Ms Mary Byrne:

In listening to the question, I note the Deputy was interested in guidance we might give on policy that would improve the situation. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is to publish guidelines shortly - they are at the final stage of preparation - on the transition from primary to post-primary for parents and schools. The NCSE is aware from our various consultations that there is very good practice in place on the transition of students in certain areas and in certain schools. We want to share what we know to be good practice and to make it available more widely. We know the kind of things that make a difference, including some already mentioned by Ms Teresa Maher. We consider it to be really important that schools and parents understand the need to plan well in advance. It is not enough to do this in sixth class, as one must be thinking about this long before the child reaches that point. One must think about the kind of supports the child will need in post-primary education, and some of these supports take time - for example, being obliged to adapt a school building. Similarly, making sure the resource supports and so on are available as soon as the child transfers also takes time. Consequently, we will be advocating for schools to plan well in advance and we intend to give guidance to parents and to schools about what information needs to be exchanged and how that information will be used in a post-primary school. We will put forward the idea of parents perhaps being given the opportunity to share what they know about how their children learn in primary school - for example, by bringing a little communication passport with them. The NCSE will raise the importance of having open days and things like that. In addition, some students with special educational needs will need more assistance in deciding on what subjects to be taught. These guidelines are in preparation and hopefully will be of some assistance in this transition.