Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Bill 2022: Second Stage

Question proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Minister of State at the Department of Education (Deputy Josepha Madigan)

My understanding is that I had six minutes speaking time but I will endeavour to fill the eight minutes allocated to me.

As Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion I am very grateful to have the opportunity to introduce and talk about this urgent piece of legislation, the Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Bill 2022, in the Seanad and to discuss how it is intended that this legislation will work to support children with special educational needs to gain access to specialist class placements which can meet their needs. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, continues to advise my Department that just over 100 children in the Dublin region require a special class or a special school place for the coming school year. While my Department and the NCSE will continue to engage with schools to open more classes, I am confident that the provisions in this legislation, if enacted, can also play a key role in supporting this work.

I will begin by thanking the Leader of the Seanad and Senators for facilitating such a quick opportunity to discuss this Bill in the Seanad after it had passed through the Lower House last week and I am happy to report that this legislation received support from all sides in that House. I was also very happy to see that a number of special educational needs advocacy groups and parents’ representative bodies, such as AsIAm, Inclusion Ireland, the National Parents Council Primary and Special Classes in Schools Ireland have all welcomed this legislation and have called for it to be progressed and enacted into law without delay.

Our Special Education Consultative Forum has played a significant role in advising on the need for this legislation. I also want to acknowledge the co-operation of Senators who are members of the joint committee on education for agreeing to a waiver of the requirement for pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill given the urgency of the situation. I look forward to our discussion of the Bill today and later in the week on Committee and Final Stages.

In my opening statement I wish to briefly talk through the main provisions in the Bill and in my closing statement I might just touch on two particular issues: first, the commitment of my Department and the NCSE to continue to engage and collaborate with schools to open new classes; and, second, to highlight both my Department’s and the NCSE’s ongoing commitment to provide the appropriate resources for schools opening special classes.

On the provisions in the Bill, there are 12 sections and as I have only a limited amount of time I will focus on two key sections of the Bill. The key provision in this new legislation is section 6 which provides for a truncated section 37A process whereby the Department of Education can direct a school to make additional provision for children with special educational needs. This new process would allow me, as Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion, to serve a ministerial direction on a school, on receiving a report from the NCSE setting out its opinion that there are insufficient school places in a certain area. While efforts will continue to encourage more schools to open special classes, it is considered necessary to provide a revised section 37A process to enable the Minister to direct schools to open a sufficient number of additional special classes to ensure that children have a special class placement for the coming school year. The revised process will still give schools the opportunity to respond to an initial notice and to a draft direction from the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion before I may ultimately direct a school to open a special class. It is intended that the revised section 37A allows me to issue directions to schools within a period of six to eight weeks after receiving a detailed report from the NCSE.

This legislation seeks to ensure that a child-centred and -focused approach is taken to the provision of special education classes. As well as addressing the issues relating to section 37A, the draft legislation also seeks to strengthen the obligations on schools to co-operate with the NCSE when requested to open a new special class or expand special school provision.

Section 8 relates to section 67 of the Education Act, which provides for the NCSE or Tusla to designate a school place for a particular child. To date, this section of the Act has not been commenced. Section 8 provides for the amendment of section 67 of the Education Act by removing the provision for an appeal by a school board against a decision of the NCSE or of Tusla to designate a school place for a child.

The provision allowing a parent to appeal a decision of the NCSE or Tusla not to make a decision to designate school place when requested by a parent to do so is also being removed. It is considered that this provision is not necessary, given the option available to a parent to appeal a decision of a school board to refuse to admit under section 29 of the Education Act and the fact that it is expected that the NCSE will make a decision to designate a special class or special school place in situations where there are places available.

Where there is a lack of places, this can be addressed through the section 37A process.

Provision is made to allow a school board to make representations to the NCSE or Tusla where a school is directed to admit a child. Where the NCSE or Tusla, after consideration of any representations, remains of the opinion the designation is necessary, it shall confirm the direction in writing to the board. A board shall comply with such a direction.

It is my intention to commence section 67 once this legislation is enacted. This will provide an important new power to designate a school place for a child with special educational needs.

