O'Keeffe sought no advice before closing special needs classes

MINISTER FOR Education Batt O’Keeffe has admitted he never sought or received the advice of his own department’s inspectorate before deciding to close special needs classes for more than 500 children.

The disclosure – made in a Dáil reply to Independent deputy Joe Behan – will increase the pressure on the Minister to rescind his decision to close more than 100 special classes for children with mild general learning needs.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation said the Minister’s admission contradicted his assertion that the decision to close the classes next September was on educational grounds.

“It shows once and for all that this decision was all about money, not children’s education,” said John Carr, general secretary of the union. But last night a ministerial spokesman said it was ill-informed and without basis to claim that the decision was a money-saving measure.

“It should be noted that having their children included in the mainstream class is the desire of the vast majority of parents,” he said.

Earlier this year the Minister announced the closure of 128 special classes for children with mild general learning difficulties. More than 40 schools appealed the decision to the Minister. Last week the department confirmed that only 10 of the classes will be retained.

The ministerial spokesman said: “The arrangement whereby classes with fewer than nine pupils would not be entitled to a teaching post for the special class has been in place since 1999. The move was simply in line with department criteria that have been in place for a decade.”

But Mr Carr said: “If the Minister had any concern for the special needs children affected he would have asked his inspectorate to visit each class.

“He could have asked them to examine professional assessments recommending the children for special classes. He could have asked them to consider what alternatives might be available for the children.”

Responding to a series of written questions from Mr Behan, the Minister also acknowledged he proceeded with the closure without waiting for a forthcoming report by experts on the effectiveness of special needs classes.

Last night Mr Behan said the Dáil replies showed the move was a cynical and callous decision that was all about cutting costs rather than the educational welfare of children with special needs. He said the department could face legal challenges on the decision.

Mr Behan, a former school principal now on leave of absence, said he knew parents were “dreadfully upset and concerned” that their children, who had made progress in special classes, would struggle to cope in mainstream classes.

“The decision to refuse most of the recent appeals made by schools now places schools and parents in an impossible position. In the case of schools which had more than one class, this will mean selecting some children to stay in the special class and some to go.”

He said no guidelines were available to help schools decide which children should remain in special classes. In the Dáil last week, Labour leader Eamonn Gilmore said children whose special needs classes had been cut were “going to be left behind largely because they’re poor”.