|
Service
Delivery
In the area of support
services, the Department of Education is committed to two interrelated
models which guide the development and delivery of supports and services
to children with special needs.
1. The Model for
Coordination of Service to Children and Youth is an
interdepartmental framework designed to ensure the coordination of
service delivery in our province. These government departments
(Education, Health and Community Services, Human Resources Labour and
Employment, and Justice) are partners. In addition to a provincial
coordinating committee, there are regional integrated services
management teams in each of six regions of the province. These teams
provide a forum to discuss issues around services, plan training for
service providers and parents, and monitor implementation of the model
and the ISSP process. A full time provincial coordinator oversees the
model provincially. Costs are covered equally by the four departments.
A key element of the model is
the Individual Support Services Planning process (ISSP). When a
child is identified as having a need or being at risk, the ISSP
process is initiated. The ISSP brings the child/youth, parents and all
service providers together to ensure seamless planning and delivery of
service. The team plans the delivery of supports and services required
by the child/youth in school, at home and within the community.
2. Pathways
to Programming and Graduation is a framework that enables
teachers to tailor curriculum to meet the individual strengths and
needs of all students. Pathways provides the framework for the ISSP
team to implement the accommodations and supports a student needs, to
describe the modifications to the provincial curriculum needed, and to
describe any programming in areas other than the provincial
curriculum. Initially implemented at the high school level, this
framework was broadened to encompass the K-12 spectrum in 1996.
The clarity of the Pathways
model has resulted in an increased comfort level for teachers in
programming for all children including those with special needs, and
an increased awareness and clarity for parents around the specifics of
their child’s program. A parent brochure on Pathways was developed.
Return to
index
Resources to
Support Students with Special Needs
The Department of Education provides
school districts with a full range of personnel to support children with
special needs. Students with the most severe program needs receive
support within schools from classroom teachers, non-categorical
teachers, categorical special education teachers, guidance counsellors
and student assistants. School districts also have itinerant teachers,
educational psychologists and speech/language pathologists available to
support the students and teachers.
Within schools there is the concept of
layered supports, with students’ needs met on priority
basis. Placement decisions remain at the ISSP team level with the
expectation that programming is delivered with age peers "except
where compelling reasons exist." These reasons include to protect
the dignity of the child, where programming must occur in the natural
environment, where a student would benefit from small group instruction
for a specific area, and where the safety of the child or other children
cannot be attained. In cases where programming takes place outside the
grade/subject classroom, the ISSP will include a plan for
re-integration.
Funding is provided for the following
services through a combination of per student ratio, caseload analysis
and individual student application. All students are counted for
classroom teacher allocation then for non-categorical special education
teacher allocation. Students with severe needs are counted again for the
specific categorical special education services.
- Special education teachers
(non-categorical serving all children who have identified
exceptionalities) are allocated on a per pupil basis of 7 teachers
per every 1000 students. There are approximately 600 non-categorical
special education teachers. The identified exceptionalities include:
cognitive delay, physical disabilities, learning disabilities, deaf
or hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired, health/neurological
disorders, emotional/behaviour disorders, speech language delays or
disorders, exceptional ability and developmental delay.
- Low ratio categorical special
education teaching units for children who have severe needs are
obtained through a documentation process. The documentation package
is submitted to the Division of Student Support Services, Department
of Education for approval. Specific criteria for the categories have
been articulated and the categorical teachers are provided based on
the number of students meeting the criteria on a per school basis,
e.g.:
- 0.5 teacher is assigned for 1 or 2
students
- 0.75 teacher is assigned for 3 students
- 1.0 teacher is assigned for 4 -6 students
These units are provided in the
following categories:
- Criteria C: severe cognitive delay
or moderate global delay
- Criteria D: severe physical
disability
- Criteria E: severe emotional
behaviour disorder
- Criteria F: severe learning
disability
- Criteria G: severe
health/neurological disorder (specifically autistic spectrum
disorders, fetal alcohol syndrome, and traumatic brain injury).
There are approximately 300 categorical
special education teachers.
- Itinerant teachers for the deaf and
hard of hearing, the blind and visually impaired are provided to
districts based on caseload analysis. There are approximately 30
itinerant teachers.
- Guidance counsellors are allocated to
school boards on a 1:500 student ratio.
- Educational psychologists are provided
to school boards on a student ratio. The current allocation is 41
positions.
- Speech language pathologists are
provided to districts to work with students who have communication
disorders. There are 44 positions provided.
- Student assistants are provided to
school boards to support teachers in meeting the physical, personal
care and behaviour management needs of students with severe needs.
These assistants are provided based on individual student profiles
of needs that are submitted electronically to the Division of
Student Support Services for approval. Funding for this allocation
is given to the boards to meet the approved needs. Currently there
are about 650 full time positions.
- Six provincial professional
development consultants support teachers by developing policy and
profession development initiatives regarding special education.
- Three provincial professional
development consultants support teachers who develop and deliver
programs for children with autistic spectrum disorders.
- The Newfoundland School for the Deaf
has a current enrolment of approximately 50 students. About 20
students stay in residence.
- The Department of Education is a
partner in the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority (APSEA)
which provides assessment, consultation, resources and specialized
technology for students who are blind or visually Impaired.
- Funding is provided, on application
and approval, for textbooks on tape for students with learning
disabilities.
- Other forms of specialized technology
are provided, on application and approval, to support student-specific needs.
- Special transportation is provided, on
application and approval, for students who cannot avail of the
regular mode of transportation.
Return to
index
Additional
Resources
The Newfoundland School for the Deaf,
a provincial school for the deaf, is the responsibility of the Division
of Student Support Services and is operated by the Department of
Education, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Division of Student Support Services
coordinates programs offered through the Atlantic
Provinces Special Education Authority (APSEA).
For more information
regarding special education services in the province of Newfoundland and
Labrador,
call Student Support Services Division 729-3023.
Return to
index |