I look forward to working with colleagues in the Seanad to progress this urgent legislation before the current term ends. In regard to possible amendments to the Bill, I ask Senators to understand the very short timeframe available to us and that it might not be possible to accept a number of amendments to the Bill.

I very much commend the Bill to the House and look forward to hearing all of the contributions.

Senator Mary Seery Kearney

I wish to share time with Senator Carrigy.

An Cathaoirleach

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Senator Mary Seery Kearney

I thank the Minister of State for bringing forward this valuable Bill. I watched the full debate on the Stages of the Bill in the Dáil. I point out all of the Topical Issue matters, all of the parliamentary questions, all of the oral parliamentary questions and all of the Commencement matters the Minister of State does on top of all of the other work she does all of the time to advance the case for children with additional educational needs.

There is no question that this is urgent legislation. The Minister of State knows of and has kindly met with groups like the Dublin 12 autism advocacy group and Involve Autism just to see how not having places has such an effect on children and on whole families, including parents and siblings. Involve Autism has had a number of public meetings, and the Minister of State addressed the most recent one herself. In that context, at the first meeting, we heard from parents who had put in 30 to 40 applications for places for their child and they still did not know if their child was going to get a place in a school anywhere near their home. In this year, I have been working with the Minister of State’s office and we have heard of situations of children in Drimnagh being offered places in Blessington. That is not sustainable for any quality of life for the child because their friends are not going to be local friends. Places need to be as local as possible. I support how strongly the Minister of State has come out and advocated for that, including naming, where necessary. We have had instances – people have come to the Minister of State and I have supported that – where entities have been economical with the truth when it comes to availability and the possibility of putting in classes. It is very important we ensure that happens.

I welcome the commitment of the NCSE and the Minister of State's assertion of the NCSE’s commitment. A representative from the NCSE was at the Involve Autism meeting and, to be fair, took it on the chin. There was a lot of criticism, particularly of special educational needs organisers, SENOs, in that their role does not appear to be properly defined, or if it is defined, it is not meeting that. Giving parents a list of schools is not supporting them in finding a place for their children. That is very important.

A further issue is that the people who are making decisions in schools are the boards of management and, at times, there is no transparency as to who those people are. In the early autumn, I will be bringing forward a Private Members’ Bill to ensure that level of transparency because it is important we know who is making the decision on whether a child is in or out of a school.

Senator Micheál Carrigy

I welcome the Minister of State. I echo the compliments to her on the work she has done in this area. She has done a huge amount of work and even the fact we are here to take this legislation today is groundbreaking for special education. When we met the Minister of State last week in the Joint Committee on Autism, one of the major focuses of attention was this legislation, and those of all parties and none are fully supportive of it. I welcome the great support that has come from all of the advocacy groups.

I will be honest and say I am disappointed with the comments from the INTO. As we know, the reason this legislation has been brought here today is because there are children for whom there is no school place next September, which is unacceptable in the 21st century. Every child should be able to be educated with their siblings in their local area and local community. We should not have the situation of people having to travel up to 50 km in rural areas, or of a significant amount of State funding being used to bus people across Dublin city where there are no schools in their local area.

I am fully supportive of this and I say “Well done”. However, there are still a number of issues within special education we need to look at. A substantial number of extra classes are being provided at primary level but are we prepared at secondary level, given the higher number of children who are being diagnosed with autism? In particular, do we have a sufficient number of secondary schools in place for September 2022 and September 2023?

The issue of the July provision encompasses the Minister of State's Department. There is a situation throughout the country where a significant number of special schools are not giving the July provision, which is unacceptable. We may need to bring in legislation so every single special school has the July provision for parents for the summer of 2023. I recently saw a calendar for a special school for next year and already, 12 months out, it does not have summer provision for 2023. That has to be addressed immediately.

Senator Sharon Keogan

I wish to share time with Senator Mullen.

