Colette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 13:

In page 15, line 6, to delete “may” and substitute “shall”.

I must be preaching to the converted. I am pleased. Every child has a right to education. I welcome this Bill because it seeks to overcome obstacles put in the way of children by the manner in which schools can operate their admissions policies and procedures. That can have the effect of denying a child his or her right to education and all that follows that in respect of accessing third level education and employment. Children with disabilities, special needs and autism have the right to education. That was fought for long and hard and that is why I am calling for a stronger statement of the Minister's duties in this section of Bill. It is about children with special needs, including autism, and their right to access education. I am proposing, therefore, that we have a firm commitment in law that the Minister "shall act", and not the discretionary "may act" as set out in this section.

The right to access education for the child with special needs should not only rely on or be left to the discretion of one person. I am also proposing that the procedure, as laid out in this section, be as swift as possible. Lengthy procedures and delays deny children their rightful access to education. That is why I am proposing the timeframes, as outlined in my amendments, at the various stages of the process. While every child with autism is a unique person, some general characteristics are associated with the condition of autism. Structure is important and routines play an important part in the lives of people with autism. Everyday hustle and bustle, which most people view as normal, can be an overwhelming combination of frightening crowds, intimidating sounds and overbearing lights. It can be imagined how scary school can be for the child with autism.

As routines help to create stability and order, children with autism like routine and predictability and they often find change extraordinary difficult. It often creates huge anxiety in the child and that is often played out in challenging behaviour. We all know that transfer to secondary school is one of the major changes to routine and one of the biggest upheavals in any child's life. It is an even bigger one for a child with autism, who may struggle with that major change. It is an even bigger challenge still if it is not clear or certain what school a child is transferring to or when, or even if, a child has a place.

Every effort should be made by special educational needs organisers, SENOs, and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, to identify children in their area with autism in special classes and otherwise and to start planning early, at the beginning of sixth class or before. Children with autism should have the longest lead-in time possible for the smoothest and least stressful transfer to secondary school. They should have the time to prepare, to familiarise and to get used to the new school setting, new activities and new faces and places. Where difficulties arise in identifying a suitable school place with a special classroom or unit, the procedure set out in this section should commence as early as possible and be completed as quickly as possible, as per my amendments.

The Bill, as presented, proposes in some cases 28 days between the various steps. I am proposing a maximum of 14 days throughout, which still provides ample time for the processes. These are sometimes just a matter of writing a letter. This is to ensure that child with autism can take up his or her place in secondary school with his or her peers and that he or she can start in September, like every other child. There should be no delaying and adding to the stresses and anxieties of the child, or those of their parents, because of a lack of certainty about a school place or where they will know for sure they will be. A child's sense of difference or otherness compared with his or her peers and siblings should not be added to and he or she should not to be made to wait for their rightful education.

I will address the amendments in respect of reviewing the legislation. My amendment seeks to insert a three-year review provision into section 8 of the Bill. This would give the Minister the power and obligation to initiate a review no later than three years after this Bill comes into operation. It also obliges the Minister, no later than 12 months after the commencement of this three-year review, to make a report to each of the Houses of the Oireachtas. The rationale for the addition of this review procedure is that we need to monitor the legislation in order that we are able to assess whether it is actually having its intended impact, that is whether the legislation is working and addressing the clear gap in the provision of autism spectrum disorder, ASD, classrooms - particularly between primary and secondary school - and whether it is delivering the education to which children with autism have a right.

The Minister, Deputy Bruton, said himself last week that the autism education gap is closing somewhat. The fact is that the gap still remains. For the 2018-19 academic year, from figures provided to me and extrapolated from information from the National Council for Special Education, I understand that there are approximately 731 ASD classrooms nationally at primary level. At secondary level, in contrast, there are approximately 320. That is less that half than at primary level. The autism education gap may be closing but it is not closing fast enough. In Dublin, there are roughly 137 ASD classrooms at primary level but only 41 at secondary level. The most up-to-date figures I have for Cork is that there are around 119 classrooms and yet only 53 at second level. These numbers do not even take into account those children still in mainstream classes who may require ASD classes at secondary level.

The proposed three-year review is needed to have information to make the assessment of whether the Bill is addressing and eliminating this appalling inequity of ASD classes between primary and secondary levels. The review and the annual report proposals are monitoring mechanisms to make sure that our attempts to close and eliminate the autism education gap are indeed working and that no child with autism is denied access to education because of a lack of a place in a school with a suitable autism classroom or unit. We both want the same thing and I hope the Minister will support the review amendment. Without it, we will have no real way of knowing if this Bill has been effective in guaranteeing the right to education in a suitable setting for children with autism as they make the challenging and all-important transition to secondary school. We want to see the autism eliminated. Let us give ourselves the power in law and the information we need to make sure that happens.