal directions Pause and allow time for compliance |
The likely outcomes if restraint is used against the likely outcomes if it is not The short term risks versus long term risks Balancing the best interests, health and safety of the pupil with the best interests, health and safety of the other pupils, staff and general public |
Persons who are more likely to achieve a positive response Best place and time available The minimum use of force necessary to achieve the desired result, while at all times striving to respect the dignity of the pupil. |
Last resort/ Early intervention
All restrictive practices, including CALM Physical Restraint should be used as a last resort. This does not mean that all other possible strategies must be tried and tested beforehand; it means that staff must make a considered judgement balancing the risks involved, thus allowing informed decisions to be made. Some pupils may have stereotypical patterns of behaviour which alert staff to a developing crisis. Early action may prevent a risk of injury, thus justifying the use of the physical intervention and this should be included in the pupil’s Risk Assessment. All staff may be made aware of this and of the procedures to follow to avert a crisis.
Using a CALM Physical Restraint
If a CALM Physical restraint is used staff must ask themselves the following questions:
All restrictive practices, including CALM Physical Restraint should be used as a last resort. This does not mean that all other possible strategies must be tried and tested beforehand; it means that staff must make a considered judgement balancing the risks involved, thus allowing informed decisions to be made. Some pupils may have stereotypical patterns of behaviour which alert staff to a developing crisis. Early action may prevent a risk of injury, thus justifying the use of the physical intervention and this should be included in the pupil’s Risk Assessment. All staff may be made aware of this and of the procedures to follow to avert a crisis.
Following an incident the priority is to look after the pupils and staff involved before reports are filled out and reviews held.
Debriefing/ Recovery
Pupils are assisted to recover from an incident by staff. Useful strategies to assist a pupil to recover should be identified in the pupil’s Risk Assessment. Staff may need to take a break from the site of the incident to recover. This time is afforded to them, particularly when dealing with a very stressful situation, by calling on support from an adjacent class. Ideally time should also be set aside at a later stage to carry out an Incident Review.
Incident Reports
Incident reports should be filled out by the staff after an incident. The following is a guide to what form to fill out and the criteria for recording. School management can also be contacted for guidance.
FORM | CRITERIA |
Incident Recording Form | Filled out and kept in class file for recording low level behaviours that do not result in any injury to staff or damage to property but are worthy of recording. |
Use of Single Separation Form | When Single Separation is used following all the guidelines outlined above. |
Use of CALM Form | When a CALM technique is used following all the guidelines outlined above. |
ABC Forms | Filled out as assessment tool for behaviours to identify patterns/functions of behaviour. Have varying formats. Used for analysis purposes only. |
ABC Forms | Filled out as assessment tool for behaviours to identify patterns/functions of behaviour. Have varying formats. Used for analysis purposes only. |
Challenging Behaviour Form | This is filled out when someone has received an injury as a direct result of challenging behaviour, when there has been a near miss of a significant incident that has the potential to be a risk to safety and/or significant damage to property. This form is filled out by staff and approved by the Principal. It is kept on file as per school guidelines for recording and keeping of information. The school refers it to HSA if the injured person is out of work for 3 or more consecutive days as a result of the injury. |
The best time to fill out an incident report is when the situation has settled and the pupil and staff have had time to recover. The report is signed by the Principal or Deputy Principal who will review the interventions used by staff, decide if any further action is required, to provide any further care or reassurance to pupils or staff, and to inform any future recommendations.
Risk Assessment Review
Following incidents where physical intervention has been used, the teacher and SNAs involved in the incident will meet with the Principal to review any existing Risk Assessments. Input from the psychologist will be sought where required. Any changes to risk assessments will be discussed with parents and, where a higher level of intervention is being sought, this must be approved by SMH PAMG.
The school seeks to engage positively with parents regarding all aspects of their pupil’s education, care and management. Parents of pupils who engage in high risk behaviours that challenge are prioritised for meetings/phone calls with the Principal or Deputy Principal. The school will endeavour to keep parents informed in a manner that is reasonable and in the best interests of their pupil. This will take the form of meetings, phone calls, home communication books or letters.
How to make a Complaint
Parents wishing to make complaint should in the first instance contact the Principal who will furnish the parent with a copy of the Complaints Procedure.
Staff wishing to make a complaint should in the first instance contact the Principal who will furnish the staff member with a copy of the Complaints Procedure.
Should the complaint concern the Principal, contact the Chairperson, Board of Management who will provide a copy of the Complaints Procedure.
A report will be made to each BOM meeting detailing the number of restrictive practices used since the last meeting.
The Principal conducts an annual audit of interventions used and sends it to CALM Headquarters, Scotland. Feedback from this yearly audit will be presented to the BOM and will be available to all staff and the clinical co-ordinator of the team attached to the school to view.
All stakeholders in the education of the pupils will take responsibility for implementing this policy.
The Board of Management ratified this policy on 6th February 2020. At the outset of the introduction of this policy, all parents/guardians will be informed about the policy. It is available to all parents on request and on the school website. Use of restrictive practices with specific pupils are detailed in their individualised School Positive Behaviour Support Plan and discussed with parent(s)/guardian(s) in advance. The consent of the parent(s)/guardian(s) is sought for PBSPs.
Chairperson, Board of Management
This Admission Policy complies with the requirements of the Education Act 1998, the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 and the Equal Status Act 2000. In drafting this policy, the board of management of the school has consulted with school staff, the school patron and with parents of children attending the school.
The policy was approved by the school patron on 9th June 2020. It is published on the school’s website and will be made available in hardcopy, on request, to any person who requests it.