An Cathaoirleach

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Senator Sharon Keogan

I love to see legislation like this come before the House, legislation that is before us as a direct response to a problem we see in our country and how things are being done. The area of special education in our schools is a sensitive one. It is an area where we might be slow to act for fear of getting it wrong, but it is also an area that is so essential and so deeply personal to the parents, the children and the families whose lives are either blessed by access to an educational experience that is appropriate to their needs or needlessly burdened by the difficulties in achieving that for a member of their family who lacks it. Anyone who has taken the time to listen to parents whose child or children may have special educational needs knows how central it is to their lives that their school has the right supports for that child. It is night and day between a child who is surrounded by appropriate trained professionals who can use their expertise in teaching, nurturing and caring to allow that child to reach his or her fullest potential, and a child who, through no fault of their own, on account of their location, or age or the delivery of services, is deprived of this. That is why the move to ensure every child with special educational needs who requires a special class or special school placement gets one is a welcome step indeed.

The Minister, Deputy Foley, informed the Lower House earlier this month that the National Council for Special Education had advised that just over 100 children remained without an appropriate special educational needs placement for the coming school year. Each of those children has a name and a family. They have all been massively let down. I hope the shortening of the process to allow for schools to be directed to open additional classes, as contained in this Bill, will be an effective tool with which to tackle the problem. The risk, of course, is that directions can meet with bare minimums and delivery via a tick-box mentality. This must be avoided at all costs as it only results in driving the lack of care out of the official figures but not eliminating it in reality.

Schools must be directed to open additional classes but they must be provided with the necessary resources and trained staff. It is vital that all teacher training includes training for special needs education, from behavioural therapists to special needs assistants, SNAs, and from rooms with equipment to outdoor play and nature areas. If we are going to ask a school to step up to the plate in this way, we have got to put our money where our mouth is.

If we were to poll all of Ireland and ask the people how the Government should spend tax money I guarantee that education would be on the finish podium. Let us do right by our children and take every step to get each child the care, support and education he or she needs. I am happy to support the Bill.

Senator Rónán Mullen

I welcome the Minister of State. The fear is that if there is a failure to ensure adequate resources are made available to schools opening special classes, and if there are not proper supports, including supports from the HSE such as occupational therapy and speech and language supports, as well as psychological supports from the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, the legislation could be seen as a box-ticking exercise. Worse, it could be seen as an attempt to place blame or to be seen to be doing something by blaming others but not putting the resources in place. There cannot be unwillingness in the Department to provide funding for the required capital investment in classes. Children in this situation are sometimes placed in prefabs and left there for a decade. The provision of sensory rooms and sensory gardens is best practice.

My concern is one that has been raised with the Department, namely, that there is a defect in section 3 of the Bill. The Minister of State is seeking to amend section 8 of the 1998 Act by inserting a requirement that the patron shall co-operate and ensure co-operation from the board of the school with the NCSE and the performance of the council of its functions. In other words, a requirement to co-operate on the provision of education to children with special needs, particularly through the provision and operation of a special class or classes when requested. The Minister already has the power provided in section 37A of the Education Act 1998, as amended by the Education (Admission to Schools) Act, to put in a process that requires the co-operation of patrons and boards of management. On the face of it, the Bill seems to nullify all of this by simply requiring that at the whim of the NCSE, things have to happen. This looks like bad legislation.

I understand that some of the patrons have been in touch with the civil servants, who have said it is not the intention of the Bill to nullify the existing legislation. It looks like a shortcut that will cause confusion when it comes to be interpreted, perhaps in years to come. Are we looking at the same old situation with the guillotining of legislation that is being rushed through this week whereby we will end up with problems? This approach to legislation does not respect democracy or the people whom democracy is supposed to serve. I would be very grateful if the Minister of State would address in particular the concerns I am raising about whether the proposed section 3 will cause confusion when there is an existing process set out in legislation that requires the co-operation of patrons and boards of management in the provision of necessary facilities for children with special needs.

Senator Fiona O'Loughlin

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. Fianna Fáil is totally supportive of the work she is doing in this area and I certainly welcome the publication of the Bill. The relevant section was put into the original Bill at the suggestion of me and Deputy Thomas Byrne, who is now a Minister of State, when we served on the education committee in the previous Dáil. We felt it was vital that the Minister of day had the opportunity to be able to direct schools, boards of management and patrons to take on children with special needs when that need was clearly demonstrated in the community. It is very important.

