Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome the opportunity for statements on this issue. Given the time I have available to me, I will not be able to touch on everything I wish to address. It is a topic we should be discussing more.

I am somewhat taken aback that the Minister of State managed to go through a seven-page speech but not once mention the report from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Autism or the projections for the full-time enrolment figures as updated in March. These figures indicate it is likely that by 2030, the rate of children with special educational needs will have increased from 2.6% to 4%, representing an increase of more than 11,000 children. At the moment, the parents of some of these children feel very disappointed and incredibly let down by the Government. As other children receive offers, these parents reach out in sheer desperation as their child has once again been left out and they have to fight for a school place. They are angry and hurt. I have spoken here before about a lady who applied to 20 schools for her twin boys. They have secured a school, but it takes an hour to travel there from their home. That is not inclusion. It cannot be inclusion when those children are being taken out of their community.

The oversubscription of schools, staffing and funding shortages, lack of capacity and delays in school buildings are not new phenomenon but all parents who have a child with special educational needs repeatedly ask themselves about the reasons behind some of the decisions the Government makes. For example, the schoolbook and resources grant was reduced from €96 to €80, with the circular stating that schools can carry forward any excess from last year. Perhaps the Minister of State has figures to hand on the number of schools, particularly special schools, that will be carrying forward excess grants from last year, and the value of those grants. When it comes to children with SEN, there has been a propensity from the Government to react to crises instead of adequately planning for the future through school placements, assessments, staff resourcing and funding. This has to change. Advance planning must be undertaken to guarantee sufficient appropriate school places for children with SEN in their communities.

Inclusion Ireland conducted a survey which found that 45% of children are not having their needs met in school. They contend with a lack of appropriate supports, reduced timetables, emotionally based school avoidance or not attending school at all. All information published by the Department should be produced in a way that is understood by those who are most reliant on it, namely, children and their families. There is an obligation on the State to do so under the UNCRPD and its public sector duty, unlike what happened with the re-calculation of special education teacher, SET, hours.

Although Ireland fares well in the education league tables when benchmarked internationally, there is no specific data on the experience of children with disabilities, their educational attainments or their experiences of school. There is a valid call for the Government to gather disaggregated data on the experience of disabled children in schools, as is done in other jurisdictions. Chime, for example, have been lobbying on this issue for children with hearing loss. Without doubt, this is a children's rights issue. According to another of Inclusion Ireland's recent surveys, 35% of disabled children experience seclusion and 27% of disabled children suffer restraint at school. The results of a review are still ongoing.

It is important that children receive the appropriate education, but it is also important that they leave school feeling good about themselves, confident that they are ready to continue towards their own goals and achieving their full potential. An inclusive education is essential to achieving that. Sinn Féin's Education (Inclusion of Persons) Bill would amend and extend the Education Act to provide for the inclusion of information from special educational needs organisers in school planning and provide for inclusion policies in school. I welcome the redistribution and the additional hiring of SENOs but that is not a new announcement.

Departmental officials briefed the committee when we queried the SET allocations. This needs to be changed. At the moment, my constituency of Longford-Westmeath is in a team with Donegal. It is simply too large and too unfair on SENOs to be adequate.

Sinn Féin's Education (Inclusion of Persons) Bill would provide for enhanced planning and co-ordination in regard to school planning areas, require school management boards to consider how to support children with SEN and require board members to undertake training in disability rights. Under current legislation, the NCSE has no authority to designate a place for a child with SEN or require sufficient classes be established to support these children, others with complex needs or those on the autistic spectrum. We will be bringing forward legislation to legislate for a rights-based Education (Overcoming the Barriers) Bill that will provide the NCSE with the authority to ensure that children's needs are met. The Bill would make it a requirement for the Department inspectorate to report on the implementation of individual education plans and provide for a robust appeals mechanism to allow parents and schools to appeal an allocation under the new school resource allocation model.

We are committed to making sure that our education system is inclusive and accessible for all children and all types of learners. We recognise the importance of resource teachers, SET co-ordinators, SNAs and whole-school communities in ensuring that every student has the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential in a supportive, inclusive and equitable learning environment. In-school speech and language therapy for social and emotional development and academic success, early intervention and the tailoring of supports to students’ needs are a must.

The significant role of our educational psychologists in contributing to a child's academic success and well-being is based on providing each child with the necessary supports and resources. We believe additional funding must be made available to recruit more educational psychologists, along with the additional administrative supports to provide them with the support they need for their work. Another critical part is smaller class sizes. These are essential not only for children with special educational needs but for all children in the classroom to ensure they reach that potential. Critically, with regard to those children with SEN, it benefits both students and teachers.

A couple of months ago, the summer programme for schools 2024 was announced. To my mind, it very much failed to adopt the rights-based approach called for by the cross-party autism committee. Parents of children who cannot avail of a school-based programme were left waiting until a couple of weeks ago to find out the details of the home-based programme. That is wrong and there is no need for it. It causes anxiety for the parents and it can be avoided by announcing the details of both schemes at the same time. We know the importance of this programme for the children, their families and the wider school community in helping to prevent regression in academic and social skills during the summer break, which was highlighted by the cross-party committee. Concerns have been raised with me regarding the availability of teachers and other necessary staff to run these programmes. The programmes need to be adequately funded at consistent levels with multi-annual funding.

We in Sinn Féin want to see a fully inclusive education system that meets the needs of all children. No child should be excluded or failed with regard to their right to an education. Every child should have a clear pathway to reach their potential through primary, post-primary and on into their future.

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