Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their contributions so far. My question is around the information provided around the lack of international evidence on tracking outcomes for children in the various school settings, both mainstream and special classes. I found that very interesting. Is there any prioritisation so that such information will be tracked here? Is that part of the review referred to?

My major concern is about forward planning of autism classes in County Clare, specifically in west Clare. We have three primary school autism classes but only one post-primary autism class. I am concerned about where these children will find school places. Many families in this situation travel for more than an hour twice a day to get to school and back. It was mentioned that in some cases the need may not be there in post primary. I question whether that is the case in areas such as west Clare. Is it that the capacity is determining the decision-making for parents? Many parents in County Clare anticipate finding a class place is going to be a real issue for their children.

I mention a specific case because the parent's first language is not ours. She outlined huge difficulties in communicating with the SENO with regard to enrolment. That was touched on already. It seems that is where it fell down. The situation become complex. He had a place in a special class but they determined he did not need to be in a special class. He then went into a mainstream secondary school but his behavioural issues were too difficult for them to manage. They then pointed him back to the special school. It was very confusing for the child, in particular. It resulted in no school place for him. The mother has tried her best to do home schooling and home tutoring but because of the language barrier, it is a massive task for her to undertake. She does not have the necessary family or support network to be able to work with. She is completely on her own. I have been trying to assist her but I wonder whether this is a situation that NCSE increasingly hears about because of the language barriers. What could be done to assist with that?

This has been discussed already but in regard to the SET allocation model, principals in County Clare raised a number of concerns with me about that. In a nutshell, they fear they will have to do more with less. My child was previously in a rural school setting but the five hours were not enough, especially because the principal was a teaching principal. Many other factors need to be considered there. I understand the five hours and the need to look at how they are allocated to schools is beneficial. However, I also understand their concerns. They have major questions about the creation and development of the new model and the fact it was done without consultation between Department of Education, NCSE and the schools and yet it claims to be accurate. It is hard for principals to feel any confidence because of that major gap in the necessary consultation they believe is important for buy-in.

They also mentioned newly-identified needs. They believe new incoming pupils throughout the year will not constitute grounds for a review. Can any reassurance be provided on that? How long would the review take? Are we talking six months, a year or what kind of timeline?