As for what lessons have we learned, it was interesting that even though it was agreed that the provision be included in the Act a number of years ago, approximately 27 sections had to be dealt with. This is why there is such a long period of time between beginning and completing a section 37A process. I understand it can take up to 18 months. There would then be further delays to organise building the room and resourcing it. We have learned that simplification is very important. When legislation is introduced, we must try to ensure it is as practical and pragmatic as possible. The fact the process can be reduced to eight weeks is very important and will serve the young people we are speaking about in their communities. It is very important.

When we speak about providing accommodation for special education centres and classes, we are not just talking about the four walls or the physical building. We are speaking about the resources, the special educational assistants and the intervention therapies that are needed. At present, as the Minister of State is aware, there is a huge gap in these intervention therapies. I appreciate this is outside the remit of the Minister of State but we need to see more co-ordination on these intervention therapies between the Department of Education and that of the Minister with responsibility for disability. The services are greatly needed. We all know that early intervention is very important and can make such a difference in the life of a young person and in the lives of their families and the people in their communities. They all need the opportunity to fulfil their potential in as large way as possible. Sadly in many cases they are being failed due to a lack of intervention therapies.

Summer provision has been mentioned and I agree with what has been said. While financial resources are being put in place, it is incumbent on schools, particularly special schools, to have summer provision. I believe that all schools should have summer provision to help support those children who need it. These are children with a disability and those who are vulnerable in other ways.

I want to raise an issue on which I have been in contact with the office of the Minister of State. This is with regard to Kildare Town Community School. It has excellent special education facilities. It has been progressing very well in this area. It found out on a website, as opposed to being told directly, that it would lose two special needs assistants from September. Inclusion is at the heart of education as is having an inclusive practice. Special needs assistants at the heart of every school. Unfortunately, many of the supporting activities for the children in the autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit in this school will be curtailed. It is very important that children in ASD and special educational needs units have an opportunity to be involved in transition year, the leaving certificate, the junior certificate and the leaving certificate applied if they have the ability to do so. This loss of staff will reduce their opportunities to do so in this school. I ask the Minister of State to look at this again. It is very clear from the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act and the Education Act that the Minister of State has the authority to examine this area. Where the system is working for the young people for whom it is meant to work, we should not tinker with it or change it. We need to do all that we can to ensure this happens.

Senator Pauline O'Reilly

I welcome the Minister of State. As a member of the Oireachtas joint committee I can say there was cross-party support from the Government and the Opposition sides to waive the pre-legislative scrutiny. There was no disagreement on it. I thank the Department for the helpful briefing for party spokespersons on education. Every effort has been made to bring people on board.

Notwithstanding that a quarter of the entire education budget goes to the education of children with special needs, that 300 new special classes were opened in the last academic year and that at least 315 will be opened in the next academic year - an increase of 600 in two years, bringing us to almost 2,500 special classes across the country - as the Minister of State has acknowledged, some children are not getting access to schools. Therefore, it is the correct action by a responsible Minister, such as the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, to put at her disposal everything to ensure that every child with special needs - indeed every child - gets the education they deserve under the Constitution and under legislation.

Schools are sometimes concerned that they will not get the resources. However, the 1998 Act requires the Department to provide those resources. For every class of six children with special needs, two SNAs and one teacher are now provided under the leadership of the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, and the Minister, Deputy Foley. For secondary schools it is 1.5 teachers and two SNAs for a class of six. That is the correct course of action and should give schools some comfort. Senator O'Loughlin mentioned the interdisciplinary and cross-departmental element, which many parents are concerned about. For instance, the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, waiting list is a matter of real concern for many parents, making it also a matter of concern for the schools.

My colleagues and I listened to the debate in the Dáil. Opposition Deputies acknowledged that some schools are not doing their best to open these classes. That is why this action is required.

Representatives of Fórsa and individual SNAs appeared before the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. They expressed concern over contracts and terms and conditions for SNAs. It is important to get that part right. As I said at that committee, when I was the chair of a school board of management, the two school representatives on the board were the principal and an SNA. However, that kind of involvement in leadership within a school is not the experience of every SNA and it needs to be if we are serious about backing up the resources with the support for the staff.

