‘What does the department know about my daughter’s literacy or numeracy?’ – mother’s fears over special education cuts plan

In a letter to Minister Foley, principals from several national schools in Co Clare, stated the proposed new model could see a reduction in special education hours

And the fact the proposal had been announced showed a “lack of empathy, judgement and insight to the needs of pupils within the educational system”.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - February 27th

The letter added: “We implore the Department of Education to re-design their model and stop the discrimination by ignoring the individual needs of vulnerable pupils within mainstream schools and instead to provide the necessary supports and investment to children so that they can thrive in an inclusive educational journey.”

The mother of a child who is autistic and has ADHD told the Irish Independent the issue had to be prioritised “ahead of RTÉ stories, which are a distraction from other serious issues in Ireland”.

Nessa Hill, from south Dublin city, whose six-year-old daughter, has “thrived” in school due to special education hours, fears for her child’s future if her access to specialist education is reduced.

Ms Hill (41) is along with principals and teachers highlighting the matter after they state the Department produced an updated policy to reduce special needs education hours in schools.

Barrister Ms Hill told the Irish Independent: “If this plan’s introduced, my daughter’s school won’t get the same number of hours for children with educational needs. How does the Department of Education know anything about my daughter’s literacy or numeracy.

“They’re relying on data that doesn’t take account of the needs of all children with special education needs.

“I’m worried about my daughter’s future if her hours are cut. The amount of media coverage RTÉ is getting when this issue is really going to impact children’s futures, is not good enough.

“If we can’t get proper support for children, some will end up institutionalised in future when they could have a bright future with the right education.”

In a joint statement released to the Irish Independent, the Clare national schools said: “We, as principals, are dismayed and incredulous that the Department would create such a model that excludes and ignores the needs of those most vulnerable pupils within the school system by removing complex needs as a criterion for allocation.

“With the roll out of the new 3 pillar model, they are decimating vital supports that are needed for children with needs to reach their full potential.

“The model takes into account the school enrolment number, but not the needs of those within the enrolment. How can an unabridged duty of care be carried out to those individuals if they are not even acknowledged or considered?

“We are requesting that the model be re-drafted to better suit the needs of pupils such as the pre-2017 allocation model.”

The statement added that the new measures “must at a minimum include a criterion for complex needs based on: needs reported by the school, professional reports from disability services and diagnosis where relevant”.

The principals said the Department could gather this information if it was “inputted by schools into the in-school administration system which is used on a nationwide level”.

“In the interim, we ask that the Department of Education leave allocations as they are for forthcoming academic year, and take that time to re-evaluate and re-draft the model for the next academic year,” the statement added.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said schools were notified of their SET allocations for the school year 2024/25 on February 6, 2024.

The Department said it couldn’t comment on individual cases, if a child is already in mainstream education or will join junior infants in September 2024 but added that they will be “fully supported in their education journey there”.

“There will be 14,600 Special Education Teachers (SETs) supporting mainstream classes in the 2024/25 school year, which is an increase of 1,000 since the end of the 2021 school year,” the spokesperson said.

“This is the highest number of SET teachers ever in our schools.

“The allocation model for 2024/25 distributes the total available number of SET posts in line with each school’s profile of need – it makes an allocation on the basis of a number of inputs, including enrolment numbers.

“Children with complex needs are supported in the model by now using school-level data from standardised tests in order to reflect relative levels of overall needed. The model seeks to distribute teaching resources in the fairest possible manner, taking into account as much evidence as possible in respect of individual schools and evidence in respect of the best possible use of resources.”