Mr. Sé Goulding:

I thank the committee for the invitation to attend this afternoon's meeting. I am accompanied by my colleague, Ms Noelle Connolly, head of local services at the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. The NCSE has a national network of special educational needs organisers, SENOs, who work with parents and schools to provide advice and resources to schools for students with special educational needs. One of their roles includes processing applications for special school transport arrangements for students who are unable, for a variety of reasons, to avail of school transport under the general school transport scheme.

The majority of students with special educational needs are educated in the mainstream setting and can avail of the Department of Education and Skills general school transport scheme. However, some students in mainstream schools may have particular difficulties arising from their disabilities which mean that they cannot use the school bus provided under the general school transport scheme. For example they may require a wheelchair-accessible bus. There are also approximately 15,000 students who are enrolled in a special class in a mainstream school or in a special school. The Department’s scheme allows for special transport arrangements to be put in place in order that transport may be provided to the nearest school that is, or can be resourced, to meet the special educational needs of the student concerned. The role of the NCSE is to confirm to the Department that the school in question is the nearest such school.

When a school submits an application for special school transport, it will have sought and obtained parental or guardian consent beforehand. On average, the NCSE receives approximately. 3,500 such applications annually from schools and all applications are accompanied by the relevant professional reports, which will have assessed the student with a diagnosed disability that meets the departmental criteria for support and also confirms that the student’s needs are such that he or she cannot avail of the general school transport scheme. In those cases, where the student requires a special class or special school placement, this would also be referenced in the professional reports. Sometimes the needs of the students are such that they cannot avail of the school bus. For example they may need to be transported by taxi, and in such cases the school would have to outline the reasons for this and also provide a professional report that supports this.

The school transport scheme also provides that schools may also apply to the SENO for an escort to assist the student with special educational needs. In such cases, the school would set out the case for such a provision, for example, where a student has significant medical or behavioural reasons for such transport, and again the application would be accompanied by a professional report confirming the need. The SENO reports on these matters to the Department, which then makes a formal decision on the application for transport before informing the school. The scheme generally works well and it is only in a small number of cases that difficulties may arise in the application, and these would mainly relate to a position where the student is enrolled in a school that is not the nearest school which is or can be resourced to meet the student's needs. In such circumstances, the SENO has no discretion as special transport arrangements can only be put in place to the nearer school.

The NCSE has a role in providing policy advice to the Minister for Education and Skills relating to the education of students with special educational needs and the role of the school transport scheme has been considered briefly in this context. The NCSE acknowledges the significant effort, commitment and investment by the Department in providing special transport arrangements. There is no doubt these arrangements are costly but without them, many students with special educational needs would not be able to attend school. The NCSE considers that in general, the special transport scheme works well and parents appreciate the service. However, in our policy advice to the Minister on supporting students with autism spectrum disorder in schools, the NCSE recognised that parents encounter difficulties where they choose to send their child to a special school that is not the nearest school that can be or is resourced to meet the child’s special educational needs. This may be because therapy supports are not available in the nearest school.

Another concern can be where bus drivers, bus escorts or other school staff have not received autism awareness training. Consequently, there may not be a full understanding of how the most innocuous interaction may cause distress to some students with autism. A further concern occasionally arises with transport between school and respite homes as it has been brought to the attention of the NCSE that some students are not transported from their respite centre to and from school. This can place pressure on parents when the child is in respite to put in place their own transport arrangements and can impact on the full value of the respite provided.

The NCSE policy advice paper Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, made the following recommendations. School personnel working with students with autism spectrum disorder, ASD, including bus escorts, drivers and caretakers should receive training to promote and develop a common basic understanding of ASD and how it may affect students The Departments of Health and Education and Skills should jointly consider and put in place appropriate practical arrangements for students with complex special educational needs to be transported to and from care settings to school on the same basis that they are transported from their homes, and, pending full roll-out of the Health Service Executive's progressing disabilities policy, to alternative special schools and special classes where the executive is unable to provide the necessary therapy supports for a student in his or her local school.