This legislation provides that the NCSE may co-ordinate school places in certain areas. That would be a massive leap forward for many of the families I speak to who need to go door-to-door to all the schools to find a place when they are actually entitled to that place. In the briefing we received, departmental officials described this to me as more of a co-ordinating role. That is also an important part of the legislation.

The Minister of State has the support of the Green Party for this legislation and for the work she is doing. It is acknowledged that more resources are required, but 600 additional classes over the last two years is a major improvement. Opposition Deputies said in the Dáil that there has been a significant leap forward in services.

Senator Paul Gavan

I am standing in for my colleague, Senator Warfield, who is unfortunately under the weather today. The Minister of State is very welcome.

Sinn Féin welcomes and supports this legislation, which will shorten the notice period for schools being instructed to accommodate pupils with special educational needs. Many families are trying to secure appropriate education for their children as is their human right. I commend all the families and campaigners who have fought tirelessly for fair treatment for their children. We would not be here discussing this Bill if it were not for their campaigning. It is very troubling that in addition to raising their children, they need to be politically active in order to get equality of opportunity for their children.

Children have a right to an appropriate education. We will work with the Government to ensure that solutions are delivered urgently for the children affected. Everything that can be done should be done to ensure families get clarity as soon as possible. I am conscious that confusion within Government caused unnecessary stress for families. As my colleague in the Dáil, Deputy Ó Laoghaire, said, we are debating this at a time when parents, particularly those in Dublin but also in Kildare, Meath, Cork, Limerick and elsewhere, do not have a school place for their children for September. That is not acceptable.

The report of the Ombudsman for Children was published recently and the Minister of State accepted it was discriminatory that the State did not have adequate places for these children. That report pointed out that the Department of Education is failing children with special educational needs, particularly in black spots such as Dublin and Cork regarding the provision of suitable school places.

My colleague, Senator Warfield, has tabled a number of amendments to this legislation, which we will discuss again on Wednesday at 6.30 p.m. Last month Sinn Féin tabled a Dáil motion raising many issues relating to this subject, including the call to introduce emergency legislation to expedite the section 37A process to ensure all children have an appropriate school place within a school community.

We welcome the Bill but have proposals to improve it and hope they will be accepted. I also ask the Minister of State to accept my apologies. I need to go somewhere else, but I will be following the debate from my office.

Senator Marie Sherlock

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. We welcome and support any measures to increase the number of special educational or additional needs education places and supports. However, I see this legislation as a very small measure in the overall need to ensure we provide for children with additional or special needs. Once children are diagnosed, they are entitled to a certain number of services. However, time and again I come up against the basic issue of getting a diagnosis. In the Cabra-Grangegorman children's disability network team, CDNT, there is a wait of more than three years to get a diagnosis and all the while children and their families are left in limbo because they do not have that diagnosis. I hope the Minister of State looked very closely at the recommendations from the Ombudsman for Children on creating alternative pathways to additional needs and special needs support in schools. It is simply appalling that some of us need to recommend to families to go away and spend between €1,000 and €3,000 to get a private diagnosis in order to get their constitutional right to an education.

I am slightly uncomfortable about the narrative around the Bill which is about directing schools to make provision. For me the elephant in the room is that there are many DEIS band 1 schools going over and beyond to ensure provision for the children attending their schools while other schools are shunning their responsibilities. Because of that precise situation, I need to raise with the Minister of State comments she made when she singled out four schools in recent weeks. She said the schools have not been forthcoming in opening special classes in specific circumstances where they know they have capacity. She said the decision to name schools was because they were not engaging at all and they were just ignoring correspondence.

As a lawyer and as a Minister of State, she knows that words can do enormous damage. Her words have caused enormous distress to the teaching staff and to the families who attend St. Gabriel's in Stoneybatter. It was never the case that that school was not engaging or was ignoring correspondence. In fact, the school has been engaging with an architect engaged by the Department since last autumn, to discuss the refurbishment of two school rooms so that they could open an ASD unit in 2023.

