Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirleach. I welcome the Minister.

I have a number of questions. Some of them have already been asked, but I would like to ask the Minister if she would consider making disability and autism training a mandatory element of all teacher training courses, going forward. Would the Minister also make it mandatory for all qualified teachers to undergo disability and autism training as continuing professional development, CPD? Whether you are at primary, secondary, post-leaving certificate, PLC, or even university level, you are going to encounter students with additional needs, who are autistic. If we are serious about being inclusive, it is imperative that we ensure all staff are properly trained. It is the biggest issue we hear from the people who come in here, who have first-hand experience with disability. They talk to us about the lack of awareness and lack of training in all sectors, but it is vitally important in education.

The Minister gave details about the number of special schools and classes, etc., that have opened of late. Of course, that is absolutely welcome, but it is not enough to have the physical space. I have been talking to parents in cases where special classes or schools have opened, but they have not been properly resourced. They do not have the properly-trained teachers in place or enough SNAs. They do not have a sensory room or the necessary equipment, or there is no open communication between the principal or the school in general with the parents. There is no access to therapeutic supports. We do not have enough NEPS psychologists, and we know that there are huge shortages of therapists within the CNDTs. I know the support they can give to teachers in a school with students who are transitioning, especially from one school to another, about their needs. That support is invaluable. I remember receiving that when I was teaching; it was an invaluable support given to students coming from primary schoo but is not there at the moment.

A point that has been made, especially by organisations like AsIAm, is that we need to look at classrooms being inclusive, instead of students in the special or autism class being put out in the prefab on the outskirts of the school, for example. They should be made the centre of the school as well. Also, the use of restraint and expulsion of students with additional needs from special schools happens and it should not happen. It is not acceptable, but is very much linked to the lack of training and resources in schools.

A number of people have brought up summer provision. It was established as July provision after a High Court hearing in 1993, which recognised that children with severe needs lose skills over the long school holidays and these skills may never be recovered. When July provision was replaced by the extended summer programme, the eligibility opened up from 15,000 to 80,000 students. Of the 8,000 students who attend special schools, fewer than 5% actually received summer provision this summer gone. I think only 410 students got the full four weeks. Is there some way of safeguarding the children in our special schools going forward to ensure that they will be prioritised for summer provision?

The Minister spoke about looking at other options in other jurisdictions. She mentioned Malta, and yes, it has a very good scheme and is worth looking at, but they use people from other professions. Actually, a number of schools now, in the west of Ireland, I think, have run a very successful July provision. They start organising in January, they go to their own staff and staff in other schools in the locality and then they approach student occupational and speech and language therapists, people who are in third-level education, to come in and work with the students. It has been really successful. It is a model that needs to be looked at.

In my own area, on school transport, the remote area grant was offered to a number of parents in Cavan around 8 August. That was too late. It was not suitable for their needs, so they turned it down, and now they are eligible for a bus or taxi. That then has to go to tender, which takes a number of weeks. Then, the driver may have to be Garda vetted and the bus checked. I know one student who has not yet attended their autism class because they have no way of getting there. Why can that not be done months in advance? The transport is approved maybe six months prior or longer, but was not actually enacted.

Irish Sign Language, ISL, was mentioned. I have been contacted by people with a third-level qualification in ISL from Trinity College. Even though it is an official language of the State, it is not recognised as a teaching subject. When I contacted the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, about this, they blamed the Teaching Council, and when I contacted the Teaching Council, they blamed the NCCA. Can this be addressed? These people are qualified and they may have another qualification in a different subject. They could teach Irish Sign Language to students in our schools.