Case Studies - Withdrawal classes (Ireland)

1. Context
Every year a small group of students leave school without qualifications, some of them without attempting any of the State examinations.  For many of these young people, their experience of school has been one of failure and alienation.

The Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP) was introduced by the Department of Education and Science in September 1996 as an intervention within the Junior Certificate specifically aimed at those students who are potential early school leavers.  

The Programme is designed to ensure that these young people can benefit from their time in school and enjoy the experience of improvement and success.  It does this by providing a curriculum framework which will assist schools and individual teachers in adopting a student centred approach to education and in providing students with a programme to meet their individual needs. 

It sets out to make the experience of school relevant and accessible to those young people who find it difficult to cope with the school system and who would benefit from support in working towards the aims of the Junior Certificate.

The JCSP approach involves:

• Analysing students' strengths and weaknesses and taking note of any specific recurring difficulties
• Planning programmes of work which both build on students' abilities and address the main obstacles which hinder their progress.
• Engaging in dialogue with young people and their parents regarding their needs and their progress in school

In addition to reinforcing the general aims of the Junior Certificate, the JCSP addresses the main obstacles which hinder some young people's success in their second-level school career e.g.

• The lack of certain basic knowledge and skills which are necessary for coping in the second-level school.  These include, but are not confined to, competence in literacy and numeracy.
• Difficulties with social interaction not only with teachers, but with peers.  Students who have prolonged experience of failure in school often lack self-confidence and have poor self-esteem.  This can affect their academic performance as well as their social experience in school.
• The number and variety of subjects and subject teachers in second-level schools, which contrast with the more integrated experience of the primary school.  The fragmentation of the subject centred curriculum can be especially problematic for some young people at the transfer stage between primary and second-level school.

The Junior Certificate School Programme provides schools and teachers with a focus for identifying and addressing these issues before they develop into major problems. It also assists teachers to take appropriate action if these are already causing young people to have difficulties with school.

Students who may be at risk can be identified at an early stage in their school careers.  Schools whose staff is experienced in working with young people who have experienced failure during schooling and/or who are under-achieving have noticed that many students who fail or drop out display a combination of the following indicators:

• Poor attendance or truancy;
• Serious difficulties in the primary school;
• Difficulty with some of the basic skills and knowledge which are necessary for coping with second-level school, for example, reading, writing and numeracy;
• Signs of being alienated or disaffected and non-co-operative behaviour such as disrupting class or withdrawal from school life;
• Difficulty in getting along with their peers especially in the case of those who show signs of poor self-esteem.

2. Institutional implementation  

The JCSP Curriculum Strategy
The Junior Certificate School Programme operates within the Junior Certificate curriculum.  It follows the curriculum framework set out for the Junior Certificate, which is re-focused to cater for JCSP students.

It is an intervention into the Junior Certificate and not an alternative to it. It helps to make the curriculum accessible and relevant to young people who would benefit from a different approach to the Junior Certificate.

All JCSP students follow at least the courses leading to the Foundation Level examinations in English and Mathematics, and a suitable course in Irish.  Other subjects are included in their timetable, following consultation between school authorities and parents.  Most students follow a Junior Certificate programme very similar to that of their peers.

The JCSP curriculum strategy involves:

• Cross-curricular work which helps to locate discrete skills and knowledge in a meaningful context, which reinforces learning across subject boundaries and which promotes team-work among teachers.  It also continues the integrated thematic approach of the primary school.  Time is provided to schools for teachers to meet and plan the cross-curricular activities.
• Basic skills development relevant to many areas of the curriculum and which are important for managing daily life, both inside and outside school.  These include, but are not confined to, literacy and numeracy.
• Personal and social development which enhances self-esteem and the ability to relate well to other people.  All areas of the curriculum have the potential to contribute here.

Adoption of this curriculum strategy will influence key aspects of classroom practice and, in particular, will facilitate the use of an extended range of teaching methods.

The content of the courses which JCSP students follow emphasise:

• Skills, knowledge and concepts selected from Junior Certificate subject syllabuses, which best explore the aptitudes and abilities of these young people
• Key skills, knowledge and concepts which are essential for students' progress in all areas of the curriculum and which are not always explicitly stated in Junior Certificate subject syllabuses.  Examples include reading, use and care of tools and equipment, manual dexterity
• Personal and social development, addressing issues such as life skills, relationships, self-esteem and substance abuse.

Ennis Community College - Development of withdrawal classes
In Ennis Community College and Ennis Schools Completion we adopt the JCSP programme based on local and student’s needs.  In 2nd year and the start of 3rd year we reassess the students’ abilities and strengths and the students are placed in targeted JSCP class according to needs to ensure the best possible educational outcomes in the Junior Certificate.

This JCSP class consists of:

• Smaller class numbers (15 max)
• Reduced subject loads –down from 13 to 7 or 8
• Specialised teaching
• Differentiated learning
• Focus on numeracy and literacy skills
• More emphasises on practical subjects

 
Despite this level of support some students are unable to manage even in this supported class the due to a variety of different reasons:

• Behavioural issues
• School refusal
• Poor or inconsistent attendance
• Poor educational attainment
• Expressing that they will leave school
• Family circumstances
• Feuding
• A significant number of suspensions
• Students who are likely to be expelled from school

For these students Ennis Schools Completion Programme has put in place a withdrawal programme to ensure educational progression and attainment this programme is based on an adapted JSCP programme that consists of:

• In school withdrawal
• Students attend school for a reduced number of hours
• Students take 6 subjects for Junior certificate -3 academic, 3 practical
• Strong emphasis on students strengths

 

We offer this is two ways:

1. Separate teaching - one teacher to two students
2. In mainstream on a reduced day - with support staff present

 
The decision to provide this level of support in terms of withdrawal classes is taken in consultation with:

• School management
• Students
• Parents/care giver
• Guidance counsellor- re: progression and attainment
• On the recommendation of –
• Clinical psychology
• Child and adolescent mental health services
• Social work department

 
The withdrawal classes require a significant of planning and staffing on top of a government funded JCSP initiative which is designed to cater for the most educationally disadvantaged students.  But In Ennis Community College School it is imperative that students leave school with an educational qualification to break the cycle of generational drop-out and lack of educational attainment.   In the 2012/2013 SCP and resource department supported the 12 student most at risk of dropping out of school through withdrawal.


3. Outcomes

1. 11 finished the 2012/2013 academic year who wouldn’t have done so without intensive withdrawal support
2. The 3 students in 3rd year (junior certificate year) sat the Junior Certificate exam
3. 11 Student finished the year successfully having either taken school exams or state exams

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