It has eight class teachers and six resource teachers. It could not be further from the truth, therefore, to suggest this school is not committed to special needs. In fact, so much of what it does is about providing for children with additional needs. It is telling that the Department sent an email at 7.30 p.m. on a Friday, 17 June, to the Archbishop of Dublin, the patron of the school. The Department did not even have the grace to email the school directly to inform it that it was going to publish its name unless it communicated. The school responded within hours, yet that did not matter because the Minister of State, unfortunately, proceeded to name the school. Those teachers are now looking back on a decade of progress and asking what the Department and the community think about its work. Will the Minister of State please engage directly with the school and issue a public apology, given it is not true that it was not engaging and in light of the considerable hurt in the community?

In the context of what I would call a whole-of-education approach, I understand this Bill is very much directed towards ensuring there will be adequate provision within primary schools. As I said, we support that, but we also need to look at the continuum into secondary schools and also within preschools. Anybody who understands special needs knows it is about early intervention. The decisions made in respect of St. Gabriel's in Stoneybatter have meant that a preschool within that school has had to close. Two children with additional needs, who were getting great support within that preschool, will now have nothing for this September. At the age of four, they will have no special needs intervention in a preschool setting but they will have fabulous facilities once they begin primary school in the following September. What about the 12 months in between? Weeks and months matter in children's lives at that age. What are the Minister of State and the Department doing to ensure children across the board are being looked after? Unless we get those early interventions right, we will store up all sorts of problems, as we are seeing, within both the primary and secondary school system.

Senator Emer Currie

I am sharing time with Senator Maria Byrne.

I welcome the Minister of State and commend her on her commitment to special educational needs. Her office is always available, as is she, and we are very grateful for that. I hope her legacy will include the reorientation of this system that puts the weight on parents and families to secure appropriate accommodation for their children instead of the State automatically stepping in. The experience parents have is upside down and it forces people who already have too much on their plates to fight for vulnerable children. They must compete for places in schools and undergo an arduous application process, with rejection after rejection. The planning and application process must work seamlessly in order that children will be guaranteed a place in their local community that is led by the SENOs. That has not, unfortunately, been the case in Dublin 15. It should not have to be led by the parents.

I will support this legislation like everyone else. While nobody wants to see it used in the first or the last place, it is necessary for schools that have not responded appropriately to the urgency and stress this causes families. The Minister of State's number one priority is to increase the numbers of special schools and special class places until every child in the country has a place in his or her community, and she oversaw the opening of 300 special classes last year. Moreover, as we have seen, July provision is not always being delivered. Nevertheless, the schools in Dublin 15, which I work with and can speak for, only want the best for their students. They are committed to inclusive, child-centred and rights-based environments, including for Ukrainian children who have been welcomed into the classroom, through responding to changing and growing special educational needs by opening classes or managing multilingualism and different ethnicities in a respectful and sensitive way. There is a disconnect between what the Department or the NCSE describes as “reasonable efforts” to support a school in making the required provision, on the one hand, and schools' concerns about their resources, facilities and supports, on the other hand. That gap between the NCSE and schools has to be bridged for the system to work and for us to avoid having to use section 37A in the first instance.

The Minister of State might comment further on Danu Community Special School, which she visited before the classes moved in and which Mr. John Kearney visited last week. We discussed this previously, but she knows about the demand there for a behavioural practitioner. I ask that such a practitioner be granted to Danu, which desperately needs it whereas other schools have one. When it comes to ratios, this is a system where the one-size-fits-all approach does not work. We need to examine those scenarios with SNAs, special classes and special schools where the ratios are not meeting the demands of the school staff. Moreover, on the site for Danu, we committed to a purpose-built, state-of-the-art building and the needs are only growing. Will the Minister of State please consider the urology site in Blanchardstown?

Senator Maria Byrne

I thank the Minister of State for appearing before the House to discuss this important issue. As she will be aware, I am involved in a special school, which she has visited with me in the past. In April, I held an online meeting on this area and I thank her for contribution and commitment to the area of special needs. A number of issues were raised that evening and she subsequently resolved them, and I thank her publicly for that because it shows her commitment and dedication to the area.

