Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move:
''That Seanad Éireann, noting:

- the recent publication of the report 'Supporting Students with Special Education Needs in Schools' by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) which,
pursuant to Section 20 of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004, has a statutory role in advising the Minister for Education and
Skills on any matter relating to the education of children and others with disabilities and to provide policy advice in the area;
- the findings in the NCSE report that certain school enrolment policies and practices have been less than fully inclusive, in particular where such policies
have created barriers to enrolment for students with special educational needs;
- and that this report reaffirms the principle that all children, irrespective of special educational needs, should be enabled to enrol in their local schools;

believes:

- that it is essential that children with disabilities have access to mainstream education, which has been shown to improve self-esteem and social skills for
students with disabilities;
- that, while respecting the entitlement of schools and their patrons to develop enrolment criteria and policies, any policies and/or criteria that exclude students
with special education needs are illegitimate, unfair and discriminatory;

and calls on the Minister for Education and Skills to:

- implement the recommendations in the NCSE report of May 2013, and in particular to ensure that his Department introduces a robust regulatory
enrolment framework for schools to ensure that:- every child with special educational needs is protected from school enrolment practices or policies with overt or covert barriers that block
his/her access to enrolment in the school;
- every child with special educational needs may enrol in the nearest school that is or can be resourced by the NCSE to meet his/her needs;
- a school must enrol a student with special educational needs if so directed by the Special Educational Needs Organiser on the basis that the school
will be provided with resources in line with national policy; and
- a school must establish a special class if so requested by a Special Educational Needs Organiser.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Is mór an tionchar a bhíonn ag an oideachas a chuirtear ar dhuine ar na seansanna a bhíonn aige sa saol ó thaobh deiseanna oibre, luacha saothair, teacht slán ón mbochtaineacht, agus tá na ceisteanna sin fíor-thábhachtach do shásamh intinne agus do shonas pearsanta an uile dhuine. Léirigh daonáireamh 2011 nach mar a chéile na cailíochtaí acadúla a bhíonn ag daoine a bhfuil míchumas orthu agus a bhíonn ag daoine eile. Mar sin bíonn constaic dhúbáilte rompu. Is lú na deiseanna eacnamaíocha a bhíonn acu de dheasca an mhíchumais féin agus, mar bharr ar an olc, is lú an t-oideachas a bhíonn orthu.

Education, as the Minister knows, is a key influence on life chances and yet, according to census 2011, people with disabilities have fewer education qualifications than non-disabled people in their age group, leading to a double disadvantage, where economic prospects are reduced both by disability status and by lower levels of education. It is the settled view of experts in the special education area that children with special needs perform better socially and academically in mainstream classes in mainstream schools. In fairness, there has been a very considerable movement towards the development of inclusive practices in Irish education over the last two decades.

Is é tuairim láidir na saineolaithe réimse an oideachais do dhaoine a bhfuil riachtanais speisialta acu gur fearr a éiríonn le páiste a bhfuil riachtanais speisialta aige go sóisialta agus go hacadúil nuair a chuirtear oideachas air i ngnáth-rang agus i ngnáth-scoil. Is mór an dul chun cinn atá déanta ó foilsíodh an chéad tuarascáil mór le rá faoi seo. Tá acmhainní éagsúla tacaíochta ar fáil anois - tá fáil ar mhúinteoirí a thugann tacaíocht speisialta agus tá teacht ar chúram speisialta ó chúntóirí speisialta, SNAs, mar a thugtar orthu. Do pháiste a bhfuil siondróm Down air, is é an gnáth-sheomra ranga is fearr. Dá mhéad atá déanta ag an Aire agus ag an Roinn go dtí seo, tá obair mhór fós le déanamh má táthar leis na constaicí atá ann a ghlanadh, más easpa acmhainní nó easpa tola is cúis leis na constaicí sin a bheith acu.

For some children with special educational needs, it is beneficial that they have the necessary support in special classes in mainstream schools. However, this is not the recommended model for all children, as the Minister knows, and in particular, for children with Down's syndrome, for whom the appropriate model is support in a mainstream class setting.

The purpose of this motion is to ask the Minister what he intends to do to prevent the enrolment barriers that exist from negatively affecting children with special educational needs. Additionally, I want to highlight that it is the policies of the Department of Education and Skills which contribute to the lack of welcome for certain students with special learning needs, particularly children with Down's syndrome. The motion before the House deals with the report from the National Council for Special Education and its findings on the issue of discrimination. The report recommends major changes in the way resources are delivered to students with special educational needs, with an emphasis on individualised assessment, educational planning and monitoring of student outcomes. In the first chapter, it recommends that the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, known as the EPSEN Act, should be fully commenced as soon as the resources necessary for its implementation become available. It also recommends the introduction of a robust regulatory enrolment framework to ensure that every child with special educational needs can access a school placement.

