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With over 40% of the year 8 intake experiencing difficulties
in reading, the school's Special Needs department plays a
pivotal role in the drive to improve reading and literacy
standards. As well as a small class (8s) taught by a
specialist teacher, every pupil in year 8 takes part in a
reading programme with the reading support teacher. Pupils
attend these classes for varying lengths of time, according
to the pupil's reading ability. By withdrawing pupils to be
taught in small groups (maximum 4) there has been a
considerable increase in the reading ages of pupils.
To help the pupils in other areas of the curriculum a
literacy support teacher joins classes in most subjects in
order to assist the subject teacher by helping individuals,
teaching small groups or preparing teaching material.
In the senior school the lower stream classes follow
appropriate courses based upon vocational training. Basic
numeracy and literacy courses are followed, GCSE Art and
Technology studied and a vocational course at Castlereagh
College is attended one day per week.
SPECIAL CURRICULUM ARRANGEMENTS
Years 8 - 10
On entry, boys are streamed using:-
(1) Transfer Reports
(2) Liaison Teacher’s interviews with the primary schools.
(3) Standardised Test in English and Maths
8S and 9S are two classes (less than 20
pupils) for pupils with a variety of Special Needs.
These classes are taken by two
qualified teachers of Special Needs for English and Maths.
For the remainder of the timetable the pupils go to the
other staff.
In year 10 the small class is
maintained but move into a normal departmental timetable.
We feel that it is essential for good
progress that the majority of our pupils get extra help in
English, Maths and Science. Consequently we usually combine
the A and B classes, divide and them into 3 groups. Thus
the size of the teaching groups are reduced to approximately
twenty, affording more time for individual attention.
All pupils receive Reading, Literacy
and Numeracy Support during the important first year at
Ashfield. The Reading Programme continues in Year 9.
All classes follow the requirements of
the Northern Ireland Curriculum.
Years 11 and 12
Most pupils follow a GCSE course in
years 11 and 12. For the small number of pupils to whom
this is considered inappropriate a restricted external
examination entry certificate course has been introduced.
A link course with Castlereagh College
of Further Education has also been introduced for these
pupils.
The criteria for this course are that
it should:-
1 be academically demanding in terms of the ability of
these pupils,
2 offer them the opportunity of success and develop
their self-esteem,
3 be presented in as interesting a manner as possible,
4 be closely related to skills the pupils can be guided
to see as important in future life,
5 have some tangible record of achievement which pupils
feel represents them and their progress in full and
meaningful way,
6 where appropriate, give the opportunity for external
qualifications in GCSE, RSA, City and Guilds, Certificate of
Education etc.
Their record of achievement includes
reports on all courses followed in school, work experience,
employers, out of school projects and residential and
shorter outings. It will also include any certificates
gained from outside bodies.
There are seven main areas of provision
for pupils with Special Needs:-
I smaller S classes
II special needs classes (S)
III additional support in English and Maths
IV a peripatetic teacher from the Park School works five
times per week in Ashfield
V an educational psychologist from the BELB, tests
pupils to diagnose areas of learning difficulties and helps
formulate education plans.
VI a Reading Support Teacher who works with all
year 8 and 9 pupils over the year, in groups of three or
four.
VII a Literacy Support Teacher who works within the
classroom in all areas of the school, helping the subject
teacher and the pupils.
VIII a new development from September 2003 has been the
introduction of a Phonographix Course to help identify
pupils with reading difficulties. This course has been
developed in the USA for adults and has proved very
successful. We have 3 staff and 1 learning assistant
trained in Phonographix and they work within whole class
situations and on a withdrawal basis.
The Special Needs Programme and
Register is monitored by the Vice Principal and the Special
Needs Co-ordinator.
Literacy Programme
A successful Literacy Policy has been
operating in the school for the past five years. It
involves all pupils in year 8 receiving Reading and Writing
support, identified pupils in other years receiving Reading
and Writing support and an additional teacher in subject
specific classes e.g. Science, History, Geography, French,
IT, to assist with sub-groups, marking and individual
pupils.
Oracy Programme
Oracy - Talking and Literacy - is being
promoted throughout the school. This encourages pupils to
be more confident in dealing with their peers and older
people and augments the already established Literacy
programme.
Numeracy Programme
There is a growing level of concern in
education circles about the mental arithmetic skills pupils
have on leaving post primary education. As a result of this
a numeracy programme for schools has been recommended.
In Ashfield Boys’ High School the
mathematics department have developed a numeracy programme
tailored to the needs of our particular pupils. There are
three processes at present ongoing in the school.
1 Mental arithmetic tests for all year 8, 9 and 10
pupils lasting 15 minutes.
TheThese tests take place once a week
and involve all the basic number operations. They will in
time improve the speed and mental agility of the pupils.
2 A numeracy audit has been
carried out by the mathematics
department. This involves a tracking exercise to
identify the time of year pupil’s meet mathematical topics
in other areas of the curriculum. The mathematics department
staff can then ensure that pupils are mathematically
competent to meet these topics in other subjects.
3 A standardisation booklet
has been compiled to ensure that
proper
teaching methods are used by other staff when dealing with a
mathematical concept within their own subject area. While we
realise that there can be more than one method to teach a
particular topic we feel that a common approach eliminates
confusion for the pupils. |
Special Needs
Department