Programming and Planning
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- work to develop school and classroom communities where all students, including those with diverse needs and abilities, have a sense of personal belonging and achievement
- engage in practices that allow students with a wide range of learning needs to be taught together effectively
- enhance students' abilities to deal with diversity
- A Parent's Guide to Inclusive Education, produced by Community Living Manitoba, is available on the Community Living Manitoba website at www.aclmb.ca/files/PG2IE.pdf
Winnipeg: 204-786-1607 - Working Together: A Handbook for Parents of Children with Special Needs in School offers support and encouragement to parents and families of students with exceptional needs. It describes some of the services and activities that might be used to meet individual student needs at school. It is available on the Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning website at www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/parent/handbook.html
- a collaborative school-family-community process where school communities create learning environments and provide resources and services that are responsive to the lifelong learning, social and emotional needs of all students.
- social or behavioural skills
- communication skills
- cognitive (learning) skills
- physical skills
- sensory skills
- The Public Schools Act (Appropriate Educational Programming Regulation 155/2005) is available online at
web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/p250e.php - Appropriate Educational Programming in Manitoba: A Handbook for Student Services (2006) is a reference guide containing information that supports appropriate educational programming in Manitoba. It is available on the Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning website at
www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/aep/pdf/Standards_for_Student_Services.pdf - Working Together: A Handbook for Parents of Children with Special Needs in School (2004) provides information on educational planning and programming for students with exceptional needs. It is available on the Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning website at
www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/parent/pdf/workingtogether.pdf - Contact your child's teacher if you have specific questions about your child's educational programming.
- Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning consultants can provide information about educational planning and programming for students with exceptional needs.
- identifying a student's unique learning needs
- determining teaching strategies, materials and supports that address these learning needs
- implementing strategies, materials and supports
- evaluating the success of the interventions
- Student-Specific Planning: A Handbook for Developing and Implementing Individual Education Plans (IEPs) describes a student-specific planning process and includes developing, implementing and evaluating individual educational plans. This handbook is available on the Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning website at www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/iep/index.html
- Core team: Every student has a core planning team.
- In-school team: This team usually constists of people who may be incolved with your child at school on a daily basis.
- School support team: The people on this team consult with the in-school team, if needed, and provide expertise in the areas of planning, assessment and programming.
- having regular contact with the school
- providing information about your child and how he or she learns and behaves outside school
- taking an active role in the decisions made to support your child
- asking about the services and resources available to your child
- Working Together: A Handbook for Parents of Children with Special Needs in School contains definitions of some terms used in schools, and brief descriptions of the roles of some education staff. It is available on the Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning website at www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/parent/pdf/workingtogether.pdf
- student identification and background information (such as name, address andschools attended)
- a summary of the student's current levels of performance in a variety of areas (such as academic, communication, physical and self-help skills)
- outcomes the student is working on
- suggested teaching methods, materials and strategies
- timelines for evaluation and review of the plan
- current medical information about your child
- ongoing goals for your child that you are supporting at home
- successful learning and behaviour techniques that you are using
- An agenda book – In this book, homework, assignments, deadlines and important information is recorded daily.
- Electronic communication – Your child's teacher might have a class website and or may send regular email up-dates and reminders.
- Communication book – Your child may have a communication book that you and your child's teacher can use to record important information about your child on a daily basis.
- Student-Specific Planning: A Handbook for Developing and Implementing Individual Education Plans (IEPs) provides information on educational planning for students with exceptional needs and on IEP development. It is available on the Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning website at
www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/iep/index.html - Your child's teacher can answer specific questions about your child's educational programming and IEP.
- Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning consultants can answer general questions and provide information about IEP's and educational planning for students with exceptional needs.
Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning
Student Services Unit
Winnipeg: 204-945-7912
Manitoba toll free: 1-800-282-8069 ext. 7912 - is provided to support all students
- is based on the total number of students in the school division
- includes funding for instructional support, curricular materials, information technology, counselling and guidance and the student services grant
- is provided to school divisions to address the needs of specific students
- includes grants for students for whom English is an additional language, a co-ordinator/clinician grant and special needs Level II and Level III funding
- Funding of Schools contains information about funding provided to public schools and is available on the Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning website at www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/finance/schfund/index.html
- Manitoba Education ans Advanced Learning provides information about Level II and Level III Special Needs categorical funding, including descriptions of the exceptional student needs considered for support, on the Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning website at www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/funding/level2-3.html
- Contact your child's school – If you have questions about Level II and Level III funding, contact the principal at your child's school.
What is inclusion? + −
In Manitoba, educators are committed to the following philosophy of inclusion as their guiding principle:
Inclusion is a way of thinking and acting that allows every individual to feel accepted, valued, and safe. An inclusive community consciously evolves to meet the changing needs of its members. Through recognition and support, an inclusive community provides meaningful involvement and equal access to the benefits of citizenship.
In Manitoba, we embrace inclusion as a means of enhancing the well-being of every member of the community. By working together, we strengthen our capacity to provide the foundation for a richer future for all of us.
