Seanad debates
Thursday, 26 January 2023
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Special Educational Needs
9:30 am
Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach's office for selecting this matter for debate. I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on her well-deserved appointment. I know she will do a tremendous job.
Ábalta Special School is a day school based in Parkmore in Galway for students with autism and complex associated needs. Students in the school range in age from four to 18. There is a multidisciplinary team of teachers and therapists delivering educational programmes tailored to the needs of each student as well as supporting those students and their families. There are individualised teaching programmes with a high staff-to-student ratio. There are intensive occupational therapy interventions by the school's occupational therapist. Communication programmes are delivered by the school's speech and language therapist consultant and community integration is fostered for students through mainstream integration programmes in a local school as well as community linkages with local industry for older students. There is a range of child-centred, evidence-based educational programmes strongly focused on helping children with autism reach their individual potential.
Autism Ireland is the patron of the Ábalta school and the ethos is around child-centred, evidence-based intervention, individualised teaching, parental involvement and professional respect. It is a multi-denominational, coeducational school. The school is guided by the tenet that every child with autism has a right to an education, one that is grounded in scientific evidence of efficacy. It is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of students at all times and to recognising each child as an individual, appreciating his or her unique personalities. It believes all parents should take an active role in their child's educational future, thus they are invited to participate in planning their children's educational programme. The school strives to create a positive educational environment for its students and respects the right to privacy for all children and families at Ábalta.
Ábalta Special School has lodged an application with the Department of Education for a school, to relocate the school to the Kilcornan campus in Clarinbridge. I thank the Minister of State with responsibility for special education, Deputy Madigan, who attended a stakeholders' meeting before Christmas. She met with the principal, a number of parents and advocates for the Ábalta school and other schools in the area. The present school building was not purpose-built. I believe it was previously a Montessori or crèche. Ábalta moved in and adapted the building as best it could.
Parents travel long distances, including from outside Galway county and city, to attend the school. The school does a wonderful job but the building is not purpose-built and a new purpose-built building is needed. An application has been made for Kilcornan campus in Clarinbridge, which is a wonderful wooded location. It would provide the quietness that is needed. It would also provide much more outdoor space for the sensory activity that is required as well.
I visited the school a number of years ago and, to my shame, things have not progressed. It is vital that the new site is identified and supported by the Department and that the school be allowed to progress to build a new school at this site. It would be a wonderful improvement on the existing facilities. It is clear that the school does wonderful things.The school has a strong ethos of individualised training in terms of speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. Distance is not a problem as parents travel to the school from as far away as outside of Galway, which is a big county, into Galway City to avail of the services. I would like the Department to progress the application.
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter. He is correct that the Minister of State at the Department of Education, Deputy Madigan, who has responsibility for special needs, has met stakeholders. Last night, I spoke to her to get the most recent update for the Senator. She is in County Mayo; otherwise she would be here in person. I have a similar school in my constituency and I am well aware of the sheer positivity that a well-run school of that nature and with that level of support provides to autistic children and their families.
The Senator mentioned space and quiet. For children with additional sensory needs who require some extra space, the design of their school is very important and facilities around the school are just as important as specific facilities in the school such as occupational therapy. It is crucially important that the Oireachtas recognise the need to provide better services for autistic children and ensure the practical effects of that are felt through the progression of a school by the Department.
The Joint Committee on Autism, chaired by Senator Micheál Carrigy, published an interim report last December. I was a member of that committee until recently. The interim report focuses on the need for education provision and real support at an early stage for autistic children. The provision of special needs education is an ongoing priority for the Government. As Senators will be aware, in 2022 in excess of €2.3 billion was provided for supporting special education in the Department of Education. For 2023, the special education budget will be substantially increased by over 12%, which means the Department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education this year. This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented. It represents in excess of 27% of the Department total allocation for 2023.
Ábalta Special School is a multi-denominational special school under the patronage of Autism Ireland. The school is based in rented premises at Parkmore, Galway. The enrolment at the school in 2022 was 18 pupils and the school has a current staffing of a principal and three special class teachers. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide.
The Department and the NCSE are working closely on a more streamlined and joined-up planning process to ensure a targeted approach to meet the demand for special needs ahead of each new school year. The Department is committed to delivering an inclusive educational environment for all pupils. The Department and the NCSE continue to work closely on planning the delivery of new places. I know the NCSE has had engagement with the Ábalta Special School regarding the potential future expansion of the school.
Under Project Ireland 2040, the education sector will receive a total of approximately €4.4 billion capital investment over the period 2021 to 2025. This significant investment allows us to move forward with our ambitious plans but that requires, as the Senator has said, a real focus by the Department to ensure delivery.
The Senator and I know only too well the practical need to manage and progress, at every stage, the delivery of key infrastructure for the community. It is important to raise this issue in this forum. The Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, having been at the school and met the principal, teachers and stakeholders, is well seized of the importance to develop the school and the need for additional facilities. She has asked me to communicate to the Seanad her total commitment to pushing this through the Department in the most expeditious way available to her.
Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for the response. I acknowledge the interest shown by the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, in this matter and her meeting with the principal and stakeholders.
The written response states that "the Department is currently assessing options with a view to identifying the optimum solution for the long-term accommodation needs" and that as part of this consideration "a potential site option has been identified and its suitability is currently being investigated". There is an excellent site that would be optimal for existing attendees at the school and would be exceptional in terms of its environment, landscape and wooded nature and providing the quietness that students with sensory issues need.
I again ask that the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, progress this matter through the Department and that the application not be viewed as just another application. It is a very important school for special children who deserve the best. They have a difficult enough life and their parents have unique challenges from day to day. All parents face unique challenges but these parents have additional unique challenges and we need to do our very best for these special children.
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As the Senator is well aware, the parents in a school community and in a school such as Ábalta Special School know best what their children need. While I cannot speak to the specific site as I am at a remove from the Department of Education, I will convey to the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, that it is the parents and members of the school community who know best what a child with additional needs requires, from the earliest intervention at Montessori level and right through the school journey. The Senator is correct to identify the site. Obviously, I do not have information about the site in terms of its ownership, the planning process, availability of the site and any related matters. I will, however, convey to the Minister of State that there is a need to recognise the views of the local community, school and stakeholders and ask her to make every effort to progress the site, if it is the correct one, and see what the possibilities are in the Department.