Behind every child there is a family, and the Minister of State takes these issues seriously. Some schools may not be as forthcoming in offering places to children with special needs and it is sad that section 37A has to exist, whereby the Minister of State has the right to direct schools in that regard. It is a reality, however, and I can certainly understand why the section is provided for. So many people are dependent on the provision. I previously dealt with a case in Limerick where a student had been refused a place in two schools and their parents then had to bring them to another school more than one hour away. That was not recognised by the NCSE, however, because there were two schools within an hour's drive of the student's home, even though there was not a vacancy in either of them. Perhaps the Minister of State would examine that, although it might since have been resolved, given it happened quite a while ago. The family had to drive to Charleville rather than have the child attend either of the two local schools, given there was no vacancy.

There are so many sensitive issues in the context of special needs but we have come a long way in regard to what the Minister of State and the Department have been delivering, not least when compared with a few years ago. It is wonderful that there is now greater inclusivity of children who require that additional support. I pay tribute to SNAs and the various support staff who are in place because the work they do daily with the children is to be commended. They almost become part of the family because the children often have a special attachment to them.

I compliment the Minister of State and thank her for her work to date. I look forward to supporting the Bill.

Senator Martin Conway

I welcome the Minister of State. This legislation is very important and needs to be passed before the end of term. I fully support her decision to name schools. Words matter, but actions matter more, and when there is inaction, words need to be used to create action.

As somebody who fell under the category of a young person who needed and would have benefitted from special education, I just wish back in the 1980s and 1990s there was a Minister with responsibility for special education in the first place, and one who would have had the courage of her or his convictions to actually name and call out the education institutions and universities I had to attend where there was precious little support. I wish there was a Minister then who actually named institutions and got results. Even in here I have had to threaten to bring things up on the floor of this House in order to get action. The Minister of State made the right decisions. I 100% support her. There are people upset, but at the end of the day, if she gets the result, which is to provide spaces for young people in schools near their homes, then it is a good day’s work.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills (Deputy Josepha Madigan)

I had much writing to do from all of the different contributions. I might just deal with Senator Mullen’s particular issue because it was a kind of a technical matter. I want to thank Senators Seery Kearney, Keogan, O’Loughlin, Pauline O’Reilly, Gavan, Sherlock, Currie, Maria Byrne, Carrigy and Conway for their contributions. I might come to them at the end of my closing statement if I have time and go through the Senators' individual points.

I just want to speak to Senator Mullen on his particular issue. As he knows, we are putting in new general provisions or functions on patrons and boards in this legislation. That is aimed at making it unequivocal in making our schools child-centred and child-focused for all children, not just those with additional needs. That is all that section 3 is about. It is making sure that patrons and schools co-operate with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, when they are consulted to open a new class. That is what the Bill, in essence, does. It is outside of the section 37A process. It is asking the board of schools to co-operate, ultimately, with the NCSE. As the Senator knows, that is the regular co-operation that already happens in the majority of cases anyway. Section 37A is separate and a power that I am reluctant to use, but on occasions I have no option but to do it. However, it will not defunct the provisions in the Bill ultimately. As the Senator knows, the Attorney General obviously has contributed to this legislation as well and everything has gone through him in terms of the drafting process. Therefore, I am confident the provisions are not contradictory and will work together. I hope that answers the Senator’s question. I just wanted to specifically deal with that.

As the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion, I am committed to making a difference for students who have special education needs as part of an inclusive education system. Children with special education needs should be supported to access the education system. As a Government, we fully recognise the importance of an inclusive and all-embracing education system. Never is it more important than in the case of children with special education needs. I fundamentally believe that our most vulnerable children in society must be prioritised.

Government policy on supporting children with special education needs aims to ensure that all children will have access to an education appropriate to their needs. Our policy is to provide for inclusive education and ensure the maximum possible integration of children with special needs into ordinary mainstream schools. Where pupils require more targeted interventions, special class or special school placements are also provided.

On investment, the Department of Education is investing more than €2 billion in making additional provision for children with special education needs in 2022. That represents in excess of 25% of the Department’s total annual budget. Access to education by every child with special education needs is designed to provide the appropriate and necessary supports to ensure that the full potential of each child is realised.