I want to the give the Minister credit today, where it is properly due. The NCSE report reminds us that investment in special educational supports is at an all-time high, with an annual spend of €1.3 billion on supporting students with special educational needs in school. That is a record level, despite our current economic difficulties and I commend the Minister on that and on his commitment in this area.

To get down to business, the problem that has been identified in the report is enrolment barriers. Generally, management bodies and schools have responded positively to educating students with special educational needs in inclusive environments. I know this is true and I should declare my own interest in the provision of second-level education in my capacity as a board member of CEIST, a trustee body for well over 100 voluntary secondary schools. Many children with special educational needs are now included in mainstream classes but evidence remains of non-co-operation in some areas.

The NCSE consultation paper highlighted practices whereby schools placed soft barriers to enrolment by advising parents that a different school is more suitable for their child or has more resources for supporting students with special needs. In some cases, they have refused to enrol the child on the basis that they are not being allocated all of the resources they consider are required. Parents feel they have to fight for a placement and that their child is being enrolled on sufferance. This difficulty could be addressed by the Department developing the appropriate regulatory enrolment framework required to underpin section 2 of the EPSEN Act, as strongly recommended by the NCSE report. This would deal with the concern. Having made inquiries about practices in schools, it seems to me that the emphasis should always be on enabling all students to enrol in their school of choice.

Schools found to be non-receptive to students with special needs are at risk of being unfairly judged, of course. There have been instances where a school declines to admit a student with severe or profound spectrum autism, or other such exceptional situation, because the board of management believed it could not best serve the student's interests due to the absence of sufficient resources. Many schools believe that the resources do not automatically follow the child, resulting in students awaiting facilities and resources and parents growing impatient and irritated. While the State may have let down the student, it is often the school that is at the front line of such disappointment.

We must recognise that some children with complex needs may require a more supportive special placement or school, although that does not apply to children with Down's syndrome. I wish to acknowledge representatives of Down's Syndrome Ireland in the Public Gallery today, Mr. Pat Clarke and Ms Patricia Griffin, and thank them for being here. I do not seek to excuse any school that would exclude a child with education needs but I understand why it happens. I believe that Department policy may be the cause, especially in the particular case of children with Down's syndrome. Since 2005, such children do not automatically qualify for resource teaching hours. Most of the approximately 80 children with Down's syndrome who begin mainstream school each year have a need which is more severe and they will be catered for. However, children whose level of intellectual disability places them in the category of mild general learning disability - about 30 of those children - must rely on a share of their school's special needs teaching resources given under the general allocation model.

Schools have provision to allocate and target resources at those children most in need. Children with mild learning difficulty generally receive two and a half hours per week under the general allocation model. Down's Syndrome Ireland, having welcomed many of the NCSE report recommendations, notes that it does not identify Down's syndrome as a particular disability category for the allocation of resources. The Minister has expressed a willingness to meet the organisation on this issue. I ask him to consider the future of the approximately 30 children in each class in our primary school system who are being adversely affected by not qualifying for vital resource teaching hours.

I refer to one case. Tom Murphy is four and a half years old and has Down's syndrome. He will attend school next year and his mother recently spoke out about the fact that some parents are so desperate to get support for their child in mainstream schools that they have had recourse to manipulating or fooling the IQ test. She talked anecdotally about some parents keeping the child up late the night before or not feeding him or her on the morning of the test or giving them Calpol in order that they would get a low score, thus guaranteeing them vital educational support in schools, which is appalling. This is why we need to address the lack of welcome.

I wholeheartedly agree with the NCSE report's commentary on the need to address enrolment barriers but we also need to address the reasons such barriers exist, particularly for children with Down's syndrome. Without seeking to excuse any discrimination, the resource allocation policies of the Department are the primary cause. A two-pronged approach is needed to tackle enrolment barriers with robust guidelines, as recommended and as called for in the motion, and resolution of the apparent discrimination against children with Down's syndrome identified in the Ombudsman report and a reclassification of the condition as a low incidence disorder, which will attract specific resources and greatly assist students and schools. I thank the Minister for his commitment and dedication in this area. I commend the motion to the House.