The relevant dates and timelines for St. Michael’s House Special National School (SMH SNS), Raheny admission process are set out in the school’s annual admission notice which is published annually on the school’s website at least one week before the commencement of the admission process for the school year concerned.
This policy must be read in conjunction with the annual admission notice for the school year concerned.
The application form for admission is published on the school’s website and will be made available in hardcopy on request to any person who requests it.
2. CHARISTERISTIC SPIRIT AND GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE SCHOOLSt. Michael’s House School, Raheny is a special school under the Patronage of St. Michael’s House. The school supports the principles of:
The school is managed by the Board of Management (BOM) representative of the Patron, Parents/ Guardians, School staff and the community. |
SMH SNS will not discriminate in its admission of a student to the school on any of the following:
As per section 61 (3) of the Education Act 1998, ‘civil status ground’, ‘disability ground’, ‘discriminate’, ‘family status ground’, ‘gender ground’, ‘ground of race’, ‘religion ground’, ‘sexual orientation ground’ and ‘Traveller community ground’ shall be construed in accordance with section 3 of the Equal Status Act 2000.
SMH SNS, Raheny is a school which, with the approval of the Minister for Education and Skills, provides an education exclusively for students with a category or categories of special educational needs specified by the Minister, i.e. a moderate general learning disability, and does not discriminate in relation to the admission of a student who does not have the category of needs specified. |
SMH SNS, Raheny with the approval of the Minister for Education and Skills, provides an education exclusively for students whose primary assessed disability is Moderate General Learning Disability (GLD). The school is coeducational catering for students aged 4 to 18 years. The BOM is bound by the DES rules which provide that students may only be admitted from the age of 4 years and upwards, though compulsory attendance does not apply until the age of 6 years, and as per DES regulations, students leave school at the end of the school year in which they turn 18. To facilitate this age band, the range of classes extend from primary to post primary and are based on relevant and appropriate peer groupings. There is capacity for 8 classes in the school. There are currently 4 primary and 4 post primary classes. CATCHMENT AREAThe catchment area for this school is north of Collin’s Avenue, Donnycarney, Dublin 9; east of Swords Road, following onto the R132; south of R106, Swords, Co. Dublin; stretching to the east coastline. See attached map. GOVERNANCEThe school operates within the regulations as outlined in the Rules for National Schools and the relevant circulars and directives issued by the Department of Education and Skills (DES). It is funded by grants from the DES. The school is under the administration of the Primary / Special Education Sections of the Department of Education & Skills. Teachers, Special Needs Assistants, Ancillary Staff and Bus Escorts are funded by the DES. Additional staffing allocations are determined by the National Council for Special Education. SCHOOL ETHOSSMH SNS is a co-educational school for students with a moderate learning disability where the students are treated with dignity and respect and are enabled to participate, to the best of their ability, in an educational programme tailored to their individual needs to help support them to live a full and independent life within their families and their communities. SMH SNS is multi-denominational and welcomes students of all religions and none. There is no religious instruction provided. A values-based programme is integrated into the life and ethos of the school and seeks to promote respect, love, tolerance and caring for one another and our environment. CURRICULUMOur school is a stimulating centre of education where each person is cherished as an individual whose ability, potential and needs are recognised and nurtured. The curricular programmes provided by the school are adapted to meet the particular educational needs of each student and a variety of methodologies and strategies are adopted to maximise the students’ learning potential. The teachers, staff and multi-disciplinary team provide a challenging, sensitive and caring environment which fosters personal, social, academic development, independence and achievement. All students have an Individual Education Plan designed specifically for them. St. Michael’s House Special School, Raheny delivers the state curriculum under the Guidelines for students with Moderate General Learning Disabilities and where applicable, programmes that lead to ASDAN and/ or Junior Cycle Level 1 and Level 2 Awards. CLASSROOM CAPACITYClassroom capacity varies according to the range of needs of the children we are catering for at a particular time. As a result, class groups may vary in size depending on the number of students within a class presenting with additional needs. SCHOOL YEARThe school operates a school calendar for primary schools which is effective from the week of 1st September to the week of 30th June with traditional openings and closing at Summer, Christmas, Easter and Mid-terms as laid down and directed in Circulars issued by the DES regarding Standardisation of the School Year. SCHOOL MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM - SCHOOL AGE TEAM (SAT)In addition to fulfilling the formal role of School Patron, as required by the DES, St. Michael’s House, as part of PDS (Progressing Disability Services) provides clinical support to the school in the form of a multi-disciplinary team which combines the expertise from the fields of psychology, psychiatry, social work, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pediatrician and dietician. Access to the SAT is on a referral basis. Referrals are then prioritized by SAT and there can be a waiting list. New applicants may be discussed with the MDT team as part of the admissions process. Teaching and school staff collaborate with clinicians as appropriate to enhance the educational potential for students and where required to devise guidelines and programmes to maximise the student’s educational and social functioning. Please note successful applicants may not have automatic access to additional supports such as Special Needs Assistants (SNAs), bus escorts, clinical support or nursing staff. If a school place is offered, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the agency that processes applications for SNAs and bus escorts. The NCSE requires that a student’s need for access to such additional resources must be clearly outlined in the relevant professional reports. Decisions relating to clinical support will be made by the clinical team. |
This school shall admit each student seeking admission except where –
Note: The Code of Behaviour includes the Positive Behaviour Support & Use of Restrictive Practice Policy and a copy will be provided to parents.
