Special Education Needs - Bridgetown College

History of the ASD Unit

The Bridgetown College ASD Programme was established with one classroom in September 2009 and in September 2010 a second classroom was opened. Due to predicted need in the area, a new building was completed in April 2015. Finally, in 2017, our 3^rd class was opened giving us a capacity to cater for 18 students.

Our Philosophy

The development of the Bridgetown College ASD Programme is based on the philosophy of educational inclusion, where students with specialised needs receive their education within the least restrictive setting of the school’s mainstream classrooms and activities.

At the same time, students in the ASD Programme can access the Green Building for curricular support classes, social outings & classes unique to the ASD Programme focusing on each student’s own strengths and needs.

What We Provide

In the Bridgetown ASD Programme we provide the opportunity for all of our students to achieve the greatest level of meaningful independence, whilst at the same time catering for their educational needs.

Classes take the form of individualised support to mainstream inclusion. The Green Building classes involve curricular support and also classes unique to the ASD
Programme.

These unique classes include:

Communication & Organisational Skills
Numeracy & Literacy
Social Skills
Personal Care & Problem solving
Living in the Community
Preparation for Work & Third Level
Emotional Intelligence Skills
Social Outings into the wider community
Individualised Planning
Students’ progress is kept under regular review

Students in special classes have a detailed support plan setting out clear goals and strategies to meet their diverse needs, in line with the NEPS Continuum of Support Guidelines. Support plans are based on a detailed assessment of individual needs. They include key independence and communication goals designed to facilitate students’ inclusion in mainstream classes to the greatest possible extent, and/or a return to mainstream placement, where feasible.

We teach a wide range of students from those looking to pursue state examinations (Junior Certificate, Junior Certificate Schools Programme, the new Junior Certificate Level Two Award Leaving Cert Applied and Leaving Certificate), to those focusing on personal skills aimed at increasing their quality of life, independence and life skills once they graduate from Bridgetown College.

Provision for students with special educational needs includes team-teaching, one-to-one tuition, small group tuition and reduced class size in English and Maths (where feasible). We also provide support for ASD students in our purpose built three classroom building. Our SEN Support teachers work closely with students, their parents/guardians, other teachers, the SENO, educational psychologists and other professionals and agencies. Ms Siobhan Maguire coordinates mainstream SEN and Mr Robert Healy coordinates provision for the ASD students.

SEN Team

Link to Staff Page