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Index

Introduction
Standard 1
The Board's Consultation Process
Standard 2
The Board's General Model
for Special Education
Standard 3
Roles and Responsibilities
Standard 4
Early Identification Procedures and Intervention Strategies
Standard 5
The IPRC Process and Appeals
Standard 6
Education and Other Assessments
Standard 7
Specialized Health Support Services in School Settings
Standard 8
Categories and Definitions of Exceptionalities
Standard 9
Special Education Placements Provided by the Board
Standard 10
Individual Education Plans (IEP)
Standard 11
Provincial and Demonstration Schools in Ontario
Standard 12
Specialized Services Staff
Standard 13
Staff Development
Standard 14
Equipment
Standard 15
Accessibility of School Buildings
Standard 16
Transportation
Standard 17
Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC)
Standard 18
Co-ordination of Services with Other Ministries or Agencies
Standard 19
Submission and Availability
of the Plan
Forms & Resources

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Grand Erie Special Education Plan 2023-24

Standard 9

Special Education Placements Provided by the Board

The purpose of the standard is to provide details of the range of placements provided by Grand Erie and to inform the public that placement of a student in regular class is the first option considered by an Identification Placement and Review Committee (IPRC).

Grand Erie’s programs and services are delivered in safe and enabling environments that promote success for students with special education needs. An enabling environment is positive, inclusive, provides for full participation of all students, and fosters student independence, belonging, and well-being. Schools and special education support staff work collaboratively and respectfully with students, parents/caregivers and other involved agencies.

Using all available information to understand each child’s unique strengths and needs, responsive instructional and assessment practices are implemented. Policies and programs in Grand Erie serve students with disabilities within the context outlined in the Ontario Human Rights Code, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and/or the AODA, 2005 and the Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession.

SEAC is consulted during the review of self-contained classes annually. Grand Erie believes that placement in a regular class in the student’s home school is the most enabling placement for all students. Individual student strength and needs are considered when determining classroom placement annually.

When more intensive support is required for a student, self-contained placement may be considered by the board and confirmed by the IPRC.

Educational implications of participation in self-contained programs should be discussed with the parents/caregivers and students (if appropriate). When a self-contained placement may be appropriate, it is a consultative process which honours the voices of parents/caregivers, school staff, program support staff and the student. Integration into regular program should occur, in consultation with the parents/caregivers and school staff. Exit planning from self-contained programming into regular programming is considered on a regular basis, as outlined in Individual Education Plan (IEP) transition plans.

Types of placements provided at the elementary and secondary levels:
 

Regular Class
  • Indirect Support
  • Resource Assistance
  • Withdrawal Assistance

 

Self-Contained
  • Partially Integrated
  • Fully Integrated

 

When the student’s placement is a Special Education Class with Partial Integration the student must be integrated into a regular class for at least one instructional period daily.

An IPRC may recommend a change in a students’ placement if:

  • the student requires a placement that permits a greater focus on the goals and objectives of the Individual Education Plan (IEP)
  • the student is meeting goals and objectives more closely approximating the expectation of the Ontario Curriculum and requires a program more focused on those goals and objectives.
     

When the needs of a student cannot be met within the Board’s range of placements, an IPRC may support one of the following temporary or permanent placements:

  • Child and Parent Resource Institute (CPRI)
  • Education Programs in Care, Treatment, Custody and Correctional Facilities
  • Amethyst School (for students with ADHD and/or severe learning disabilities)
  • Trillium School (for students with severe learning disabilities)
  • Robarts School (for students who are deaf /hard of hearing)
  • W. Ross Macdonald School (for students who are blind/deaf-blind)
     

Options for placement outside the Board are communicated to the parents/caregivers before the IPRC through:

  • case conferences.
  • visit to the outside placement.

Most students identified as exceptional within Grand Erie are placed in a regular class. The document that follows identifies the types and numbers of self-contained programs within Grand Erie for the 2023- 2024 school year.
 

Elementary Self-Contained 2023-24
 

Intensive
Support 10

Intensive
Support 6 –
Communication

Intensive
Support 6 –
Physical

Intensive
Support 8 –
Skill Building

Intensive
Support 25
Brantford/Brant

4

6

2

1

 
Haldimand

1

2

1

 

 
Norfolk

 1

2

1

 

1

 

Secondary Self-Contained 2023-24
 

Intensive
Support – Bridge

Intensive
Support –
Vocational

Intensive
Support 10

Intensive
Support 6 –
Communication

Intensive
Support 8 – Physical
Brantford/Brant

5

5

6

4

2
Haldimand

1

3

1

2

1
Norfolk

2

2

4

 

2


 

Elementary
 

Intensive Support 8 – Fully Contained or Partially Integrated
  • Support students with the development of skills related to self-regulation
  • Students may be integrated into a regular class setting and may be working on modified curriculum in addition to the alternative curriculum goals.
  • Time-limited with a focus on skill-building to exit to regular class programming.

 

Intensive Support 25 – Partially Integrated
  • Grades 5-8
  • Provides differentiated learning experiences of depth and breadth beyond the regular curriculum
  • Provides opportunity for collaboration, learning and leadership with peers of similar intellectual abilities
  • Programming focuses on critical and high order thinking skills, creativity, problem solving, research, technology, and metacognition
  • Students exhibits exceptionally high performance beyond grade level expectations in numerous subject areas

 

Intensive Support 10 Intellectual – Fully Contained
  • Support students with an intellectual disability that typically falls within the moderate to severe range.
  • Focus is to develop fundamental independent living skills; functional academics, communication, self-advocacy, and social skills and assisted job skills that can lead to successful community participation and adult living.
  • Program goals are derived from alternative curriculum
  • Focus on skill-building to exit to regular class programming wherever possible.

