Mr. Eoin Kelly:

I will address the issue of transport, but before doing so I wish to add to what Ms Dempsey said. In recent years there has been a move away from individualised supports towards a whole-school resource approach. We would challenge this and certainly would not accept it. We are concerned that legislators might assume that the whole-school resource approach is working fine, but that is not the case. We do not concede the point on individualised supports, particularly as there are some children who will always require such supports. On a practical level, parents have informed us of the inconsistency in how schools apply various policies on the allocation of SNAs or resource hours. In addition, school principals take different approaches to how they manage resources. Again, there is no consistency in this regard.

We made a point on the links and interconnectivity between many of these issues. In that context, I return to the matter of the training provided for educators in respect of special needs education. We must ask whether these individuals are receiving the best training and support in how they manage resources. Deputies Simon Harris, Charlie McConalogue and Jonathan O'Brien referred to our experience of the management of resources. Perhaps this is more than just an issue of the number of SNAs. It may also be about the professionalism of educators within the school community and the training with which they are provided in order to allow them to manage the resources and meet demand in a much more confident and productive manner. I do not wish to be overly critical in this regard. However, this point must be taken into account.

The issue relating to classroom assistants goes to the heart of integration. The withdrawal method - the most popular of the methods in use - does not work, particularly in crowded classrooms in mainstream secondary schools. I am not referring to special schools. What happens in the mainstream sphere is that a resource teacher will take a number of children out of class in order to give them more focused assistance with their learning. We are concerned about the level of in-class support for these children when they return to the classroom. We have been discussing this matter with the National Council for Special Education and the special education section of the Department of Education and Skills and they have acknowledged our concerns. We recognise that they are coming towards the idea of trying various techniques, including team teaching whereby resource teachers are brought into the classroom to work with the main teacher. This is a welcome development and we would like to see further movement in this direction. Another technique in this regard is to bring in classroom assistants and allow them to reinforce the learning resource teachers are imparting to children. Both of these are definitely options which should be considered. We recognise that the Department is aware of them and moving towards examining the position on them. It may introduce pilot projects at a number of locations. This is a move we would welcome.

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien has referred to what appears to be a very interesting situation where the school transport system works very well in certain circumstances but that there is a limit when it comes to recognising what is required by those with special needs. The argument in this regard is that the service provide is resource driven and does not meet the requirements of those with special needs. We met representatives of the Department of Education and Skills and put these issues to them. The first point to make on the school transport system is that there is another principle involved, that of parental choice. The difficulty with the existing system is that it flies in the face of reality. In that context, one's local school may not be the best resourced or most appropriate school to which to send one's child. That point is not conceded in any of the documentation or circulars on the school transport system. Only one criterion is used in this regard - children must attend their local school.

Senator Marie Moloney referred to children who had been diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder and their escorts. While school transport may be provided, parents face another struggle when it comes to escorts. We have found that children with this disorder and those with ADHD and ADD have the greatest need for escorts. There have been cases where SENOs with responsibility for making recommendations to the school transport section of the Department would not accept additional passengers. Neither would they accept that a report obtained by a parent on his or her child was sufficient to suggest an escort was required. We are aware of cases where children were taken out of school while issues of this nature were being resolved. The last thing one wants is an education system which allows, encourages or facilitates the withdrawal of children from school because their health and safety are not being provided for. The parents of the children to whom I refer will not allow them to avail of school transport if escorts are not provided.