SMH SNS provides an education exclusively for students whose primary assessed disability is Moderate General Learning Disability (GLD) and may refuse admission to a student, where the student does not have the specified category of special educational needs provided for by this school. An application will be valid when the documents listed below (see 1-4) have been received by the school by the final date for receipt of applications as published in the Annual Admissions notice.
** Used in case of oversubscription only Note: The school does not facilitate visits prior to the closing date of applications. However, an appointment will be made with parents/guardians whose children are being offered a place to view the school and to collect all documentation relating to the admissions process. |
In the event that the school is oversubscribed or exceeds the number of vacancies in an age/needs appropriate class within the school, the school will, when deciding on applications for admission, apply the following selection criteria in the order listed below to those applications that are received within the timeline for receipt of applications as set out in the school’s annual admission notice:
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In the event that there are two or more students tied for a place or places in any of the selection criteria categories above (the number of applicants exceeds the number of remaining places), the following arrangements will apply:
Priority will be given to applicants in order of age, prioritizing the youngest child, for each class age group, within the school. In the event that more than one student shares a date of birth, catchment will be used as the deciding criterion, with the child living closest to the school and therefore, availing of a shorter journey to and from school, as the determined by Google Maps, will be offered the school place. |
In accordance with section 62(7)(e) of the Education Act, the school will not consider or take into account any of the following in deciding on applications for admission or when placing a student on a waiting list for admission to the school:
The special educational needs of the student will be taken into account to ascertain that they have the assessed disability catered for in this school. This is subject to the application being received at any time during the period specified for receiving applications set out in the annual admission notice of the school for the school year concerned.This is also subject to the school making offers based on existing waiting lists (up until 31st January 2025 only). |
All decisions on applications for admission to SMH SNS, Raheny will be based on the following:
(Please see section 14 below in relation to applications received outside of the admissions period and section 15 below in relation to applications for places in years other than the intake group.)
Selection criteria that are not included in our school admission policy will not be used to make a decision on an application for a place in our school.
Applicants will be informed in writing as to the decision of the school, within the timeline outlined in the annual admissions notice.
If a student is not offered a place in our school, the reasons why they were not offered a place will be communicated in writing to the applicant, including, where applicable, details of the student’s ranking against the selection criteria and details of the student’s place on the waiting list for the school year concerned.
Applicants will be informed of the right to seek a review/right of appeal of the school’s decision (see section 18 below for further details).
In accepting an offer of admission from SMH SNS, you must indicate—
An offer of admission may not be made or may be withdrawn by SMH SNS, Raheny where—
Applicants should be aware that section 66(6) of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 allows for the sharing of certain information between schools in order to facilitate the efficient admission of students.
Section 66(6) allows a school to provide a patron or another Board of Management with a list of the students in relation to whom—
The list may include any or all of the following:
In the event of there being more applications to the school year concerned than places available, waiting lists of students whose applications for admission to SMH SNS, Raheny were unsuccessful due to the school being oversubscribed will be compiled and will remain valid for the school year in which admission is being sought. The waiting lists will be organised in accordance with the available spaces in an age/ needs appropriate class.
Placement on the waiting list of SMH SNS, Raheny is in the order of priority assigned to the students’ applications after the school has applied the selection criteria in accordance with this admission policy.
Offers of any subsequent places that become available for and during the school year in relation to which admission is being sought will be made to those students on the waiting list, in accordance with the order of priority in relation to which the students have been placed on the list.
All applications for admission received after the closing date as outlined in the annual admission notice will be considered and decided upon in accordance with our school’s admissions policy, the Education Admissions to School Act 2018 and any regulations made under that Act.
The procedures of the school in relation to the admission of students who are not already admitted to the school to classes or years other than the school’s intake group are as follows: Places will be offered to students where vacancies arise in age &/ needs appropriate classes throughout the school, priority given to youngest child, as per section 6. The procedures of the school in relation to the admission of students who are not already admitted to the school, after the commencement of the school year in which admission is sought, are as follows: Where a vacancy exists or becomes available in an age &/ needs appropriate class, the next suitable applicant on the waiting list will be offered the place. |
The board of SMH SNS, Raheny or any persons acting on its behalf will not charge fees for or seek payment or contributions (howsoever described) as a condition of-
There is no religious instruction programme in SMH SNS, Raheny.
Review of decisions by the Board of Management
The parent of the student, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, may request the board to review a decision to refuse admission. Such requests must be made in accordance with Section 29C of the Education Act 1998.
The timeline within which such a review must be requested and the other requirements applicable to such reviews are set out in the procedures determined by the Minister under section 29B of the Education Act 1998 which are published on the website of the Department of Education and Skills.
The board will conduct such reviews in accordance with the requirements of the procedures determined under Section 29B and with section 29C of the Education Act 1998.
Note: Where an applicant has been refused admission due to the school being oversubscribed, the applicant must request a review of that decision by the board of management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998.
Where an applicant has been refused admission due to a reason other than the school being oversubscribed, the applicant may request a review in writing of that decision by the board of management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998.
Please refer to DES Circular 0069/2020, New Arrangements and Procedures for Appeals under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 Effective from 12 November 2020 Onwards’ for DES procedures and timeframe on Section 29 Appeals.
Right of appealUnder Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, the parent of the student, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, may appeal a decision of this school to refuse admission.
An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1)(c)(i) of the Education Act 1998 where the refusal to admit was due to the school being oversubscribed.
An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1)(c)(ii) of the Education Act 1998 where the refusal to admit was due a reason other than the school being oversubscribed.
