Below is a summary of the College’s Special Educational Needs Policy. Parents and other interested persons can haveaccess to the full policy statement, if they wish, by contacting the Principal.

The staff of the Gibraltar College recognise, and affirm the equality of right of access to the broad and balanced curriculum including the National Curriculum for students in our college who experience special educational needs.

The college adheres to the Code of Practice 3-stage model of response to the special educational needs of our students who are placed on our Register of Special Educational Needs and with whose parents we endeavour to work in partnership.

Whole-College Ethos

The Gibraltar College, in common with all local schools, has a Special Needs Co-ordinator (Learning Support Coordinator as referred to in the college) responsible for co-ordinating our response to Special Educational Needs in order to ensure that the entitlement curriculum is sustained and for liasing within the college, family and outside agencies such as the Principal Educational Psychologist, Social services…

Identification of Special Educational Needs

We are aware of the importance of the early identification of and appropriate response to special educational needs.

We recognise the need for on-going assessment to determine changing needs and our response to them; systematic processes using a variety of diagnostic and observational techniques are used, together with counselling of, and negotiation with, pupils in order to obtain a full overview and understanding of each pupil’s needs and how best to prioritise responding to them.

Curriculum Entitlement

We recognise that in order to ensure success in, and access to, a balanced, broadly based curriculum for pupils experiencing special educational needs the following elements are important and necessary:

• Programmes of study and schemes of work giving National Curriculum access whilst at the same time providing the variations necessary and teaching styles, pace, resources and assessment procedures in order to match the learning styles and needs of the pupils in question.

• Provision of learning environments adjusted to suit the specific needs of pupils experiencing special educational needs

General Aims

The Department of Education and Training (DET) regards the following as important:

• All children should be helped to develop as fully as possible during their period of compulsory schooling;

• All children should achieve levels of attainment, maturity, and independence which will enable them to follow suitable and satisfying occupations and activities;

• All children should have the ability and the will to make a positive contribution to community life.

In order to help achieve these aims, the DET sees the formal curriculum as providing an educational experience which is broad and balanced and which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of children and of society and which prepares all children for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.

In order to ensure that this curriculum is appropriate to his/her ability and needs, the pace and emphasis of such a programme may need adjusting from time to time. Particularly where children are encountering physical and/or learning difficulties.

• A range of ultimate objectives are set which result in a balanced education that includes all of the areas of the national curriculum. Every effort is made to provide children with work which is interesting, relevant and stimulating.

• Suitable systems have been set up for monitoring and evaluating each student’s progress.

• Written records are kept recording student progress which indicates his/her level of attainment at various stages in the subject areas being covered.

• Strengths and weakness are identified so that ensuing work can be planned progressively and according to need and ability.

• The college analyses carefully the range of ability and the needs of its pupils, and tries to ensure that the opportunities exist for them to reach their full potential.

• The programme of study is flexible to respond to their varying needs, including the less able and the gifted.

The college strives to ensure that the children can face an uncertain future with the knowledge that they have acquired the skill to learn, to adapt and to change

• Whatever the approach, detailed schemes of work have been produced which clearly define the content and objectives of the work.

• For some the attainment of basic skills in literacy and numeracy will remain the most important target until the moment they leave the college, and the broad educational programme which they follow is designed to include every opportunity for them to become as competent as possible before they do so.

• Where possible, the student’s work will be based on practical or applied experience, which takes account of the needs of the world outside the college. This is achieved through a work placement programme.