The Special Education Support Service (SESS) is presenting a modular course which will provide professional development for Resource, Learning Support and Guidance teachers in identifying students with additional learning needs and in planning focused and purposeful interventions to meet the needs of such learners at post primary level

Expected Outcomes

Having completed this course each participant will:

• Be familiar with a variety of  uses for  assessment at post primary level
• Be familiar with the terminology used in assessment
• Understand the importance of assessment as a continuous, school wide undertaking
• Understand the advantages and limitations of various forms of assessment
• Understand  the information given in formal reports – psychological, speech & language
• Explore a range strategies  to help create focused and purposeful teaching interventions based on a broad range of assessments
• Be introduced to the concept of provision-mapping and the importance of self-evaluation in the relation to Assessment within their school
• Have received in-school support in the area of assessment
• Have implemented at least one of the strategies given to them and presented their results and findings to the other members of their group

Course Content

Module One: Two Day Seminar

• An overview of assessment at post primary level; its propose and the terminology used
• The importance of a broad range of  Assessment Tools
• Assessment workshop
• Looking at Assessment to create focused and purposeful interventions – School Assessment & Psychological Assessment
• Using Assessment to create focused and purposeful interventions – Speech and Language Assessments
• Planning to create inclusive learning

Module Two: School Visit

SESS will supplement the initial two-day course by providing school visits to course participants, and their colleagues if required, to support the school in reviewing their own procedures around assessment

Module Three: Evening Seminar

Having completed the other elements of the course, participants will attend a two-hour evening seminar where they will share practice and give a five minute presentation on one aspect of their work in assessment during the year

Information for Applicants

Participants will require permission from the Board of Management to attend. Typically, substitution for this seminar will only be allowed to classroom teachers who have prime responsibility for students with a special educational need and if it is deemed absolutely essential by the principal.

Booking Details

Booking is essential as places are limited to one teacher per school unless the event is not fully booked. An application form must be submitted for each teacher. In the event of more than one booking being made from a school the principal must indicate the name to which the first place will be allocated. Places will then be allocated to other teachers if the event is not fully booked. Successful applicants will be notified by e-mail.
Please ensure that application forms are completed fully including Teaching Council and mobile telephone numbers. Incomplete application forms will be returned.

 Using Assessment to Create Effective interventions – application form