Where an applicant has been refused admission due to the school being oversubscribed, the applicant must request a review of that decision by the board of management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998. (see Review of decisions by the Board of Management)
Where an applicant has been refused admission due to a reason other than the school being oversubscribed, the applicant may request a review of that decision by the board of management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998. (see Review of decisions by the Board of Management)
Appeals under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 will be considered and determined by an independent appeals committee appointed by the Minister for Education and Skills.
The timeline within which such an appeal must be made and the other requirements applicable to such appeals are set out in the procedures determined by the Minister under section 29B of the Education Act 1998 which are published on the website of the Department of Education and Skills.
This policy was ratified by the Board of Management on 18th June 2020.John Lawless, Chairperson, Board of Managemnet
A copy of the school’s Admission Policy and the Application Form for Admission for the 2021 – 2022 school year is available as follows: – To download at: www.smhraheny.net On request: By emailing rahenyschool@smh.ie or writing to: St. Michael’s House Special National School, Raheny Road, Raheny, Dublin 5. |
Application and Decision Dates for admission to 2021 – 2022 school year
The following are the dates applicable for admission to this school:
The school will commence accepting applications for admission on | 9th November 2020 |
The school shall cease accepting applications for admission on | 22nd January 2021 |
The date by which applicants will be notified of the decision on their application is | 12th February 2021 |
The period within which applicants must confirm acceptance of an offer of admission is | From date of offer to 26th February 2021 |
Note: the school will consider and issue decisions on late applications in accordance with the school’s admission policy.
Failure to accept an offer within the prescribed period above may result in the offer being withdrawn
The number of places being made available in junior school is | 2** (4-6 year old’s only) |
The number of places being made available in senior school is | 0 |
**subject to change, depending on category of disability of child being offered a place.
Information regarding the admission process for the Intake Group for the 2020 - 2021 school year |
In respect of the 2020 - 2021 school year, the total number of applications for admission received by the school was 27.
Number of places available: | 2 |
Number of applications received: | 27 |
Number of Offers made and accepted under each criteria: |
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Total number of offers made | 2 |
Number of names placed on waiting list for the school year concerned. | 9 |
Information on this form was correct at time of publication.
St. Michael’s House Special National School (SMH SNS) Raheny is designated by the Department of Education and Skills as a school for students with moderate general learning disability.
This Code of Behaviour was drawn up in consultation with the school community to ensure that school policy is compliant with legal requirements and good practice as set out in the “Developing Code of Behaviour Guidelines for Schools” (NEWB 2008), Children First – National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2011), DES Circular 0061/2006 and St. Michael’s House Positive Behaviour Support Policy.
The intellectual ability, stage of development and understanding of the student will be borne in mind at all times in relation to their behaviour in school.
Our school aims to foster self-esteem, confidence and a positive image, thus enabling our pupils to become valued and valuable members of their communities. We believe that pupils must be guided towards positive, responsible self-behaviour if they are to achieve their potential in all aspects of their development. We expect the highest standard of behaviour possible in this school. We will strive to engender good behaviour in a caring and positive environment.
The school actively encourages pupils to become involved in processes to avoid conflict and to find solutions to conflict. We have been gradually introducing Restorative Practice which allows the participants to become active participants in the process and to find solutions to the situations that are causing conflict. Promoting a sense of equality and fair play is essential when developing strategies for resolving conflict
Our Code of Behaviour will be most effective where there is respect, openness and co-operation between staff, parents, guardians and pupils. We will maintain a close working relationship with all partners to ensure that the Code is understood by all and thereby works for the personal and social development of every pupil.
The aims of the code of behaviour are:
It is the responsibility of school management and staff along with pupils and their parents to work together to create a positive school climate that will support and promote good behaviour. In achieving this objective each partner has their own role and responsibilities.
Board of Management (BOM)
The Board of Management has overall responsibility for the preparation and review of the Code of Behaviour and the fair and consistent implementation of the Code of Behaviour. All serious matters regarding behaviour must be reported to the Board of Management.
Principal
The Principal has final responsibility for the day-to day running of the school. He/ she ensures that the implementation of sanctions is fair, equitable and appropriate. Any concerns with regard to behavioural issues must be reported to the Principal.
Deputy Principal
The Deputy Principal supports the Principal in the implementation of the Code of Behaviour. In the absence of the Principal he/she acts for the Principal.
School Staff – Teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs)
All teachers are responsible for discipline within his/her classroom as well as the orderly assembly and dismissal of his/her class at break time and at the end of the day. Pupils are never left unsupervised in St. Michael’s House Special National School, Raheny between 09:30 a.m. and 03:10 p.m. Teachers make pupils aware of the school rules at the beginning of each school year. Teachers of older classes guide pupils towards the agreement of class rules at the beginning of the school year. Any sanctions for minor behaviour are dealt with by the class teacher. Teachers are also responsible for reporting concerns regarding pupils’ behaviour to the Principal as they occur.
SNAs liaise with and support the teacher at all times in the maintenance of discipline and a calm working environment in the classroom. They assist pupils in their care needs to enable them to work successfully to the best of their ability. All new members of staff are made aware of the Code of Behaviour when they come to the school. Matters relating to the Code of Behaviour can be discussed at all staff meetings, but especially at the first staff meeting of the year.
Parents
On enrolment of their child, a copy of the Code of Behaviour will be given to parents. Parents are requested to support the school staff in keeping the rules of the school. This can be done by:
The staff of our school always welcomes the opportunity to discuss with parents, any behavioural problem that may arise from time to time. With mutual respect, trust and goodwill these occasional problems are readily solved.