Inclusive education involves providing all students with the supports and opportunities they need to become participating members of their school community.
To support inclusion, Manitoba educators:
Inclusive education results in students of all abilities having a valued place in the classroom and school community.
For more information
What is appropriate educational programming? + −
In Manitoba, appropriate educational programming is defined as:
The Public Schools Act requires school boards to provide access to appropriate educational programming for all students within their schools. Appropriate Education Programming Regulation 155/2005 is part of The Public Schools Act. It provides direction to school divisions in developing appropriate educational programming policies. It addresses areas such as assessment, individual education plans and transitions into school.
What will appropriate educational programming look like for my child? + −
All children can learn, but not all children learn in the same way, at the same time, or at the same rate. Learning is an individual process. What is appropriate for one student may not be appropriate for another.
A doctor's diagnosis of a specific condition or disability does not provide enough information to plan for a child's individual needs. No two children are exactly alike. Children identified with the same diagnosis often have different abilities and learning needs and require different supports.
There are many different ways of meeting a student's learning needs. If your child is entering school with exceptional learning needs, or if you and/or the classroom teacher find that your child is having difficulty learning, certain areas need to be considered to plan appropriately.
To find out more about your child and how he or she learns, a teacher may begin by looking at the following areas:
The classroom teacher will use this information to adjust classroom instruction. The teacher may also ask other educators to help develop an appropriate plan for your child.
For more information
Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning
Student Services Unit
Winnipeg: 204-945-7912
Manitoba toll free: 1-800-282-8069 ext. 7912
What is student-specific planning? + −
Student-specific planning is a team process which involves:
The Student-specific Planning Process in Education + −
For more information
Who will be my child's support team? + −
The members of your child's planning and support team will vary according to your child's needs. In addition to the classroom teacher and parent(s), the team may include a resource teacher, the principal, a clinician, a therapist and/or others.
The circle below identifies people who may be on your child's support team
Student support may range from short-term strategies applied in the classroom to comprehensive, individualized programming.
Participating on your Child's Support Team + −
As a parent, you play an important role in ensuring that your child has a successful educational experience. Being a strong advocate for your child includes being an informed, contributing member of your child's support team.
You can actively support and participate in your child's school experiences by:
It's important to understand who is on your child's support team and the terms they use. Ask your child's teacher or resource teacher to explain any terms that you are not familiar with.
For more information
What is an individual Education Plan (IEP)? + −
An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a written document developed and used by a support team. It outlines a plan to address the unique learning needs of a student. IEPs may be developed for a wide range of students with very different strengths and needs.
Each IEP is specific to the student for whom it is designed. The format, length and answers of the IEP will reflect the needs of the student.
What do IEPs include? + −
IEPs generally include:
What are outcomes? + −
Outcomes are descriptions of what students are expected to learn. Each subject and grade level has outcomes that are described in provincial curricula.
This is an example of an outcome from the Grade Six English Language Arts curriculum:
3.1.4 Create and Follow a Plan Create anpd follow a plan to collect and record information within a pre-established time frame.
Student-specific outcomes (SSOs) are descriptions of what an individual student will know and be able to do by the end of the school year. Student-specific outcomes are not related to provincial curricula.
A student-specific communication outcome might look like this:
By June, Robbie will point to line drawings of food items on a picture shopping list with 90% accuracy in a variety of community settings.
During the student-specific planning process, your child's support team will decide if your child will be working on outcomes in the curriculum, on student-specific outcomes, or both. These decisions will be documented in your child's IEP.
If you have any questions about the outcomes your child is working on, ask your child's teacher.
What role do parents have in the IEP process? + −
Parents are valuable members of their child's support team. You have the right to participate in preparing and updating your child's IEP. All members of the support team participate in making decisions and sharing information with each other. As a parent, you may want to share:
Sharing this information with other members of your child's team can have a positive effect on your child's learning experience.
How do we clarify expectations of school work? + −
Curricular outcomes and student-specific outcomes describe the knowledge and skills students are expected to learn. Outcomes are what students work to learn.
Teachers plan a wide variety of activities and use a variety of strategies and materials to help their students reach outcomes. Activities are how children work on outcomes.
Your child's teacher will be able to tell you what your child is learning and the activities they participate in. On-going communication between school and home may happen in a variety of ways:
Discuss with your child's teacher the most effective ways to maintain on-going communication about your child and their school programming.
How will we know our child is meeting expectations? + −
Your child's teacher will be able to tell you about your child's current performance and progress in a variety of areas. This happens in most schools at regularly scheduled reporting periods during the year. It may also happen at scheduled IEP review meetings or at other times.
For more information
What funding support will my child receive in school? + −
Funding for public school divisions in Manitoba is administered by the Department of Education an Advanced Learning's Schools' Finance Branch and by the Public Schools Finance Board. School divisions decide how to use the funding they receive to provide appropriate educational programming for all students within their schools.
There are two general types of funding:
