All parents of incoming parents are invited to a very important Information Night in St Mary’s CBS on Wednesday February 1st at 7.30. For all those offered places, it will inform them of the next steps in helping us prepare for their sons’ arrival in September. The CAT4 Reports enable our SEN Department plan for Literacy and Numeracy support classes, Assistive Technology, SNA’s, team teaching etc.
Parents of these 2017 first years will be the first to experience the ‘New Model’ of Special Needs which will be a change from the practice of previous years. Although we will not be applying to the Department for specific hours for individual students’ needs we will be providing Resource and Learning Support to the same level as previous years for all our students. St Mary’s CBS has a long and proud history of supporting our students with learning needs and responding to those needs as they progress through their 5-6 years here. Parents of students whose results indicate that we will need to speak to them will receive letters before that Information Night and can speak to our Special Needs Teachers about their son’s needs in privacy on the night.
If anyone has a query about the CAT 4 Results they received before Christmas, they should ring the office and ask to have Ms Kenny, the SEN Coordinator, ring them back. It must be stressed again that these results are only to inform us of supports which we need to arrange in advance. It is not going to disadvantage any one nor provide a basis for streaming. All classes are formed through random selection, except that we make sure that students coming from smaller schools will be in a class with at least one other student from their primary school for company to begin in a much bigger school.
Other topics to be discussed will be
- Your son’s subject choices – CAT4 results may indicate that the choices made in November may need to be reviewed- this will be done in consultation with the SEN Department
- Book Rental,
- iPads
- The use of technology in your son’s education,
- Induction Day
- VSware access for future online payments and other information
- General Information for all and what you and your son can expect in the coming 5-6 years when your son is a student in our school
We look forward to meeting with you that night.