Special Needs

Newpark is a mainstream comprehensive school with a commitment to mixed ability classes. The school has a policy of integration and inclusion of students with special educational needs. This policy enriches the educational experience of the student population at large.

SEN is coordinated in Newpark by a Learning Resource Department. The Department of Education & Skills is responsible for allocating teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNA) to the Learning Resource Department of Newpark – their numbers fluctuating on a yearly basis depending on the number of students requiring support at any given time. Any decision on the numbers of teachers or SNA’s or  teaching hours allocated to special needs education are made by the Department of Education and Skills, not Newpark itself.  There is an overall co-ordinator for the Resource Department and key workers are assigned to all year groups.  Newpark always seeks to employ teachers with a qualification in SEN whenever possible and to facilitate the training of existing staff.

Newpark Resource Department believes that a successful transfer programme from the primary to post-primary learning experience is a key ingredient to the successful inclusion of students with SEN in Newpark.   When applying for a place in Newpark, students are asked to identify if they have any learning difficulties or indicate if they are in receipt of resource hours at primary level.

If eligible under the strict guidelines issued by the Department of Education and Skills, students are then allocated extra support such as resource hours, learning support with access to small-group or one-to-one teaching or the support of an SNA.

Each resource student at Newpark is then assigned a key worker. The key worker is responsible for organising the resources that students need, timetabling additional teaching and directing their SNA where applicable.  Newpark recommends that some students with SEN should learn to type and consider using a laptop computer as they progress through the school.  Many students with SEN have difficulty organising their books and homework and Newpark’s Resource Department has handouts available with helpful hints for parents on preparing incoming students for the transition from primary to secondary school.