Ms Nicola Hart:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to present. I wish to echo a lot of what Mr. Harris said. An inclusive society begins with inclusive education, but inclusion is much more than just physical presence. According to the UNCRPD, inclusion is a process of systematic reform embodying changes and modification in content, teaching methods, approaches, structures and strategies in education to overcome barriers and provide all students with an equitable and participatory learning experience. For children with Down's syndrome, research has consistently found that academic progress and achievements are better among those children attending mainstream school. The majority of children with Down's syndrome now enrol in their local primary school, with increasing numbers progressing to mainstream post-primary school. This is a welcome development and in line with education policy. The EPSEN Act states that children with special educational needs should, wherever possible, be in an inclusive, mainstream environment with their peers.

Shockingly, however, 17 years later EPSEN has yet to be fully implemented. The Irish State has an unfortunate history of introducing legislation which is then not fully implemented, and often those sections left unimplemented are those which would have the greatest impact. The failure to enact the provisions in the EPSEN Act relating to an individual right to assessment and an individual education plan, IEP, denies students the statutory right to the educational supports needed to enable them to benefit from an inclusive education. While in many cases teachers are willing to devise IEPs, this is not universal. Schools are "encouraged" rather than obligated to provide an IEP. Assessments may or may not be available. We have long campaigned for EPSEN to be fully enacted and adequately resourced in order that the rights of students with additional needs are enshrined in law rather than dependent on "encouragement" from the Department and the goodwill of schools and teachers.

We are aware that education theory and practice have moved on since 2004 and we understand the calls for a full review of EPSEN before it is fully enacted. However, we are looking for action now, not in another decade or two. We acknowledge that there may be a need for amendments but we believe that the rights-based approach within the EPSEN Act needs to be rapidly adopted and the resources provided to do this properly. We are not looking for a repeat of the early years assessment of need process, whereby statutory obligations are often not met and identification of need brings no obligation to provide support. We are looking for students to have statutory access to individualised plans and supports which have been identified as necessary for their education. With the year that is in it, we are also calling for additional SNA and resource teaching support to be provided to students. We all know that students with additional needs have been badly impacted during the pandemic. These same students will need additional support to continue their learning. The practice of sharing access to SNAs across different classes is difficult to manage at the best of times and completely inappropriate in a pandemic. It needs to stop. We would also like to know whether the Department is gathering information and monitoring the use of reduced timetables in schools. All children have been impacted by reduced access to education during the pandemic, but the fact remains that children with disabilities were disproportionately affected by reduced school days or weeks long before Covid-19. We have raised this with the committee before and we were assured in early 2019 that there would be monitoring of the use of reduced timetables and consultation on the issue.

To summarise, we call on the Government to amend and implement EPSEN without delay; to provide adequate resources and training for teachers so they can provide individualised education planning; and to provide additional resources in order that any needs which are identified in the planning process can be met. We would also like confirmation that the extended school year programme will be available to all students who have Down's syndrome. We would like to end the practice of shared SNAs for children in different classrooms. We would like reassurance that the Department is monitoring use of reduced timetables in schools over and above the pandemic-related closures. We would like the Department to work with organisations and schools to develop parameters to ensure that reduced timetables are used for the shortest possible time and only for very explicit reasons.