SESS Support
Apart from the on-line support available through this website and through courses that appear on the Events Calendar, SESS aims to provide direct support to schools and individual teachers in as flexible a way as possible. Support can be applied for through our online application which includes further guidelines for applicants.
Schools may be looking for advice on professional development relating to a specific special education issue in the school. The SESS may be in a position to offer telephone advice, a school visit from a member of the team, or an in-service course for the staff.
Urgent support needs arising from the behaviour of a students with a special educational need:
In the case of an urgent support need related to the behaviour of a student with a special educational need – for example, where there is a risk to the student, other students and/or staff – schools should contact their NEPS psychologist or their regional NEPS office.
SESS provides CPD to teachers in the area of behaviour management related to special educational needs through a variety of means. The procedure involved in processing a support application is provided in the ‘Notes for Applicants’ on the Application Form and also below in 'Consideration of Applications for Support'. It may take up to six weeks to process an application for support.
Consideration of Applications for Support
The review of applications by the SESS takes into account the overall strategies and priorities of the SESS, along with the need to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Other considerations include the validity of the activities for which support is being sought, whether they reflect best practice and are cost effective, and if they are in keeping with DES policy.
An acknowledgement is forwarded immediately on receipt of each application. Each month’s applications are considered collectively – usually on the first week of each month – and a further period is then needed to inform applicants of decisions or to request clarifications. This administrative time-scale should be taken into account when submitting applications, in order to ensure there is adequate time for the application to be processed before notification of the decision is needed by the applicant. Approximately six weeks should be allowed for this.
The release of teachers to attend in-service is the responsibility of the Board of Management of the school or line manager, informed by the relevant Rules and Circulars of the Department of Education and Skills