Educational Assessment

Educational Assessments

The Education for People with Special Education Needs Act sets out recommendations as to how the Education Assessment process should operate.

As the relevant sections of the EPSEN Act dealing with Assessments have not yet commenced, the School Principal and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) are not yet statutorily required under that Act to carry out an assessment until those sections have been commenced.

However schools should continue to support children with special educational needs through the existing mechanisms e.g. the child may qualify for support from the school’s general allocation or the school may apply to the NCSE for additional special educational needs supports for the pupil in the context of the criteria outlined in current circulars or consult their SENO (Special Education Needs Organiser) for advice. The National Council for Special Education took over the functions of the Department of Education & Science in the provision of resources for special education. Applications for resources are processed by Special Education Needs Organisers (SENO's) and these are the local point of contact for parents and schools.

Visit www.nsce.ie for a list of SENO's nationwide. This list is also available on the Department of Education & Science website at www.education.ie .

Identification & Assessment

If you are concerned that your child is not benefiting from the education being provided by his/her school – you should discuss your concerns with your child’s class teacher, tutor, Year Head and the School Principal.

The Principal and teacher should support you in identifying if your child would benefit from an Educational Assessment and an Education Plan. An Education Plan is an agreed and documented education programme which considers the strengths and weaknesses of the student. It should target specific areas for educational improvement while at the same time building on the strengths of the student. Before an Education Plan is set in place, and Education Assessment should be carried out.

Who can request an assessment?

The School Principal or a parent/guardian can request an educational assessment.

At present an assessment can be carried out by NEPS (National Educational Psychological Service) or where schools do not have access to NEPS services – schools may commission a limited number of assessments, the cost of which is funded by the Department of Education and Science. The principal must consult the parents prior to making this arrangement .The request for an assessment may be refused in certain instances – however an appeals process exists. Where there is a delay on obtaining an Educational Assessment - a parent may arrange and fund this privately. It is important to note that a for private assessments the psychologist carrying our the assessment should be recognised by NEPS.

What should the assessment determine?

An assessment should include an evaluation and statement of the nature and extent of the child’s disability… and an evaluation and statement of the services which the child will need so as to be able to participate in and benefit from education and, generally, to develop his or her potential.

Who should carry out the assessment?

The assessment should be carried out with the assistance of people with appropriate expertise and qualifications (as deemed by the Council or health board). This may include a psychologist, medical practitioner, the principal or designated teacher, social worker, or a therapist suitably qualified to provide support services in relation to the child’s SEN. The participation of parents should be facilitated by, ‘as appropriate’, the health board, Council or principal. A statement of the findings of the assessment should be made available to the parents.

What happens after assessment

Firstly the assessment report should show what support services should be put in place and this should be processed by the local SENO. Where the assessment shows that a special education need exists an individual educational plan (IEP) should be drawn up and put in place.

Hadd’s Resource for Teachers : ADHD and Education gives advice which would be useful for parents and teachers on drawing up and implementing IEPs for students with ADHD.

The NCSE has produced guidelines on the Individual Education Plan Process and this is available to download from their website http://www.ncse.ie/publications/final_report.pdf or from the Government Publications Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.

Useful contacts

The National Council for Special Education is charged under the new EPSEN act with responsibility for arranging assessments. Although this element of the EPSEN act has not yet been implemented – you could contact the Council for advice in this area. www.ncse.ie or info@ncse.ie

NEPS can be contacted at www.neps.education.ie