 

Intensive Support 6 Communication – Fully Contained
  • Alternative programming in these classrooms is driven by individual student need with staff facilitating independence and life skills where possible. Students have a diagnosis of Autism which may impact their ability to participate in the credit bearing programs.
  • Focus on communication and social skills with support for behaviour, safety, and sensory needs.
  • Time-limited with a focus on skill-building to exit to regular class programming wherever possible.

 

Intensive Support 6 Physical – Fully Contained
  • Alternative programming in these classrooms is driven by individual student need, with staff facilitating independence and life skills, where possible. Students have multiple exceptionalities.
  • Focus on communication, social awareness, personal care, and motor skills development.
  • Time-limited with a focus on skill-building to exit to regular class programming wherever possible.

 

T.H.R.I.V.E. Elementary

Grand Erie offers a virtual withdrawal experience for students in grade 5-8 who demonstrate evidence of advanced cognitive ability to collaborate and learn with like-minded students from across the board. In consultation with the students and parents/caregivers, a student who demonstrates the need for learning with greater focus on the Deep Learning Competencies (link- Deep Learning Competencies – 6 C’s (nbed.ca)) and opportunities to learn with other like-minded peers, an application may be made to the Specialized Services Program Inclusion Coordinator at two times throughout the school year, once at the beginning of each term. T.H.R.I.V.E students meet with the virtual class and a teacher once per week for 90 minutes to work synchronously and asynchronously to plan, investigate, research, and share their learning. A review of how the program is meeting the goals for the student and to determine further benefits in subsequent years occurs annually.
 

Skill Building Program Elementary
Three schools offered Skill Building Programs staffed with an educator and educational assistant to provide opportunities for direct instruction to students on specific and targeted skills. Skill building educators work collaboratively with classroom educators to team-teach and/or co-plan lessons to ensure the learning is scaffolded to meet every learner at the start of the lesson. Instructional time with the skill building teacher focuses on targeted skill intervention and generalization through either in-class support or small group withdrawal, for short durations. The overarching goal of the skill building program is to ensure that students are present, participating, supported, and achieving across all environments at school. 
 

Secondary
 

Intensive Support - Bridge 16 – Partially Integrated
  • Offered as 4 section classes
  • Supports student need in literacy, numeracy, self-regulation, social skills, learning skills, self-advocacy, and mental health, while offering maximum integration with the opportunity to work towards credit.
  • Time-limited with a focus on skill-building to exit to credit-bearing classes.
  • Working toward an Ontario Secondary School Certificate (OSSC) or Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with goals of attending post-secondary programming or entering the workplace after secondary school.

 

Intensive Support – Vocational 16 – Partially Integrated
  • Offered as 8-section classes
  • Students are integrated into at least one credit-bearing course wherever possible, while also working on modified and/or alternative curriculum to gain skills in functional academics, job readiness and independent living skills
  • Time-limited with a focus on skill-building to exit to credit-bearing classes wherever possible.
  • Working towards a Certificate of Accomplishment (COA), Ontario Secondary School Certificate (OSSC) or Ontario Secondary SchoolnDiploma (OSSD) with goals of taking further training, entering the workplace, or post-secondary programming after secondary school.

 

Intensive Support 10 – Fully Contained
  • Offered as 8-section classes.
  • Support students with an intellectual disability that typically falls within the moderate to severe range.
  • Focus is to develop fundamental independent living skills; functional academics, communication, self-advocacy, and social skills and assisted job skills that can lead to successful community participation and adult living.
  • Program goals are derived from alternative curriculum.
  • Focus on skill-building to exit to credit-bearing classes wherever possible.
  • Working towards a Certificate of Accomplishment (COA), Ontario Secondary School Certificate (OSSC) or Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with goals of taking further training, entering the workplace, or post-secondary programming after secondary school..

 

Intensive Support 6 Communication – Fully Contained
  • Offered as 8-section classes
  • Alternative programming in these classrooms is driven by individual student need, with staff facilitating independence and life skills where possible. Students have a diagnosis of Autism which may impact their ability to participate in the credit bearing programs.
  • Focus on communication and social skills with support for behaviour, safety, and sensory needs, applying the principals of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)
  • Focus on skill-building to exit to credit-bearing classes wherever possible.
  • Working towards a Certificate of Accomplishment (COA), Ontario Secondary School Certificate (OSSC) or Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with goals of taking further training, entering the workplace, or post-secondary programming after secondary school..

 

Intensive Support 6 Physical – Fully Contained
  • Offered as 8-section classes
  • Alternative programming in these classrooms is driven by individual student need, with staff facilitating independence and life skills, where possible. Students have multiple exceptionalities.
  • Focus on communication, social awareness, personal care, and motor skills development.
  • Focus on skill-building to exit to credit-bearing classes wherever possible.
  • Working towards a Certificate of Accomplishment (COA), Ontario Secondary School Certificate (OSSC) or Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with goals of taking further training, entering the workplace, or post-secondary programming after secondary school..


 

Project SEARCH – A School-to-Work Training Program

Project SEARCH offers total workplace immersion (3 work placements, 700+ hours of hands-on experience) for students with Intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.  Community agencies linked with the program support the students’ education, employment training and employment search after graduation.

The goal for students completing Project Search is competitive employment in an integrated setting in the community.  Students learn transferable skills at a host work site that can support a variety of employment opportunities in their community.  Students are immersed in an atmosphere of high expectations and 75% of Project | SEARCH Canada graduates secure quality employment within a year of graduation.

Project SEARCH Grand Erie has expanded to 2 host business sites, St. Joseph’s Long Term Care Home in Brantford, and new this year, Norfolk General Hospital in Simcoe. Project SEARCH is supported by a Grand Erie Secondary School Teacher and a Skills Trainer from Community Living.
 

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