Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I second the amendment and I hope Senator Mullen will accept it. I commend the Minister on his decision and forward thinking last year when he asked the NCSE to review and make recommendations on the supports provided to children with special educational needs and how they are allocated to ensure we are delivering the best educational experience and outcomes for every child. The NSCE report on supporting children with special educational needs in schools details 28 recommendations for consideration. It is to the Minister's credit that this is first report to be published after a 20 year gap in policy advice on this issue. I welcome that the council engaged in a wide range of consultations with numerous interested parties but, most important, parents. Every child is different and must be examined individually rather than as part of a group. That is why I welcome the input from parents. This policy advice is based on a review of national and international best practice.

The NCSE has outlined numerous findings and recommendations but what comes across most strongly is the recognition that children with special needs should not be allocated resources solely on the basis of their diagnosis but rather on their individual needs. This finding is strengthened by another key finding in the report that there should be an ongoing assessment process. This is important and I say this as a parent of a child with special needs. Sometimes children are psychologically assessed when they are aged three or four before they enter the school system and that might be the only assessment to which they are subject during their schooling. They are put in a box immediately and they remain in that box.

I welcome the recommendation that there should be ongoing assessment. Whether children need to be assessed when they are aged six and again as they approach the teenage years or in the interim, each child is different and that is the key. Their education should be individually based rather than group based because there are many different spectrums and disabilities. I share the concerns of the people representing those with Down's syndrome and I welcome them to the Visitors Gallery. I raised the valid concerns of parents and teachers of children with Down's syndrome with the Minister last week. I hope that the recommendation to assess children on an individual basis and on the basis of need will cater for their individual needs. With the autism and Down's syndrome spectrums, there are many individual needs and I hope this recommendation will lead to a more rounded and individualised approach to support for learning.

This will address many of the problems in schools currently and will put the onus on each school to appropriately meet the needs of its pupils. The assessments will help to develop individualised planning for each child. Currently, IEPs are only provided in special schools and it is vital that IEPs are introduced in mainstream schools. I welcome this recommendation, which will help to enhance the experience of children with special needs in schools, educationally and socially. As a former teacher and parent, it is not constructive or effective to allocate resources based on diagnosis alone. Children with specific disorders and syndromes do not all have the same needs. There are many different spectrums to consider and other overlapping, co­existing issues. I hope a solution will specifically be found for children with Down's syndrome.

Appropriate teaching training to deal with increasing diversity in schools is another important finding of the report. It is vitally important that teachers receive proper training, as they will have students throughout their career who have special educational needs. That is becoming more prevalent and the number of children with special educational needs is increasing. Other Members who are former teachers feel the climate within the classroom has changed greatly over the past 15 years as more of these children have entered mainstream schools. The NCSE recommends that the Teaching Council and the Department of Education and Skills should ensure teachers are provided with the necessary tools to meet the needs of students with special educational needs. The Teaching Council should stipulate mandatory levels and frequency of continuing professional development teachers are required to undertake for teaching children with special educational needs. Teachers would welcome, as I did, ways to best encourage and foster a good relationship with children who have different needs. The report recommends that the Department should clarify the role of class teachers, support teachers and SNAs, as the lines are becoming blurred. Clarification of the role of the SNA would benefit all parties and, in particular, the child.

The report establishes that while many schools across Ireland are inclusive and encouraging of children with special needs, some schools still operate in a less than inclusive environment, which is a disappointing finding. I agree with a comment Senator D'Arcy made. I have never come across a school that has refused to take a child on the basis of special educational needs. The Minister has said he will bring forward proposals to Government on the implementation of the findings and enrolment will play a part in the proposals for a new regulatory enrolment framework for schools which is being prepared. I commend this proposal and I ask that parents been included on the policy group because that would be vital.

I recognise many improvements can and should be made but, as others said, we must acknowledge the investment that has made to fund 10,500 SNA posts and the provision of special school transport, equipment and adapted school buildings. I agree with Senator Mooney that assistive technology could be improved but we have lower pupil-teacher ratios in special schools. The Department has stated that it will work with the Departments with Children and Youth Affairs and Social Protection on this issue. This interdepartmental approach will be crucial to providing a cohesive programme for these children and their families. I urge the Departments to engage in a thorough review of the report and I look forward to the establishment of the working group, which, I hope, will include parents and representatives of parent groups.