School Information and Self-Reflection Form
Evaluation of Provision for Pupils with Special Educational Needs in Primary Schools
School name
Roll number
Postal address
Email address / Website address
Telephone no.
Principal / Email
Current chairperson
of BOM / Email
CEO of ETB
if relevant / Email
School patron/trustee / Email
Current chairperson of parents’ assoc. / Email
Special Educational Needs Organiser / Email
NEPS Psychologist / Email
Daily Timetable
From / To
Opening Time / Morning Break
Closing Time / Lunch Break

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETION OF THIS FORM:

Thank you for taking the time to complete this information form. The information you provide will be very valuable for the evaluation. Many of the questions posed below may be answered directly in your school’s policies on special educational needs and assessment. In that case, you may respond to those questions by referencing the appropriate page/section of the relevant policy and by attaching the policy to this form when you return it. Learning support and resource teacher timetables and caseloads should also be returned with this form. If these policies. Timetables and caseloads are not available electronically, please have copies available on the first morning of the evaluation.

In providing details of the caseloads of the learning support and resource teachers, for data protection purposes, please do not utilise pupils’ names or initials and please remove pupils’ names from teachers’ timetables. Instead, please assign an identification number for each child. You can choose to provide this information in a format in which it is already available in the school, or alternatively, use the teacher caseload form which the inspector will send to you.

1. Access to your school / Yes / No
Does your enrolment policy state that all students, irrespective of special educational need, are welcome to enrol in the school?
Has any pupil been refused admission to your school on the grounds of their special educational need?
If ‘yes’ please provide brief details
(Box expands as required)
2. Pupils with Special Educational Needs in your school
Class Level / No. of pupils with low incidence special educational needs / No. of pupils in receipt of learning-support / resource teaching not included in the first column. / No. of pupils requiring English language support (EAL) not included in Columns 1 or 2 / No. of pupils granted an exemption from the study of Irish / No. of pupils receiving support from a Special Needs Assistant
Junior Infants
Senior Infants
First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Fourth Class
Fifth Class
Sixth class
Special Class
3. All teachers and assigned classes/special education posts
Teachers’ name / Assigned classes / special education posts / Number of pupils / Based in school
(Yes / No)

(Please add extra rows as required)

4. Teacher deployment
Teachers allocated support and/or special class teaching responsibilities in the current school year
Name / Current Role: learning support / resource / special class / SEN qualifications / No. of years with learning-support or resource teacher responsibilities

(Please add extra rows as required)

5. Teachers allocated mainstream teaching responsibilities in the current school year who have qualifications in special educational needs or experience in learning support / resource / special class teaching settings
Name / SEN Qualifications / No. of years with L-S, RT, special class teaching responsibilities / Current teaching responsibilities

(Please add extra rows as required)

6. Please provide details below in respect of pupils whose access to the school was restricted by school management for portions of or full school days during the past four years.
Class in which pupil is currently enrolled / Reason for restricted access / Times pupil had daily access to school
From To / Duration of
restricted access
7. If the learning support or resource teachers have been used for substitute work when mainstream class teachers are absent due to illness or other reasons, please provide details below for the last four months
Name of learning support/ resource teacher / No. of days substitution / Arrangements, if any, for the learning support / resource pupils

(Please add extra rows as required)

8. Assistive technology and ICT resources
Please complete this table in respect of any grant for assistive technology received by the school in the last four school years
Assistive Technology Granted through NCSE
School year / Grant received / Pupil ID for whom the grant was received / Technology purchased and learning setting where it is most utilised / CPD accessed to support use of the technology, if any

(Please add extra rows as required)

Other technology (outside of that provided through individualised grants from NCSE) available in school to support pupils with special educational needs
Technology / Specific learning setting where technology is most utilised (teacher & class) / Main use

(Please add extra rows as required)

9. Use of resources available to all schools
  • National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS)
  • National Council for Special Education (NCSE)
  • National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)
  • Special Education Support Service (SESS)
  • Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST)
  • Visiting Teacher Service for Hearing and Visual Impairment (VTHVI)

Please indicate below ways in which your schools avails of the NEPS service.
(Box expands as required)
Please indicate below ways in which your schools utilises the SESS and / or PDST service.
(Box expands as required)
Please indicate below ways in which your schools utilises resources available from the NCSE and/or the NCCA.
(Box expands as required)
If your school has used the VTHVI service please indicate the classes where the visiting teacher supports pupils and the main supports received from the service
Class(es)
Main supports received from the VTHVI Service
(Box expands as required)
Please indicate below ways in which your schools utilises other resources or supports available to support pupils with special educational needs (HSE etc.)
(Box expands as required)
10. Special classes
Please ignore this section if your school does not have any special classes
Special Class Start Up Grant –Please indicate the funding received from the Department of Education and Skills under the Special Class Start Up Grant and the main ways in which this grant was utilised
(Box expands as required)
11. Enhanced Capitation Grant for Special Classes –Please indicate the main ways in which the funding received under the Enhanced Capitation Grant for Special Classes was utilised in the previous four school years.
School Year

(Please add extra rows as required)

Please indicate what arrangements are in place for the inclusion of pupils enrolled in the special class in mainstream classes and any arrangements for ‘reverse inclusion’
(Box expands as required)
12. Sharing of Information on pupils with special educational needs
Please outline the ways in which relevant information on pupils with special educational needs is transferred from relevant early years settings (EY) and to post-primary school(s)
EY settings:
(Box expands as required)
Post-primary schools:
(Box expands as required)
13. Assessment
Please outline the main modes of assessment utilised in mainstream and learning-support / resource/special class settings in your school
Mainstream settings:
(Box expands as required)
Learning-support / resource / special class settings:
(Box expands as required)
14. Monitoring Progress / Learning outcomes
Please describe briefly the processes by which teachers establish learning targets for pupils with special educational needs and monitor their progress in attaining them
(Box expands as required)
Please describe briefly the process through which parents are involved in the process of establishing learning targets for their children and monitoring their progress in attaining them
(Box expands as required)
Please describe briefly the process through which pupils are involved in the process of establishing learning targets for their learning and monitoring their progress in attaining them
(Box expands as required)
Name of person who completed this form
Role in school
Thank you for completing this form. Please note that the information contained on the form will only be used to help inspectors plan for an evaluation. It will not be used by the Inspectorate for any other purpose and will not be available to other sections of the Department. During the in-school phase of the evaluation, please have the following available for inspection on the first morning of the evaluation:
  • A sample of individual planning documents for pupils with special educational needs, covering the previous three to four school years.
  • Whole-school assessment data, aside from assessment data submitted to the Department of Education
  • Enrolment policy
  • Policy on staff deployment (if available)
  • Policy on special needs assistants (if available)
Please return this completed form to the inspector’s email address and attach with it:
  • The school policy on special educational needs
  • The school assessment policy
  • Learning support and resource teacher caseloads and timetables. For teacher caseloads you may use the supplied template or send the information in another format
If these are not available electronically, please have copies available on the first morning of the evaluation.