The most effective methodology in attempting to manage behaviour that might challenge is to try to prevent it happening in the first place. All members of the school community are expected to behave in ways that show respect for others. Behaviour will reflect values such as respect, kindness, courtesy, fairness, forgiveness, respectful ways of resolving difficulties and conflict. Standards are also a way of signalling the kinds of behaviours that are not acceptable in the school e.g. behaviour that is hurtful, demeaning, behaviour that interferes with teaching and learning or is threatening and/or causes physical hurt to other pupils and/or staff.
Promoting high standards of behaviour is the central aim of this code of behaviour. Teachers, staff and the wider school community employ a range of strategies for promoting good behaviour at class and at school level. Students are more likely to behave well when they understand why the code is important and their part in making it work. They need to see that the code works in a fair manner. A code of behaviour works well when there are good relationships between teachers, SNAs, students, parents and the wider school community.
Co-operation and communication with parents/guardians/respite carers is seen as an important factor in encouraging positive behaviour. The following models of communication are used at all levels within the school:
A whole school approach will help to create, maintain and foster a positive school climate that will support and promote good behaviour. We aim to achieve this by:
Good behaviour is encouraged and promoted in the school by the factors listed below. All of these strategies will be implemented in the classroom, on the school bus, in the playground and on school related activities within the community.
School Rules
The school rules are kept to a minimum and are positively stated in terms of what the students should do:
Class Rules
Each teacher will develop class rules with the students, reflecting the school rules, in a language and manner appropriate to the age and stage of development of the students, embracing the concept of FAIRNESS, to reflect Restorative Practices. Class rules are displayed in the classroom and referred to regularly. Award systems are used to encourage good behaviour. We recognise that students in our school may need to be taught how to relate cause and effects of behaviour in more tangible ways, e.g. through the use of pictures, charts, film or role play. We also recognise that students use a variety of approaches to internalise and learn new skills. Students will be encouraged, praised and listened to at all times by the adults in the school. Praise is earned by maintenance of good standards of behaviour as well as by particular noteworthy personal achievement. Rates of praise for behaviour should be as high as for academic work.
Activities to encourage Positive Behaviours
Incentives / Praise / Positive Strategies
The following are some examples of how incentives / praise may be given to students
Regular attendance in school helps a student to make and maintain friendships and be fully included in the life of the school. Parents are required to notify the school if a student is absent for any reason.
The procedures to be followed by parents in relation to a student’s absence are:
The school co-operates fully with the requirements of the Education Welfare Act in reporting students attendance and absences from school.
Responding to inappropriate behaviour in school
Incidents of misbehaviour are classed as minor, serious and gross. Minor incidents are generally dealt with by the class team. Serious breaches of school rules will be notified to the school principal. Gross breaches of behaviour may lead to the suspension or expulsion of the student and will only be applied in consultation with the Chairperson and/or the Board of Management.
Sanctions
The purpose of sanctions is to bring about a change of behaviour by
Sanctions will be proportionate to the behaviour and will be in accordance with the level of understanding of the student. It is important to note that this school recognises that an insistence on an apology is not always necessary, required, helpful after an incident of misbehaviour, as this may escalate a situation, and is not always within the level of understanding of the pupils.
Strategies/ Sanctions for minor misbehaviour may include:
Pupils will not be deprived of any part of the curriculum except on the grounds of health and safety.
Serious Misbehaviour
From time to time, parents and staff can find some behaviour difficult and stressful to address. There are times when a student presents with behaviours that cause concern for their well-being and sometimes their safety and/or the safety of others. Examples of serious misbehaviour include behaviour that is hurtful and/or offensive (including bullying, harassment, discrimination and victimisation) to others and spitting. Any staff member who deals with an incident of inappropriate behaviour must report to/ consult with the class teacher. An account of these incidents will be recorded on the school’s Significant Incident Report. Parents should be informed of serious incidents of unacceptable behaviour.
When the usual strategies are not effective, behaviours are analysed using the antecedent-behaviour-consequences (ABC) checklist which examines:
This type of assessment enables staff to make adjustments to the environment, to the programme or teaching strategies. Data on behaviour may be shared with members of the Multi-disciplinary Team (MDT) in order to seek advice on how best to address the behaviour and needs of the child. An individualised behaviour programme / plan may be put in place to support the student. When put in place, such plans must be adhered to and reviewed regularly, staff must be aware of these plans and be familiar with implementation guidelines.
In exceptional circumstances, a shorter school day may be introduced to allow a student become accustomed to school routines and expectations. The plan will be shared with school staff and parents/guardians to try to ensure consistent implementation. The plan will be monitored by the principal and school team to ensure its effectiveness.
To pre-empt incidents of misbehaviour on yard, our whole school approach focuses on RESPECT– respect for yourself, respect for others, respect for the environment. We encourage pupils to take responsibility should they accidentally hurt another child, thus showing respect for that individual.
Incidents of misbehaviour on the yard will be dealt with by the teacher on duty in the first instance. The teacher on duty who notices misbehaviour will do the following;
A small number of students engage in physically challenging behaviour at times. While staff make every effort to anticipate such incidents and to de-escalate the situation quickly, there are times when a behaviour intervention is required. Staff have been trained in using CALM techniques which may be used to maintain the safety of a student or others. Parents will be informed if it has been necessary to use CALM techniques to help a student regain control and regulate their behaviour.
Gross Misbehaviour
Where serious behaviours of concern continue to disrupt the smooth running of the school and/or threaten the safety of others, a student may be suspended or have their school day reduced to protect the welfare of others.
