We strive to meet the needs of every child here at St. John’s and this is no different for children who have been identified as having special educational needs; whether it is social, emotional, behavioural or educational. Our practice is to identify children who have special educational needs as early as possible to allow us to remove barriers to their learning and allow them to make progress in their learning. Our Year 1 Class Teacher is also our Learning Support Coordinator which enables us to provide early intervention. We work closely with parents so that they are fully informed of our concerns and how we will support their child using various strategies and additional support programmes. We also enlist the help of outside agencies to draw on their expertise to remove barriers to learning and promote best practice amongst all school staff. These agencies include: Educational Psychology, LTSS, RISE (NI), AAIS and S&LT.

Pupil Learning Profiles are created for individual children who have special educational needs outlining realistic and achievable short-term targets along with teaching and learning strategies to help them achieve success in their learning. The voice of the child is of paramount importance to us in all areas of school life and when creating Pupil Learning Profiles, we seek the opinion of the child regarding what they want to achieve. This allows the child to take ownership of their profile and in turn they are motivated to reach their targets.

As a school we are continually developing our practice by attending training events involving new initiatives as well as investing in resources designed to help children with special educational needs. Within each class, learning activities are differentiated and children receive additional support from the class teacher or teaching assistant when completing their learning. There may be occasions when children receive one to one or small group withdrawal sessions.   

In September 2023, we officially opened and welcomed children to our 'St. John's Specialist Provision' class (SJP) to meet and support the needs of children with Moderate Learning Difficulties. If you would like to receive further information on our specialist provision or indeed any matter regarding Special Educational Needs, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Helen McDonnell (Principal) via email hmcdonnell187@c2kni.net or Miss Anne McNicholl (SENCO) amcnicholl401@c2kni.net or by telephone 028 7034 4437. We look forward to hearing from you.