Our Special Educational Needs Department is led by our dedicated Special Education Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) and member of the Senior Leadership Team, Mr Iain Cunningham. He is assisted by Mrs Julie McCullough (Autism Support Teacher) and Miss Lauren Beck (Assistant SENCo).

Mr Cunningham is devoted to ensuring that the learning experience for all students with SEN is inclusive and that barriers to learning are minimised. He is a member of the British Psychological Association and holds a Certificate of Competence in Psychometric Testing, Assessment and Access Arrangements, and has completed a Masters of Education with SEN through Stranmillis University College. Mrs McCullough recently completed a Master in Education with SEN, specialising in Autism Studies and Miss Beck achieved a Master in Education (MEd) in Individualised Specialist Assessment, Special Educational Needs and Access Arrangements with a specific focus on specialist teaching and intervention strategies for students with specific literacy difficulties.

The SEN team has a number of highly skilled and experienced Learning Support Assistants and Behaviour Support Assistants, who impact hugely on the school experiences and lives of our students.

Our vision is for all students to make continual and purposeful progress regardless of their individual needs during their time at Parkhall Integrated College. We realise every student has their own individual needs and will develop in their own unique way. Partnering with parents/guardians we strive to foster strong relationships to enable each student to reach their full potential. We provide a supportive, caring environment to allow full access to the Northern Irish Curriculum.

Working alongside teachers, Learning Support Assistants provide support for students within lessons, enabling progress in learning and inclusion with their peers. A range of extra provision is also offered, which include the following:

• Literacy support – both individual and small group support
• Numeracy support - both individual and small group support
• Behaviour Hub – an early intervention for some of our students who may experience difficulties within school.
• A dedicated “Safe Space”/”Quiet Room” for our most vulnerable students
• Time-out cards and individually tailored release passes as required
• Access to a full and suitably varied programme of study
• Social skills groups to support communication and interaction.
• Special Needs policy based on the Code of Practice
• Close liaison between staff, specialists and outside agencies

We seek to develop resilience in and empower our students with autism in Parkhall, co-ordinated by our SENCO and our autism support teacher. Our focus is on:

• providing extra support to ensure a smooth transition to post-primary
• fully integrating students into the life of the school
• understanding the individual
• building positive relationships between parents/guardians, staff and students
• targeted support to encourage the young person to learn emotionally, socially and academically
• providing an environment which fosters well-being and confidence in our students with autism
• enabling and encouraging the voice of the student to develop independence and a positive self-image

Our staff receive regular training in supporting students with autism in the classroom and students with autism are offered opportunities for social development and interaction through our popular 'Aspire' afterschool club.

Parkhall Integrated College was recently awarded the Autism NI Impact Award Champion status.

If you would like more details about our SEN provision or to discuss your child’s individual circumstances, please do contact:

• Mr I. Cunningham - icunningham072@c2kni.net
• Miss L. Beck - lbeck610@c2kni.net.
• Mrs J. McCullough - jmccullough053@c2kni.net