Education

Links to Government Bodies and Other Relevant Organisations 

Department of Education (DES):
www.education.ie 

Find information on schools, special classes and access Department of Education Circulars. 

National Council for Special Education (NCSE):
www.ncse.ie 

Find information on special Education Teaching (SET) Allocation; Special Needs Assistants (SNA); Special Education Needs Organisers (SENO); and many useful resources for parents and teachers. 

National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA):
www.ncca.ie  

Find information on curriculum at Primary and Post Primary levels. 

Down Syndrome Education International (DSEI):
www.dsei.org  

This is an international resource offering information and online courses for teachers of children with Down syndrome. 

Children and teenagers with Down syndrome can have similar levels of behaviour difficulties to typically developing children of the same developmental level i.e. younger children.  

Language development is particularly delayed, and this can lead to challenges in both understanding expectations and communicating needs.  

Most people with Down syndrome have good social understanding and empathy, and they are capable of behaving in an age-appropriate and socially appropriate manner. 

The following recordings will be helpful:   

• Introduction to Behaviour 
• Managing Behaviours at Pre-School & Primary School Stages 
• In-Class Behaviour Management 
• Language and Communication 
• Understanding, Changing and Teaching Behaviour at the Post-Primary Stage 
• Managing Behaviours at Post Primary & Young Adult Stages 

Research has highlighted a profile of strengths and weaknesses. We can use this information to be more effective in helping children reach their full potential 

The following recordings will be helpful:   

• Specific Learning Needs of the Student with Down Syndrome
• Language and Communication
• Managing Vision & Hearing Issues
• Mental Well Being

Check out these information booklets: 

• Supporting Children with Down Syndrome in Primary School
• Supporting Students with Down Syndrome in Post Primary Schools
• Supporting Students with Down Syndrome in Special Schools
  

There are three types of provision to meet the range of educational needs found among students in primary and post-primary schools.  

They are: 

• Mainstream classes in mainstream schools
• Special classes in mainstream schools
• Special Schools

The following recordings will be helpful:  

• Choosing a School
• Choosing a Primary School
• Choosing a Post-Primary School

Here is a resource from the National Council of Special Education on choosing schools. 

Communication acts as a bridge to engagement and, ultimately, strong parent partnerships. Once parents and teachers communicate with each other, they can work together to help students reach their academic potential. 

Here is a more information on Communication between parents and teachers  

The following recording will be helpful:

Communication between Parents and Primary/Post-Primary Schools

Planning for individual learning needs has been a feature of special educational provision for some time. It is not yet a legal requirement to provide individual education plans (IEPs) for children in Ireland, but many teachers have been using IEPs in various forms and guises in their work.

The following recording will be helpful: 

• Essential Planning for Primary and Post-Primary Schools

Check out the information booklets at the following links:  

• Special Educational Needs –A Continuum of Support –Guidelines for Teachers PrimarySchools
• Special Educational Needs A Continuum of Support – Resource Pack for Teachers – Primary Schools
• Special Educational Needs A Continuum of Support for Post Primary Schools – Guidelines for Teachers
• Special Educational Needs A Continuum of Support for Post-Primary Schools Resource Pack for Teachers
• A ‘Student Support File Template’ and ‘Student Support File Guidelines’ are also available at this link.

Planning for an appropriate programme of literacy and numeracy teaching for children with Down syndrome is crucial, not just in primary school but also continuing through post primary education journey. 

Written language can support the development of spoken language, so it is not necessary to wait until the child can say words before beginning a literacy programme. 

The following recording will be helpful: 

• Literacy and Numeracy at Primary School

• Numeracy Acquiring Basic Maths Skills

• Using Numicon as a Resource in Teaching Numeracy

Additional Information: 

See and Learn Programme 

See and Learn is an excellent resource for use in literacy teaching at Junior and Senior infant levels. 

Watch this video demonstrating the use of the See and Learn kits.

We do not supply See and Learn kits to schools. Your local branch of Down Syndrome Ireland may have kits which you can borrow, and some local libraries have also begun to stock the kits. Otherwise they are available to buy here. 

Reading & Language Initiative (RLI) 

The Reading and Language Intervention for Children with Down Syndrome (RLI) is a teaching programme designed to improve reading and language outcomes for children with Down syndrome. It supplements and supports regular teaching with daily one-to-one intervention sessions. The intervention sessions follow a consistent format within which instruction is carefully targeted to the individual student.

Further information on the RLI is available at this link.   

Check out the information in these documents: 

• Learning to Read – Getting Started
• Acquiring Basic Skills in Maths

Post-primary education is an important part of the lives of all young people. It involves significant transitions—from childhood to adulthood, from primary schooling to post primary and from school to the world of further study and work 

The first stage of post-primary schooling that learners encounter is junior cycle, a three-year programme that builds on the young person’s educational experience at primary school by offering a broad, balanced and coherent programme of study across a wide range of curriculum areas. In the process, junior cycle prepares learners for transition to senior cycle, for other further education opportunities, in some cases for employment and, in general, for the challenges involved in growing towards adulthood. 

The following recording will be helpful: 

• Pathway through Junior Cycle

Check out the following websites for further information: 

• Junior Cycle | NCCA
• Home – Oide

Post-primary education is an important part of the lives of all young people. It involves significant transitions—from childhood to adulthood, from primary schooling to post primary and from school to the world of further study and work 

Senior cycle has a particular role to play in the preparation of learners for adult life. While many factors shape the future of the individual, senior cycle has at its core a commitment to educational achievement of the highest standard for all learners, commensurate with their individual abilities. It sets out to meet the needs of a diverse group of learners with a range of learning interests, dispositions, aptitudes and talents, including learners with special educational needs. 

The following recording will be helpful: 

• Pathway through Senior Cycle

Check out the following websites for further information: 

• Senior Cycle | NCCA
• Leaving Certificate Applied | NCCA

Additional Information – Transition Year 

The Transition Year (TY) is a one-year programme that forms the first year of a three-year senior cycle in many schools 

• It is designed to act as a bridge between the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate programmes
• It is available to all second level schools and currently approximately 75% of schools offer the programme
• Transition Year is optional for students in most schools
• Transition Year | NCCA

Teachers must adapt their teaching and provide differentiated work for their students with Down syndrome at both primary and post primary school. 

Differentiation is the process of reducing the amount of work and reducing the level of work involved for students. 

A need for this differentiation support for students with Down syndrome and an intellectual disability has been identified by parents, teachers and other educators. 

The lack of differentiated materials is having an adverse effect on the inclusion of children with Down syndrome in mainstream classes. 

The following recording will be helpful: 

• Accessing the Curriculum

Additional Resources: 

• Sample Differentiated Materials for Second Level Students

Support is needed for both parents and schools as they prepare for the transition of the child with Down syndrome from primary to post-primary school. Most pupils with Down syndrome settle very quickly into post-primary school, once they understand the rules and routines. 

The following recordings will be helpful: 

• Managing the Transition from Primary to Post Primary School
• Choosing a Post-Primary School

We have developed information documents and a workbook for the student, which are available to download here: 

• Supporting Students with Down syndrome Transition from Primary to Post Primary School
• Getting Ready for Post Primary School – My Workbook
• Supporting Students with Down syndrome in Post Primary Schools