Serious assault that causes injury to others, or that has the potential to cause serious harm or damage, will be considered gross misbehaviour and may lead to immediate suspension. A single incident may constitute gross misbehaviour. Such incident(s) will be brought to the attention of the Board of Management and the appropriateness of the placement for the student may need to be reviewed. The incident will be investigated to determine the appropriate response from the school.
In the most serious incidents, expulsion may be considered. This measure will only be used as a last resort. The Board of Management will ensure that:
Suspension
For the purposes of this document, suspension is defined as:
"Requiring the student to absent him/herself from the school for a specified, limited period of school days" (Developing a Code of Behaviour: A Guide to Schools NEWB 2008)
Before serious sanctions such as suspension/expulsion are used, communication between the school and parents will take place. Suspension will be in accordance with Rules for National Schools and the Education Welfare Act 2000.
During the period of suspension, the student retains their place in the school. The Board of Management has the authority to suspend and this authority has been delegated to the principal. This authority, however, has limits, for example the Board of Management of SMH SNS has given approval to the Principal to suspend a pupil for a period of three school days, where a BOM meeting cannot be called in a timely fashion.
The grounds for suspension include:
The principal may consider an immediate suspension to be necessary where the continued presence of the student in the school at the time would represent a serious threat to the safety of others. Parents / guardians may be requested to collect a student from school during the day if their continued presence constitutes a threat. Parents/guardians may be asked to keep a student home from school for a number of days and this form of suspension will be notified to parents/guardians by the principal.
All suspensions, for whole days or part of a day will be recorded by the principal and reported to the BOM.
When any sanction, including suspension, is completed, a student will be given the opportunity and support for a fresh start. The school will arrange, where possible, for a member of staff to provide support to the student during the re-integration process.
Procedures in respect to Suspension
The procedural steps will include:
Expulsion
Expulsion may be considered in an extreme case. A student is expelled from school when the BOM makes a decision to permanently exclude him/her from the school. The BOM has the authority to expel a student. Expulsion of a student will only be undertaken in extreme cases of gross misconduct that seriously disrupts the smooth and safe running of the school. This measure will generally only be undertaken after every effort has been made to support, help and address behaviours of concern so as to avoid the expulsion. However, a single serious assault on another person may be considered grounds for expulsion.
Before the expulsion of a student, the BOM will notify the local Education Welfare Office in writing in accordance with Section 24 of the Education Welfare Act 2000.
Procedures in respect of Expulsion
The procedural steps will include:
Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, gives parents (and students over the age of 18) the right to appeal decisions made by the BOM to the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills. Appeals must be lodged within 42 calendar days from the date the decision has been notified to parents.
A system of Record Keeping/Monitoring/Recording behaviour will be implemented throughout the school. This will enable the school to balance subjective opinion with factual information about what is actually happening and to review triggers or patterns of behaviour over time. It will use consistent terminology. Regular monitoring will:
A record system will allow the school to track an individual student’s behaviour and to check whether efforts to change behaviour are working. All interventions aimed at helping the student to deal with unacceptable behaviour will be recorded, including contact with parents or referral to clinicians. Positive responses by a student and evidence of changed behaviour will also be recorded, as will any sanction used, together with the reason why the sanction was imposed. These records, along with copies of all communication with parents/ guardians will be retained in the pupils files, which are kept in the secretary’s office. Class teachers shred personal records at the end of each year. Parents and students will be made aware that a record is being kept and will have access to the information at all times. All reports will be managed within the school in accordance with our Data Protection Policy.
The principal will monitor all records and will make an annual report to the Board of Management.
This policy should be read in conjunction with the following policies:
The school will be happy to discuss any concerns a parent/guardian may have about behaviour or about any aspect of the Code of Behaviour. The school will provide parents with a copy of the code and will require parents to sign up to supporting the code prior to the enrolment of a student.
This policy was reviewed in January 2019 and ratified by the Board of BOM on -------------.
Signed: ………………………………………….
Chairperson, BOM
Date for review: ………………………………………..
This was evaluated through teacher questionnaires, audits of resources and assessments and through discussion at staff meetings. There was broad agreement on the issues below.
Areas of Strength: Numeracy |
Areas for Development |
|
|
Skill |
Not Addressed |
In Progress |
Achieved |
Understands that money pays for goods | Grad.-1 | J.1-2 j.2-2 j.3-2 Gr.-1 |
Rec.-1 J.1-4 J.2-3 J.3-4 S.1-7 S.2-7 S.3- S.4-5 Gr.-5 |
Sorts & matches coins | Rec.-4 J.1-1 J.3-1 S.4-2 |
Rec.-1 J.1-5 J.2-2 J.3-2 S.1-4 S.£-2 Gr.-1 |
Rec.-1 J.1-4 J.2-3 J.3-3 S.1-3 S.2-7 S.3-4 S.4-4 Gr.-6 |
Recognises coins & notes | Rec.-6 J.1-1 J.3-1 S.4-2 Gr.-1 |
J.1-6 J.2-5 J.3-2 S.1-7 S.2-1 S.3-6 Gr.-4 |
J.3-3 S.2-6 S.4-4 Gr.-6 |
Uses correct vocabulary | Rec.-6 J.1-6 J.2-2 J.3-2 S.4-2 Gr.-1 |
J.2-3 J.3-3 S.1-7 S.2-2 S.3-6 S.4-1 Gr.-5 |
S.2-5 S.4-3 Gr.-1 |
Calculates simple bills | Rec.-6 J.1-1 J.2-5 J.3-4 S.1-5 S.4-2 Gr.-1 |
J.1-5 J.3-2 S.1-2 S.2-1 S.3-4 |
S.2-6 S.4-1 Gr.-1 |
Uses a savings account | J.1-6 J.3-6 |
Rec.-2 J.2-3 S.1-4 S.4-4 Gr.3 |
Student Voice Survey Interview 4th June 2015
6 students present (Senior 1 to Senior 4 classes)
Do you like money?
