Support Services
The school benefits from specialist support services including;
Speech and Language Therapy
The service is provided by a full time Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, and a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant. The team works closely and collaboratively with staff working in the school and children’s home taking a holistic approach to the needs of the individual. The aim for each young person is the development of functional communication skills which can be used meaningfully throughout their life experiences. Appropriate strategies are identified through assessment and then introduced- building on individual strengths and motivations. Where on admission the young person has an effective and/or preferred means of communication this will be valued, supported and developed to its potential. The S.A.L.T. service has a key role in promoting an environment that is conducive to communicative success for all our young people.
Psychology Services
The Professional Support Service will work in partnership with and as a critical friend to the New Options (Kinsale) School, to enable the school to achieve the following specific goals:
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To function as an exemplar of ‘best practice.’
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To ensure that the practice within each service is evidence based and that approaches and methodology are validated by respected practitioners.
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To support the services to enable them to provide value for money to the purchasers.
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To work with the services to assist them to be recognized as effective and proficient by inspection and accreditation teams.
The Support Division ensures that the New Options (Holywell) School has a named support person who has both a specialist professional background and expertise in Autistic Spectrum Disorders. This individual is the Support Coordinator, who provides the interface between the School and the Support Division, with the ability to call upon a wide range of regional and national colleagues. This enables the school to have access to high quality professional expertise provided by a group of specialists functioning as an integrated multi-disciplinary team, to meet identified needs in an imaginative and effective way.
Specialist Training Department
Staff continuing professional development and training
The Options Group seeks to offer and deliver to all staff training and development opportunities of the highest quality, reflecting the latest thinking and practice in Autism, Education and Care. This is made available through a multi disciplinary team consisting of highly experienced and qualified trainers and consultants in the above areas.
Autism Specific training and consultation is provided by a recognised expert in the field with more than 23 years experience of working with children and adults with autism and their families. He has considerable experience of training and lecturing in autism in this country and abroad to a variety of professional and parents.
The staff development team
The team offers a number of training opportunities to staff and other professionals including NVQ at levels 3 and 4 in Health and Social Care, ‘in house’ management courses and externally accredited courses in Autistic Spectrum Disorders at all levels up to Masters.
The aim of the team is to ensure that all staff are fully prepared, with the knowledge and skills needed to support children and young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and that this will enable staff to ensure that the children and young people reach their full potential.