Integration
Section 2 of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004 requires that:
“A child with special educational needs shall be educated in an inclusive environment with children who do not have such needs unless the nature or degree of those needs of the child is such that to do so would be inconsistent with:
- The best interests of the child as determined in accordance with any assessment carried out under this Act
- The effective provision of education for children with whom the child is to be educated.”
http://www.education.ie/en/The-Education-System/Special-education
Integration is an important part of Stepping Stones Special School for Children with Autism and Complex Needs SPHE curriculum covering the strand and strand areas:
Myself
- Self identity
- Safety and protection
Myself and others
- My friends and other people
- Relating to others
Myself and the wider world
- Developing citizenship
Our senior students integrate with students from the transition year class in Scoil Dara in Kilcock once a week, practising conversation skills, turn taking and social interaction in a different setting. They also generalise the use of their Maths, Language and Communication and SPHE skills. Reverse integration also takes place throughout the year where the students from Scoil Dara come to visit Stepping Stones to take part in group activities like P.E, Cooking, Art etc.
You can download the entire curriculum here:
Stepping-Stones-School_Curriculum-Content
Please download this PDF and open it in Acrobat Reader.