All replied yes for the following
What is money for?
Do you save any money?
Improvement Targets |
Required Actions |
Success Criteria |
Persons Responsible |
Time frame for actions |
All Pupils will have an Numeracy IEP target based on money. | Agee a smart money target for each child | Raising of competency with money based /money related skills. | Teacher + Parents | Sept - June |
Teachers will use CAT for assessment & planning. | CAT template to be accessed from shared folder. | Completion of assessments | D.P. | Sept. 2015 onwards for money skills; Sept 2016 for all of Numeracy curriculum |
Pupils will get regular money based home work. | Teachers will devise and agree on a homework policy. | Raising of competency with money based /money related skills. | Teachers & parents | November onwards |
School tuck shop to be held once a week. | Agree & purchase stock & pricing, reflecting levels of ability. Rotate duty around classes. | Conduction of monetary transactions by all pupils. | Teachers | Seniors- Jan 2015, Juniors- Sept 2015. |
Teachers to get Numicon training | Teachers to access CPD summer course in Numicon. | July 2015 onwards |
Year |
Literacy: Oral Language |
Numeracy: Money |
2013-14 | Pupils will improve their Oral Language performance | |
2014-15 | Pupil profile folders to be set up which will include informal assessment targets in Oral language & communication. Reading programme Edmark to begin in Senior school | Permanent teaching staff to complete Numicon training. Basic numeracy resources to be purchased over next number of years. CAT to be used as a planning & assessment tool. Tuck shop to be held on weekly basis. Credit Union banking to run on a weekly basis. IEPs to contain a numeracy target. Money homework to be given weekly. To review School Numeracy Policy. |
2016-17 | Standardised assessment to be administered. | Computing money? |
2016-17 | Debit cards for senior pupils? Class piggybanks? | |
2017-18 | ||
2018-19 | ||
2019-20 |
This policy was formulated as a result of a consultative approach between the School Principal and School Staff of St. Michael’s House Special National School (SMH SNS) with the intention of providing a clear plan regarding how class staff allocations and pupil placements* are decided. This plan is considered to be essential for the school to meet both individual needs and also to ensure the overall well-being of our pupils and staff.
This policy will also provide parents with information regarding the decision-making process involved in placing their child in a particular class and as it outlines the factors that are taken into consideration when creating class groups in SMH SNS.
*In this policy, ‘class allocation’ refers to assigning staff to classes and ‘class placement’ refers to placing pupils in class groupings.
SMH SNS is committed to providing an individualised education programme for each pupil with the intention of enabling children to reach their full potential. Through a considered approach, the School Principal aims to balance the individual strengths and needs of each pupil with the strengths and needs of each child's class grouping and also with those of the whole school community. The School Principal also aims to allocate staff to classes and place children in class groupings in such a way that enables Teachers and Special Needs Assistants to support children in their learning in the best way possible. Provision is also made, where possible, to provide for the professional development of school staff by supporting a variety of teaching experiences.
This policy ensures that school staff and parents have a clear understanding of how decisions in relation to class placements are reached when the School Principal is considering in which class to place each child. This policy outlines the transparent consultative process conducted by the School Principal with school staff to gain the input of those working directly with each child.Information is sought regarding each child's individual and collective strengths and needs as they are divided into class groupings. The intention of this policy is also to reassure parents that their child's individual needs are taken into consideration by the School Principal during the planning of class placements with the aim of ensuring that all children benefit from a happy school life.
This policy aims to:
The pupil/teacher ratios and staffing allocations of Teachers and Special Needs Assistants made available to the school by the Department of Education and Skills and the National Council for Special Education are considered to be a significant factor when determining class placements for pupils and staff.
The allocation of teaching and assisting duties within the school is a matter for the School Principal. However, it is the policy of the school to, where possible, reach collective agreement and consensus when distributing teaching and assisting duties.
“The School Principal is responsible for the creation, together with the Board, parents of students and the teachers, of a school environment which is supportive of learning among the students and which promotes the professional development of the teachers”. (Education Act – Section 23)
The School Principal facilitates this process in a fair and equitable way by consulting with staff in the following ways:
SMH SNS currently has nine special classes. In the third term of each year, all Teachers and Special Needs Assistants are requested to complete the Consultation Re. Class Preference Form in which they list the classes that they would prefer to be assigned to for the coming year in order of preference.
When allocating classes, it is preferable for collective agreement to be reached with options such as deferring a move for a year being considered and additional professional development undertaken.
In deciding on allocations, the School Principal will allocate classes according to the Consultation Re Class Preference Form completed by school staff. The School Principal will also take other factors into account when making these decisions such as:
Some teachers may have larger classes than colleagues. This normally ‘evens itself out’ over a number of years, so that an equitable workload is achieved.
Class allocation relies heavily on compromise and consensus. If this is not possible to reach, the School Principal will make an informed decision based on suitability, experience (whether a particular teacher has had the class before), special talents, courses taken and what is in the best interests of the children concerned. An interview is not held for the purpose of allocating classes.
Class allocation is usually completed by the end of June. However, in the case of temporary staff who are not CID holders, allocations will be made following appointment.
