Additional Educational Needs
St. Conleth's Community College is a multi-denominational post-primary school. The school caters for approximately 500 students from Newbridge town and surrounding areas. St. Conleth’s CC offers programmes such as the Junior Cycle, the JC with the JCSP, the L2LP, the Leaving Certificate Established, the Leaving Certificate Applied and the LCVP. The school also has an ASD unit, which has a maximum intake at present.
School Mission Statement
St. Conleth’s Community College provides a positive learning environment that encourages and enables our students to achieve their academic potential while fostering personal development. The principal aim of supporting students with special education needs in St. Conleth’s Community College is to provide a positive learning environment which will foster their academic, social and emotional development and to enable each student to realise their individual potential. In line with our ETBI ethos and the Department of Education and Skills recommendations, learning support strategies will actively seek to include its students' diverse range of cultures and abilities.
We have a team of dedicated teachers and an AEN coordinator who work in the area of learning support and resources to help students who may have difficulty accessing the curriculum due to learning needs.
Every effort is made to allow students with learning difficulties to access the curriculum fully. It must be noted that this support should be considered in tandem with the relevant DES circulars, the ‘Rules and Programmes for Secondary Schools’ and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) Guidelines, NEPS Continuum of Support, using the ‘Education for Persons with Special Education Needs Act’ 2004 (EPSEN), Education Act 1998, Education Welfare Act 2002, Disability Act 2005 as a framework.
Categorisation of AEN:
The school categorises special educational needs in line with current descriptions outlined in the EPSEN Act 2004 and Circular 007/2014. These are detailed as follows:
Low
- Physical Disability
- Hearing Impairment
- Visual Impairment
- Emotional Disturbance
- Severe Emotional Disturbance
- Moderate General Learning Disability
- Severe/Profound General Learning Disability
- Autism/Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Specific Speech and Language Disorder
- Down Syndrome
- Multiple Disorders
- Disability arising from an assessed syndrome
High Incidence
- Mild/Borderline General Learning Disability
- Specific Learning Disability
Students where English is an addition language (EAL) along with students with exceptional ability are identified and additional support may be offered if resources allow.
If you feel that your son/daughter will need some support from the Additional Educational Needs team, please feel free to contact the school.