Ms Rose-Marie Flanagan:

I thank the committee for the invitation and for listening to us. I wish to point out that it is really important that we look at the most important individuals here, namely the students. We are here representing the students, our staff who are so committed and expert, the parents, the guardians, the wider school community, and our patrons and boards of management. We feel that redesignation is being forced on us, that we are not being liaised with, there is no communication and that there will be a complete lack of control from a school point of view. I think it will impact the parental voice and parental choice, which are really important.

An important point was made about a different roll number. It is vital that the teachers and SNAs in our schools have the same rights and terms and conditions as teachers in primary and post-primary school settings. As has been said, 65% of our school population are post-primary and we are a designated primary, which has an impact in terms of funding. Unfortunately, it does have an impact in terms of parents having to make contributions to help support the needs and commitments within the school.

Finally, inclusion is really important. We know that there is no universal definition of inclusion. We know that every single child in our school community is actively included and involved and they experience a sense of belonging, which is really important.