A great deal of thought goes into placing children in classes each year. The process is also time- consuming, as the School Principal focuses on each child’s needs. Every effort is made to place each child in a learning environment where they will be most successful. This learning environment incorporates several factors.
The School Principal uses the following criteria when compiling classes. This criterion is used to inform decision-making on an individual and collective basis with the aim of ensuring a balance in the overall needs of pupils across classes. This criteria is used in conjunction with the criteria ‘balance of needs’ that is contained in the SMH SNS Admissions Policy.
This policy is intended to inform parents of the placement procedures already in place at SMH SNS. The following section addresses parents’ questions regarding those procedures by providing responses to typical questions posed by parents.
How are children placed in classes?
Each year, the Principal and Deputy Principal meet to look at pupil placement. Teachers will be consulted, particularly if there have been challenges in the class in any given year. This information is then used by the School Principal to inform her decision-making regarding the compilation of class lists.
Parents of existing pupils are informed of their child’s class, teacher’s name, SNAs names and the Christian names of the other children in the class in the form of a social story that can be read to their child throughout the summer, in preparation for the new academic year.
Throughout this process, changes and adjustments are made. Each time a change is made it can cause a chain reaction of other changes.
Due to all of the points mentioned above, the final decision on pupil placements needs to rest with the School Principal. This is necessary, as the School Principal is the only person who is in possession of all of the information regarding every child’s needs and can therefore take an overall view of what is best across all classes.
My child is NEW to SMH SNS. How does the school place a child when they don’t know him/her as well as the other pupils?
Through the admission process, the School Principal is already aware of a significant amount of information in relation to each pupil, i.e. information gained from the professional reports submitted prior to the closing date for admission for the following September.
Further information is gained by the school when new pupils are invited to the school for a transition visit to see the building and meet some of our school staff. The school principal will have the opportunity to observe the child on this visit and parents will be asked if there is any additional information that the school should know to assist in placing the child in their class for the coming year.
When will I know my child’s class placement?
Most parents will know their child’s placement by the end of June. However, where new staff have to be appointed, parents will be informed as soon as is practicably possible.
Can I request a particular Teacher and/or Special Needs Assistant for my child either in writing or in discussion with the School Principal and/or my child’s present Teacher?
You may, if you give the specific reasons, in writing before June. However, parents are requested to please remember that there are no guarantees that all requests can be granted.
Parents should be reassured by the fact that all staff, who know their child and have been working with them on a daily basis, are consulted by the School Principal as part of the decision-making process.The School Principal will always endeavour to match the individual needs of each pupil with the best possible class placement for every child. However, whilst parents may have reasons for their child to be placed in a particular class, they are not privy to the individual needs of the other pupils in SMH SNS and therefore, are not in a position to make the best decision for the overall needs of each class. It is considered to be essential that the needs of all children are considered equally and it is the remit of the School Principal to examine the multiple factors, as per earlier criteria, regarding pupil placements.
Can I request my child’s class is placed with another child in a class? Or, can I request my child NOT be placed with another particular child?
Consideration is given to attachments/friendships that a pupil may have formed during the year and this is part of the placement criteria that the School Principal refers to when compiling class lists. We are very aware of how important it is to foster and support ‘buddies’/friendships among our pupils in every way possible. Equally, if a child has repeated difficulty with another pupil, the School Principal will try to separate non-constructive relationships in as far as is practicably possible.
Do teachers request that certain pupils are placed in their class?
No. Teachers are concerned about their class balance. Teachers want their colleagues to have successful years with their pupils. Additionally, Teachers are expected to be able to meet the needs of a variety of pupils and adapt to changes from year to year.
When I get my child’s class placement, will it be changed?
The vast majority of pupils remain in their assigned class, however, it may be necessary to move children to ensure the safety, well-being and happiness of all pupils is maintained and all pupils have the best opportunity to maximise their opportunities for learning.
Parents are advised that moving a pupil may cause a chain reaction within the class balance and it may be necessary to move other children to ensure that the overall needs of everyone are best met. While we always consider the individual child, parents must realise that their child is part of a complex equation in school placements. So, a degree of flexibility and trust is requested of Parents in relation to changes in pupil placements.
If a parent has concerns about their child’s class placement or that their child is moved class, they may talk to the School Principal about any concerns and be assured that those concerns will be shared with the Teacher so that your child’s anxieties will be addressed. Teachers are expected to have the skills to help our pupils’ transition and subsequently, adjust to their new class and staff and by working together we can try to create the right environment so that all our pupils can be happy in school.
Finally, we want to stress to parents that all information about their child is valued and heard. Teachers want to construct the smoothest transitions possible for their pupils. Parents can also help by being as positive and encouraging as possible to their children during the transition process to a new class, which impacts pupil, parent and teacher a great deal
The Blue, Yellow, Red and Green Rooms are located together on the ‘Junior Corridor’ downstairs. Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter Classes are located together on the Senior Corridor. Graduation Class and the Number 1 Room are located at the far end of the Senior Corridor.
In as far as is practicably possible, classes following similar curriculum will be located together in the school building.
All staff, under the guidance of the School Principal, participates in and contributes to the implementation of an effective and equitable class allocation policy. Grievances are dealt with at school level by the School Principal and will only transfer to the Board if a compromise cannot be reached.
The school evaluates the success of the policy through;
A review will be conducted based on the success criteria outlined, or where consensus and compromise is not achieved.
This policy was ratified by the Board of Management on 6th February 2020. A copy has been given to all staff members and can be accessed in the secretary’s office. Parents can access this policy on the school website