Special Needs

School Support Team The School Support Team consist of the Principal, Methods and Resources (MART) teacher, psycho-educational consultant, social worker, regular classroom teacher, and other school resource personnel, when the need arises. Children are referred to the SST when a teacher considers that a student may have differentiated programming needs. The task of the Team is to take steps to identify program modifications or other resources to meet those needs. In some cases students will be referred to an Identification Placement and Review Committee (I.P.R.C.) committee to determine eligibility for placement in Special Education Programs. 

Special Education Resource Teacher
Blaydon PS provides withdrawal or "in-class" help to students who have been identified by the School Support Team as needing special assistance and/or for students who have an Individual Education Plan. The help usually focuses on one or two areas of concern such as expressive language, receptive language, mathematical concepts or skills, or organizational skills. The goal is to assist the child to acquire the necessary skills or learning strategies which will allow students to achieve academic success and growth.

Individual Education Plans 
An Individual Education Plan (IEP) must be developed for every student identified as exceptional by an Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC). An IEP may also be developed for a student who has not been formally identified as exceptional but who requires a special education program and/or services. In these cases, an IEP is required when a student’s achievement will be assessed on the basis of modified expectations, and/or the student regularly requires accommodations for instructional or assessment purposes. The IEP is developed and implemented by the classroom teacher in conjunction with one of the school’s specialists. 

Itinerant Resource Staff 
For individual students who are in need of special assistance, the Speech Pathologist visits the school on an as needed basis. This program is designed to identify students needing referral to outside agencies for speech and language support.