Sostenibilidad Social

In schools where a home-school-community liaison co-ordinator has been appointed, the services of the co-ordinator can be employed in a manner that provides support to parents of students with special educational needs. The home-school-community liaison co-ordinator can help with the work of the special educational needs support team and collaborate with other members of the staff in relation to individual students and groups of students. For example, the co-ordinator may facilitate the establishment of a support group for parents whose children have special educational needs.

3.11 Parents

Article 42.1 of the Constitution of Ireland acknowledges that the family is the primary and natural educator of the child and recognises the right of parents to provide for the religious, moral, intellectual, physical and social education of their children. Both the Education Act (1998) and the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act (2004) affirm the central role of parents in the education of their children. Schools should endeavour to involve parents in their children’s education, provide them with relevant information about the choices that are available, and support them in decision-making. Schools should provide parents with information about the enrolment policy and other policies relating to special educational needs. In deciding on a post- primary school for their child, parents should be given opportunities to visit the school to meet the personnel and to obtain information about facilities and provision.

3.11.1 Parents and transition to and transfer from post-primary school

Students transferring to post-primary school face a range of challenges, including becoming familiar with and adjusting to a new building and to working with their new teachers and becoming accustomed to the longer day, to membership of a class with students they have not met before, to a greater number of subjects, and often to an increase in the amount of homework. The quality of a child’s experience in making the transition to post-primary education can be a determinant of how well they will settle in school and even of how long they will remain in formal education. Parents can provide valuable support to a child with special educational needs while the child is making the transition. The provision within the school of advice for the parents of first- year students can make a positive contribution to helping them provide positive support to their child. Schools can provide this support to parents by

• organising an open day for new students and their parents before the start of the school year

• issuing an information booklet for new students and their parents

• providing information to parents to assist them in helping their child choose subjects in first year

• informing parents about the range of extracurricular activities available for first-year students so that the parents can encourage their child to participate

• having an effective anti-bullying policy (including a “buddy” system) and, as appropriate, keeping parents informed of issues related to bullying that might affect their child. Parents can also play a significant role in arranging for the transfer of their child to a post-school setting at the end of post-primary education. This is likely to be either another educational establishment or a training centre. The parents may consult relevant members of the school staff (particularly the guidance counsellor) and the SENO in relation to making application for admission to an appropriate setting. Schools can help parents through the IEP process and by making relevant information available to the new setting, as appropriate.

3.11.2 Parents and the transmission of information

The parents of a child with special educational needs can provide valuable information to the school in relation to their child’s learning difficulties, learning differences, and learning preferences. Schools are advised to seek relevant professional reports on students with special educational needs from parents before the enrolment of such a student. This information enables the school to begin to plan for the inclusive education of the child. The provision by parents of access for the school staff to professional reports is critical to collaborative planning for a student with special educational needs, including the drawing up of an individual education plan for the student.

3.11.3 Parents and the individual education plan

The planning of successful learning experiences for students with special educational needs can be significantly enhanced by the contribution of parents. Parents can shed valuable light on their child’s strengths, needs, learning differences, and learning styles, and they can play an active part in the development, implementation and review of their child’s individual education plan. The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act bestows a number of specific rights on parents in relation to their involvement in individual education plans for their children. These rights are outlined in other sections of these Guidelines. Detailed guidelines for schools in relation to Individual Education Plans are provided by the NCSE.

3.11.4 Parents and home-school links

Schools are advised to provide parents with regular reports on the progress of their child. A home- school notebook for weekly or daily home-school communication is used successfully in some schools. Face to face communication is facilitated through the regular parent-teacher meetings that are held once or twice per year. Schools are advised to be open to arranging additional meetings as necessary or at the request of parents. Special arrangements may need to be made with the parents in relation to the homework that each individual student with special educational needs is expected to undertake.

Parents help the school by keeping the teachers informed of the progress, or the difficulties, they observe in their child’s learning as they progress through the various stages of post-primary school. Parents also assist their child by showing an interest in their school work and by arranging an appropriate place at home for them in which to do homework. By familiarising themselves with the approaches taken in school, parents provide more effective support for their children at home and can assist them in the practice and reinforcement of new skills.