The Guidelines for Primary Schools (Supporting Pupils with Special Educational Needs) aim to provide guidance to schools on the use, organisation and deployment of additional teaching resources for pupils with special educational needs. This guidance is provided in the context of a revised model for allocating special education teaching resources which was introduced by the Department of Education and Skills in September 2017.
- Guidelines for Primary Schools - Supporting Pupils with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools /
- Circular 13/2017 - Mainstream Primary Schools: Special Education Teaching Allocation /
In order to ensure that planning material from within the guidelines is accessible and user ready for schools, NCSE Support Service are providing a number of documents/templates in word format:
- 6 Principles to guide the implementation process (Primary Guidelines, p.5)
- Planning Template to Guide the Allocation of Additional Teaching Supports (Primary Guidelines, p.19-20)
- School provision plan for pupils with special educational needs (Primary Guidelines, Appendix 2, p.29-30)
- Identification of Educational Needs through the Continuum of Support (Primary Guidelines, p.9-10)
- Self-Reflective Questionnaire (Primary Guidelines, Appendix 7, p.45-50)
- Parental Involvement School Reflection (Primary Guidelines, Appendix 8, p.51)
The NCSE Support Service has prepared a downloadable toolkit (in word format) to support the implementation of the new model:
Other useful documents:
- Student Support File /
- Student Support File Guidelines (NEPS)
- Special Educational Needs - A continuum of support (Resource Pack for Teachers)
- Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties - A continuum of support (Guidelines for Teachers)
- Case Study 1 - Small School - Pilot - Teacher Allocation Model
- Case Study 2 - Larger School - Pilot - Teacher Allocation Model
- Review of the Pilot of a New Model for Allocating Teaching Resources to Mainstream Schools to Support Pupils with Special Educational Needs (DES: 2016)
The NCSE Inclusive Education Framework is an interactive tool to be used by schools to assist schools plan, measure and improve how pupils with special educational needs are supported. This resource will help re-affirm good inclusive practices already in place in many schools and will guide other schools to develop good practice.
Information for Parents/Guardians and Students