Around 96% of parents who have disabled children are apprehensive that their children’s school could lack resources due to modifications to the allocation model of special education teachers by the Department of Education. The revised model, published last month, will dictate how resources will be dispersed to a large number of disabled students attending regular schools. Approximately one in every three schools is predicted by the department to see a decline in teaching hours, while a gain is anticipated by the other two thirds through the new system.
Significantly, the revised model no longer includes “complex needs” as a benchmark for assigning hours to special education teachers. A trio of disability advocacy bodies – AsIAm, Inclusion Ireland and Down Syndrome Ireland – revealed to an Oireachtas committee on Tuesday that these changes were implemented without discussions with parents or parties in the disability sector, which contravenes Ireland’s responsibilities as set out by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Details of a survey of 1,300 parents, held the week before, were also disclosed by the groups, illustrating the “substantial concerns” of these families. A total of 94% felt that any decrease in special education teaching hours would impede their child’s capacity to learn and be involved in school, while almost three quarters (74%) expressed confusion over the Department’s suggested changes. Around 96% of respondents felt apprehensive about their child’s school losing resources due to the department’s revisions.
Turlough Kelly, communication and advocacy manager with Down Syndrome Ireland, acknowledged that the changes have led to intense worry and dissatisfaction among many of its members.
The Department’s lack of clear public explanation regarding the exclusion of complex needs from the criteria has led numerous parents to fear that their children may lose access to the support or educational environment essential for their development. The absence of conversation with those most affected has also bred a significant amount of uncertainty and stress.
AsIAm’s CEO, Adam Harris, highlighted the prevailing situation where the majority of young individuals aren’t able to gain the support they need in school. He called for an immediate increase in investment coupled with a sturdy appeals procedure to provide families with clarity and avoid any conflict between schools and the Department. Harris concluded that the system needs to be optimised to suit the children, rather than making them conform to a flawed system.
Derval McDonagh, the head of Inclusion Ireland, has raised concerns about the mismatch between the realities faced by disabled children at school and the perceptions of those in authority. McDonagh reports that almost half of children with any sort of support needs lack the necessary accommodations in school, affecting not only their timetable but also exacerbating emotional distress brought on by the school environment. Several of these children have even stopped attending school altogether.
From a recent evaluation undertaken by Inclusion Ireland, only around one in seven disabled children appear to be flourishing in Irish schools, a figure McDonagh believes should be a wake-up call for society. McDonagh said, “Children’s school experiences stay with them forever, and we urgently need a better education system where every child feels they have a place, are valued, and receive the appropriate help.”
Pauline O’Reilly, a senator from the Green Party, and Jim O’Callaghan, a TD for Fianna Fáil, both voiced their concerns about major blunders made by the Education Department and urged that trust with disability advocacy groups be rebuilt. Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Labour’s spokesperson on education, emphasized that children’s needs must take precedence over those of any other stakeholders.
The Minister for Education, Norma Foley, spoke in a recent press briefing. She maintained that the new system was flexible enough to acknowledge the complex needs of students and was formed based on the feedback from schools. The new system wasn’t expected to reduce the number of specialised education teachers, but rather enhance the education system’s ability to cater to the significant learning needs of students.
Foley refrained from commenting as to whether there would be a delay in the changes, something many disability advocacy groups have requested. She, however, encouraged all parties involved to cooperate in implementing the modifications. The Education Department is committed to preventing schools from being adversely affected by these issues and has pledged to preserve existing hours allocated for complex needs at each school.
A previous statement from the department clarified that the term ‘complex needs’ was omitted due to concerns about the credibility of HSE data relating to children with special needs.
Josepha Madigan, the State Minister for special needs, has informed the Dáil that approximately 67% of schools will maintain their current hours or see an increase. She further stated that of the remaining schools, over 70% of them would face a reduction of no more than five hours.
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