Individualised education program
All you need to know about an Individualised Education Program
What is an individualised education program? What do you need to know about an it? How do you know if your child needs one? How do you go about getting an individualised education program for you child and what happens next? These are all important questions that many parents face, and it is important to know what the process is and what you can do to ensure your child is receiving the best education possible.
What is an Individualised education program?
An individualised educational program is developed and written for children who have been assessed as suitable for special education. It will detail where the child needs support and how to offer that support to them. The individualised educational program will also include a list of services that the child will be receiving as well as how often they will be attending these services. Some children will have a wide range of support needs and as such, will be referred to multiple different services. This can consume a lot of their time both during and after school. A service that can combine all approaches will benefit the child as well as take the pressure off the family and the school. Catch Up Kids offers this exact multidimensional approach in teaching children with special education needs, which will be discussed in more detail below.
Who decides if a child needs an individualised education program?
Most schools are quick to pick up when a child is struggling in the classroom and will request that the parents take their child to an educational psychologist to complete an educational assessment.
The following list includes a few indicators that your child may need an individualised educational program:
Children who have learning difficulties, ADHD, autism, emotional or cognitive disorders, hearing or visual impairments, speech or language impairments, developmental delays or physical disabilities
Where can you have an individualised education program designed for your child?
At Catch Up Kids, we do not require any form of assessment to begin the process of creating the individualised educational program, although an educational assessment will be helpful to have. An experienced supervisor will conduct an assessment during the child’s intake workshop after which, an individualised education program will be formulated for your child. Educational assessments are considered, and the individualised educational program is drawn up by the supervisor in collaboration with key role players at school, which usually include the teacher/s and will then need to be signed off by the head of the grade and the principle. Parents are also considered an important part of the individualised educational program team.
What next?
Once the individualised educational program is drawn up by your child’s supervisor at Catch Up Kids, a meeting will be arranged with all key players to determine the best way to ensure supports needed are delivered effectively. Your child will have a team of instructors working with them who have been trained to follow the program. Catch up kids offers a range of services, including 1:1 instruction after school, either at the home or at one of our centres. These afternoon sessions will be aimed at teaching the child the necessary skills as identified by the supervisor in the individualised educational program. In addition, we offer school facilitation, where a member from the team will support the child directly in their class, with the goal of fading out and transferring control over to the teacher.
It is recommended that your child’s individualised educational program be reassessed each year. At Catch Up Kids, we conduct monthly workshops with the child, parents and team, which allows for any adjustments needed based on the supervisor’s observations and/or communication with the school and parents. This approach will ensure that the individualised educational program is being followed as intended and remains relevant for your child, and should a problem arise, the supervisor will take immediate action.
Call our helpful admin staff for more information on how Catch Up Kids can design an individualised educational program for your child on 011 440 7796.
