Government proposal to open ‘special educational needs centres' has been criticized
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Loading... - David Belmonte
- 27 May 2022
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Stakeholders met with Department of Education officials this afternoon following criticism of a government proposal to open designated education centers for children with special educational needs.
It has emerged the government is planning to open five so-called ‘special education centres’ later this year as an emergency measure in response to a shortage of places in suitable schools.
However, the proposal has drawn backlash from parents and activists, with some fearing it will become a permanent fix rather than a temporary measure.
In a statement this afternoon, Minister of State for Special Education Josepha Madigan said the proposal “is being worked on and is still at a very early stage.”
She said the government’s “number one priority” was to increase the number of places in special classes in schools across the country.
“Every child with special educational needs deserves a school placement tailored to those needs. I am committed to implementing all possible solutions to meet the needs of these children. This includes using the Section 37a process which I am committed to using where it has not been possible to get schools to open special classes,” she said.
A Section 37a notice is a legally binding intervention by the Minister with schools to create additional classes for children with special needs.
Madigan continued: “Families can be assured that the Department and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) remain committed to opening special classes as soon as possible and this proposal provides new opportunities to support children and parents. while we work to offer an additional special class. places.
“I will continue to engage with the NCSE and with clients on providing additional special classes not just in Dublin but across the country where we have families who need these placements.”
Adam Harris, CEO of the association for autism AsIAm, who attended the meeting this afternoon, said The newspaper that he expressed concern that the proposal might become permanent.
‘Not acceptable’
“We were concerned that something that was presented as temporary could become very permanent, that there might not have been an understanding of the challenges people have in terms of transitioning,” he said.
When you’re on the autism spectrum, the idea that an autistic person can just be moved from one environment to another only misunderstands the needs of autistic people to be honest.
He said the ministry had made it clear that this proposal was an early-stage idea and no decision had been made, adding that he wanted to hear from stakeholders about it.
“We have agreed to meet again on May 31 and we are certainly happy to engage around any solutions that can be found, but I think what we need to be very, very clear about is that the proposal to this stage is not acceptable. and we would vigorously oppose it,” he said.
Harris said he was “shocked and concerned” when the statement was released yesterday.
“It is very clear to us that this proposal is a non-runner. It is a regressive proposal that would undermine children’s rights,” he said.
“We also don’t believe that we are in an emergency situation. We are in crisis due to a lack of proper planning, but it is not an emergency. This is something that should always have been foreseen and planned by the Department and by the NCSE.
“This crisis didn’t need to happen, but it happens every summer due to a lack of proper planning, and there appears to be a lack of sufficient data from the NCSE and the Department” , did he declare.
He added that local solutions must be found for the children who still have not secured a place in school and that planning for next year must begin to prevent this from happening again.
Yesterday Madigan stressed that the plan is not a mid- or long-term alternative to a special class placement at a school.
She said children can access education “on an interim basis” at a new SEN center and be supported to move quickly to placement in a special class in a mainstream school.
“This is an additional measure to ensure that, while children await re-placement in a special class in a mainstream school, they can access a more sustained level of support in a setting with peers from their age.
“This is particularly important for some children with SEN who rely on home tuition while awaiting placement in a special class. It’s just an option for parents if they want to take advantage of it.
She added that children would have access to qualified teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) at the new centers and that she wanted to ensure that “every child has access to the supports they need”.
“Ten Steps Back”
Another voluntary organisation, Inclusion Ireland, said in a statement it was “shocked and appalled” by the proposal, describing it as “like ten steps backwards on the road to inclusive education”.
“Inclusion Ireland has not been contacted or consulted in any way on these measures, although it is heavily involved in national advisory groups and forums on special and inclusive education. We are so disappointed with such a response to a problem that the department has been aware of for months and years.
CEO of Inclusion Ireland, Derval McDonagh said: “We all know what happens with ‘short term’ segregated solutions, they are quickly becoming the accepted norm which lasts years longer than expected and it is not not what children deserve for their education.
“Children only have one chance to participate in their education, then they become the adults of tomorrow. There must be proper planning around children’s right to education and a coordinated, well-thought-out and appropriately resourced response to children’s needs, even when the response needs to happen quickly. Read More...
