Dr. Rosalyn Tamming:

I might start. That is to the heart of the matter. If Ireland is to go on this journey towards inclusive education, the political message from the top will need to be that children are educated in their local schools. It is about considering the resource envelope that would be needed to enable the school to accept students, rather than feeling that they have to refuse them. That is about the built environment, the network of support available to the school, such as they have in Portugal, and the teachers having the necessary training. It is about the curriculum being designed, as well as close engagement with families, that is, both the families of children with a disability in order that they can feel secure that the education offering will be okay for their child and equally, other families who are sometimes concerned that the resources will be diverted from other kids in the class. It is about a national conversation and it will take time to effect.