Emer Currie (Fine Gael)
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The matter I raise relates to equity in education and goes to the heart of an inclusive education system. The backdrop is that a national school in Roselawn, Dublin 15, wanted to provide a reading class for the community and the board of management and staff were fully on board. The school successfully opened a special class for autism called Sonas in June 2019 and I attended the opening.

The special educational needs organiser, SENO, endorsed the application for a reading class because they know the demand is there in the school and in Dublin 15 and beyond. In April 2021, the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, wrote to the principal confirming that a specific learning disability class, SLD, had been sanctioned for the 2021-22 school year and the school was told to progress the practical side of things, such as the prefabricated classroom, the set of grants and the staff. Six students in Dublin 15 were identified as suitable, including pupils from the school in question.

Three weeks ago, however, out of the blue, the decision to sanction the reading class was reversed. I do not need to tell the Minister of State about the disappointment that has caused. These are families and students who struggle with severe dyslexia and really want the opportunity to avail of a reading class for a couple of years. They know the location of every reading class in Dublin and beyond and they also know how long the waiting lists are. I have received messages from parents of children with severe dyslexia from all areas. One of them wrote that if their son had been successful in accessing a place at Catherine McAuley reading school, they were willing to allow him, at eight years of age, to get on a school bus and go all the way to Dublin city to attend. Another wrote that their son's learning needs were not being met at his mainstream school, and while the school was doing its best, it could not give him the individual attention and support he required.

That student should not have to travel to the city to access education that other children can get in their communities. Dublin West does not have any reading class and now it seems to be the Department’s policy not to open one. The parents and the school are, understandably, confused and they deserve an answer as to what happened. If opening a reading class is not the policy any more, surely the SENO, NEPS and the Dyslexia Association of Ireland should know that. What if they disagree? We have rightly seen a move away from exclusively inclusive mainstream classrooms for other special education needs and we have a model that seems to work for reading classes.

A report by NEPS has stated that not all children with special needs are the same. It goes on to state that while inclusive school settings might be beneficial for some children or groups of children, special classes or schools may be beneficial to others, and that we need to rethink the divide between inclusive education in mainstream settings and segregated education in special schools or units. A crucial issue in that regard is that of choice. Moreover, a progress report on the future of special schools and classes, presented by Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO, to the NCSE on 11 March, endorsed this approach.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I hope to put this matter into context for the Senator. As she will be aware, enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for the Government. The principle of inclusive education is set out in the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 and embedded in the Department's policy for supporting children with special educational needs, including those with reading difficulties. The Act provides that a child with special educational needs should be educated in an inclusive environment with children who do not have special educational needs unless it is not in the best interests of the child with special educational needs or is inconsistent with the effective provision of education for the children with whom the child is to be educated.The Department's policy is, therefore, to provide for the inclusive education of children with special educational needs in mainstream schools and this policy is supported by significant investment. Senator Currie will be aware that the Department will spend approximately €2 billion, or just under 25% of the education budget, in 2021. That is nearly a quarter of the entire budget spent on making additional provision for children with special educational needs this year. Only where it has been assessed that a child is unable to be supported in mainstream education are special class placements, as the Senator mentioned, or special school placements recommended and provided for. The majority of children with special needs attend mainstream education with appropriate educational and care supports.

In the context of the reading class, I want to talk about the new model for allocating special education teachers to mainstream schools, which, as the Senator will be aware, was introduced from September 2017. This is based on the profile needs of schools. The special education teacher, SET, allocation model provides a single unified allocation for special educational teaching support needs to schools based on a school's educational profile. It allows schools to provide additional teaching support for all pupils who require it and to deploy resources based on each pupil’s individual learning needs. We know that a diagnosis of need is not required to access such supports.

At the moment, we have in excess of 13,600 SETs who are provided to mainstream schools to support the learning needs of pupils who have additional needs in literacy, including those arising from specific learning difficulties. The Department’s policy, in accordance with the principles of inclusive education, is that people with such additional learning needs are supported in mainstream classes with additional provision made by a special education teacher.

Therefore, in that context the Department no longer supports the opening of new reading schools or classes, and no such classes have been opened since 2017. However, I understand that the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, which the Senator mentioned, recently engaged with St. Francis Xavier National School on an application for the opening of a reading class. The NCSE response to this was an operational error, I understand, and the school has been informed. I very much regret that this operational error occurred.

The NCSE has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide, and it has well established structures in place for supporting schools and parents. I am aware of the good work being done by the teachers and SNAs of St. Francis Xavier National School in Dublin 15 in supporting children with special educational needs. The inspectorate’s 2020 report on the whole school evaluation carried out in the school provides ample testimony in this regard. I have asked the NCSE to review the special educational teacher allocation at this school to see if it meets the needs of the pupils in the school.

It is important to stress that I have also asked my Department to arrange a review of the policy on reading classes and schools. This review will, in turn, inform future policy for supporting children with special educational needs and the place of the specialist provision in these supports.

Emer Currie (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for conducting a review of the process and of reading classes. She said it was an operational error, but an operational error does not give any comfort to families whose hopes were raised and who have now been disappointed. I refer to the postcode lottery in that children in certain areas may be able to access this type of education, facility and service, and yet children in Dublin West will not. I know how much we are investing in special education. It is only right and it is a very positive development. We say we will support these kinds of settings where they are needed, but I believe it is needed in Dublin West, to make it equitable compared to other parts of Dublin, for children who have been recognised by the NCSE, the special educational needs organisers and the school, as needing this additional support.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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As Senator Currie outlined earlier, the school deserves an answer as people’s hopes were raised. I hope I have set out an adequate answer for them. Obviously, I cannot speak on behalf of the NCSE, but I can certainly communicate what happened. What happened was an operational error and I understand the school has been informed about that. I am satisfied that the 13,600 SETs we have should be supporting literacy needs and teaching within the school environment. What I have said specifically in relation to St. Francis Xavier is that the NCSE is reviewing the SET allocation at that school to ensure there are adequate numbers of SETs to support children, particularly those with dyslexia, or any other child who needs support with reading. My Department is undertaking a review, as I said, of the policy on reading classes. This review will, in turn, look to inform future policy.