Mr. John Kearney:

I thank the Senator for the observations in regard to the ombudsman's report. We certainly welcome that from a number of perspectives. In synchronising with the Senator's observations in terms of positivity we did glean and extract the positivity of it as well. We certainly welcome the insight from the ombudsman in terms of reviewing various aspects of the legislation and the impetus for the entire system to build local capacity and to build greater collaboration with individual schools, the education partners in building that capacity and professional development, to assist schools to change that individual school culture. We were particularly interested in the ombudsman's report in respect of proactively engaging with schools, parents and students on the development and pathway of special education delivery in this country. In many ways, the first hurdle, namely, the creation of the special classes, is the first journey to be encountered in terms of delivery of special education. Far more enriching conversations on that will be happening in due course both with individual schools and parents in terms of the quality of the learning experience and then we need to look at progression pathways for children with special education needs in terms of progression from schools and the enhancement of quality of life and community engagement for students with special education needs.