Schools must not have special needs class veto, says council

The State’s advisory body on special needs education has asked the Government to be given the authority to order secondary schools to provide special classes for students with additional needs.

The National Council for Special Education said while many secondary schools have inclusive admissions policies, it was disappointed there were still barriers to opening special classes, even in cases where they were clearly needed.

The council made the comments at a sitting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection on Wednesday.

“At present, there is no specific obligation for any school to open a special class. We believe that this needs to change to ensure schools do not have a veto,” said Sé Goulding, the council’s head of operations and support services.

“It is important that all students are given the opportunity, in line with their best interests, to attend a school in their community. The council has requested the Department of Education to provide us with the appropriate legislative authority in this respect.”

Considerable progress

Overall, the council said there has been considerable progress in meeting the needs of students with additional requirements at second level over the past decade.

In the last three years alone, the number of special classes at post-primary level has risen from approximately 134 to 205, reflecting the transition of students from primary special classes into their local secondary.

It said teacher knowledge and understanding of special educational needs was improving, with many teachers taking part in professional development of high quality.

As part of a study of the educational experiences of secondary students with special needs, the council found a majority were positive about schools.

They had mixed views about how support should be provided to them. Many students were positive about special needs assistance, but said it also interfered with forming friendships with others in the class.

Some asked that schools should carefully consider how additional classroom support can be given in a way that reduces the possibility of them being seen by others as different.

Many were positive about in-class team-teaching and resource teaching, provided there was good communication and linkages between the different teachers involved.

Additional support

The council said it recognised additional support is needed to assist schools to support students whose care needs are significantly above levels that would normally be expected to be delivered by a teacher in the classroom.

However, it said post-primary management bodies, teachers and students advised them that access to special needs assistants was not advisable unless “absolutely essential”. This was because they were regarded as impeding young students’ independence and relationships with other students.

It has recommended that further supplementary teaching support from qualified teachers should be provided in post-primary to drive the improvement of educational outcomes for students with special needs.

The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals told the committee it was fully supportive of the council’s work to support the inclusion of students with special education needs in mainstream schools.

Clive Byrne, the association’s director, said inclusive education policies had resulted in a greater number of students with special needs attending mainstream schools.

Latest figures indicated as many as 25 per cent of the school population had some form of additional need, he said.