Is rud seo a bhíos ag plé leis an Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta ach ní fhuaras aon fhreagra uatha agus is rud é go bhfuil ag cur isteach orm. This must be the only Adjournment matter on North Dublin which has nothing to do with the by-election. It is a long running issue which needs to be resolved.
Adjournment Matters. - Post-Primary Second Special Class.
Will the Senator be a candidate? It is not too late.
I have not ruled out the possibility. Another candidate might spice up the campaign.
There are four post-primary schools in Swords which are attended by more than 2,000 pupils and there are at least four campuses of primary schools which are attended by an even greater number of children. There are a number of special classes and classes for children with special needs at primary school level. However, there are not enough places for them in the post-primary sector.
These children need a special class to accommodate their needs, which cannot be dealt with in the mainstream classes. St. Finians community college is the only post-primary school to have a special class consisting of 17 pupils with special needs from the catchment area. Any teacher or manager or anybody involved in education will confirm that this number is far too high for a special class. However, because the scheme at the school is so successful increasing numbers of parents seek places for their children. There is a mix of first, second, third and fourth year pupils in the class and there is extreme pressure on the school to accept more pupils. The staff and management consider it unfair that no other school in the area accepts children with special needs. They have raised this matter with the VEC and the Department of Education and Science but nobody appears to be moving on it.
There are a number of crucial issues here. First and foremost, there are children with special needs who need places and a class must be found for them. Second, there are a number of schools in the vicinity, yet only one provides this service and, for understandable reasons, it considers it should not be the only school providing it. In a competitive environment it wishes to be seen as inclusive, dealing with children with mixed ability and taking a comprehensive approach to education. It does not want to be labelled.
In a society which aims to be comprehensive, pluralist, inclusive and integrated in terms of children of different ability, why is it that other classes are not being established for children with special needs? Why can the development of this service not be attached to other schools?
We all have a responsibility to deal with this matter. I am not aware of any resistance from the other schools, yet the Department does not appear to be moving on this issue and making contact with schools with the objective of establishing other classes and places for children with special needs.
If there are 2,200 post-primary pupils in the area, it can be said without a shadow of doubt that approximately 15 per cent of them will require some form of additional help. This effectively involves 330 pupils and perhaps two-thirds of them can be helped by remedial teachers. However, close to 100 pupils will have special needs. This is no different from any cross section of the population in any part of the world. From a total of 2,200 pupils in the area, 17 are receiving special education. What is happening to the others? They are lost, swallowed and buried in the system. More places are required and this responsibility should be shared. What are the Minister's plans and intentions in this regard?
What contact has he had with the schools in the area? What is he prepared to do to meet the needs of the school which does not wish to be labelled in a certain way? St. Finian's wants to play its part in the community and show concern for all its pupils but it also wants to ensure that the responsibility and professional need are met by all the schools in the area.
Tá mé anseo ar cheann an tAire Oideachas agus Eolaíochta. Tá mé buíoch don Seanadóir O'Toole as ucht au cheist seo a chur ós ár gcomhair. Tá mé cinnte go ndeacfaidh sé uaim go bhfuil an freagra ball den chás atá déanta aige agus cloisfidh sé sin sa fhreagra seo.
I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science. I thank the Senator for raising this matter as it affords me, on behalf of the Minister, an opportunity to inform the House of the provision which is being made to address the requirements of special needs pupils at second level generally and in the Swords area in particular.
Children with special needs have access to a wide range of special support services which are tailored to meet the variety of special needs which can arise. In many instances, children with special needs are capable of being catered for in the ordinary school setting with the help, where necessary, of remedial, resource or visiting teachers. In more serious cases, the needs of the child may be such that placement in a special school or a special class attached to an ordinary school is the most appropriate response.
The Department of Education and Science makes every effort to ensure that no child with special needs is denied access to an adequate education service. In May 1990, a resolution on the education of children with special educational needs was adopted unanimously by the EU Council of Ministers of Education. The salient points in the resolution are as follows: member states agreed to intensify, where necessary, their efforts to integrate or encourage integration of children with disabilities into mainstream schools in all appropriate cases; integration into the mainstream should be considered as a first option in all appropriate cases and the work of special schools should be seen as complementary to the work of ordinary schools.
References in the resolution to integration "in all appropriate cases" and that the work of special schools should be seen as "complementary to the work of ordinary schools" clearly indicate that, while integration is the preferred option, it should not be pursued to the exclusion of arrangements in more specialised settings.
The Special Education Review Committee was established in 1991 to report and make recommendations on the educational provision for children with special educational needs. The terms of the EU resolution accord with the views of the Special Education Review Committee, whose report was published in 1993. The report stated that the committee held—
no entrenched doctrinaire position regarding the integration into the ordinary school system of pupils with disabilities and/or special needs. Our philosophy could best be summed up by saying that we favour as much integration as is appropriate and feasible with as little segregation as is necessary. We therefore envisage a system in which there will be a place for both ordinary and special schools.
The committee was of the view that—
it will be necessary to establish a continuum of services to match the continuum of special needs. Decisions on the placement of pupils along this continuum must be based on the assessed needs of the pupil, the range of services available, professional advice and the preference of parents.
Substantial additional resources have been allocated to cater for the requirements of special needs pupils in recent years. Additional ex-quota remedial posts were allocated to second level schools. There are now 350 such posts at second level. In addition to the provision which has been made in the remedial area, additional resource posts have been allocated to cater for the requirements of special needs pupils attending second level schools. There are 147 resource posts allocated to second level schools in the current school year.
With regard to the area referred to by Senator O'Toole, a special class has been established in St. Finian's community college in Swords. Two resource posts have been allocated to the school to cater for the pupils concerned. The Minister wishes to compliment the school authorities and staff for their efforts to cater for these pupils. A further resource post has been allocated to another VEC school in the area to cater for the requirements of special needs pupils attending that school. The Minister has asked his Department's inspectorate to examine the question of further provision for special needs pupils in the Swords area and it is expected that its report will be submitted shortly.
The Minister assures the House that he is fully committed to improving the provision in the education area and, in particular, for children with special needs. There are many competing demands for increased funding in all sectors of education and these demands are considered within the overall budgetary constraints. The position referred to by the Senator will be kept under review with a view to providing additional supports when resources permit.
Whoever wrote the Minister's speech had little appreciation for the difference between remedial and special education. It is a confused and unsatisfactory response. I note and welcome the Minister's statement that a report is being prepared. I will urge the publication of that report and I will press the Minister on his plans in this area. There is little succour or encouragement in the reply for parents in Swords who have children with special needs but cannot find places for them. It is also of little help to the school. However, I look forward to the next phase in this matter.