In my opening statement, I highlighted that I wanted to return to two issues, namely, consultation and resources. First, on consultation, the vast majority of schools, when approached and consulted with by the NCSE to make additional provision for children with special education needs, agree to open a new or additional special class. Both my Department and the NCSE have developed a number of strategic initiatives to forward plan for the provision of special class and special school places. These developments in relation to forward planning and the ongoing collaboration with schools are bearing fruit. Some 300 additional special classes were opened in the current school year and at least 315 more classes have been sanctioned to open for the coming school year. I want to confirm that my Department and the NCSE are committed to continuing to work with schools to provide new or additional special classes in this way.

All parties would obviously prefer to see schools volunteer to provide more places rather than places being secured on the back of an order or a direction from the Minister. The evidence available this school year is that schools are willing to work collaboratively with the Department and the NCSE on the provision of new school places for children with special education needs. I am grateful to all concerned for their ongoing work in this regard.

However, where the NCSE identifies a need for additional special classes in an area and have been unable to find schools agreeable to opening new classes after consultation, the section 37A process can be considered. I recently announced the section 37A process has been initiated for the third time in relation to the provision of special classes at primary and special school places in Dublin region. The NCSE wrote to me to advise that it formed an opinion that there is insufficient special class capacity in primary schools and special school capacity in Dublin. I mention Dublin only because the NCSE assured me that there are sufficient special school and special class places outside of Dublin.

Where the existing section 37A process has been used twice already, those processes took more than four months and 18 months, respectively. This underlines the need for a new process, as all relevant parties agree that the current section 37A process is too long and too complicated. The key provision in this legislation provides for a truncated section 37A process whereby I can direct a school to make additional provision for children with special education needs. It is envisaged that this new process can lead to a ministerial direction to be served on a school within six to eight weeks of receiving a report from the NCSE setting out its opinion that there is insufficient school place in a certain area. This shortened process still allows two opportunities for school patrons and boards to make representations to me ahead of a direction issuing.

On resources, which practically all of the Senators mentioned, I want to take the opportunity to confirm that both my Department and the NCSE are committed to providing appropriate resources to schools opening new special classes. I think we can all agree that a new special class is much more than simply four walls and a room, and this is very much reflected in the resources that are provided.

Mainstream schools opening new special classes are informed in advance of the range of supports available from both the Department and the NCSE. The Department’s planning and building unit is available to work closely with schools opening new special classes and my Department has a framework of contractors in place to facilitate necessary works in schools. All works are 100% funded by the Department.

On staffing resources, as was mentioned, one additional teaching post is sanctioned at primary, 1.5 additional teaching posts are sections at post primary and two special needs assistants, SNAs, for every autism spectrum disorder, ASD, special class of six children. The NCSE provides a programme of professional support for schools with newly established special classes. They include a seminar for principals, a four-day intensive training course for teachers, a two-day training course for new teachers, whole staff continuing professional development, CPD, and the school is also linked with an NCSE adviser. In addition, the Department provides enhanced funding through increased capitation rates, a special class start-up grant, furniture and ICT grants. It is vitally important that we appropriately resource schools opening special classes. I want to confirm the commitment of both my Department and the NCSE to continue to provide these supports for all schools opening new special classes.

As I have one minute left, I will address Senator Seery Kearney, who was the first to speak. She mentioned the Dublin 12 autism advocacy group and Involve Autism, which I know she does much work with on a regular basis. I am happy to liaise with her on any assistance I can give her in that regard.

Senator Carrigy mentioned summer provision and getting special schools to increase the uptake. There has been a significant uptake over the past two years, but I agree with the Senator. We have 129 special schools now and want to make sure we do everything we can to support them to provide the summer provision.

As the Senator will know, we outlined a number of new measures to do that this year. We will continue to do that and we may get more schools taking it up next year. Senator Keogan mentioned training and resources. She is not here but that is an issue of significant importance.

Acting Chairperson (Senator Sharon Keogan)

I am here in the Chair.

Deputy Josepha Madigan

Senator Keogan is in the Chair. I thank her for mentioning that issue. It is important. I believe I have addressed Senator Mullen's queries. To respond to Senator O'Loughlin, I will have a look at the case of Kildare Town Community School and revert to her. Senator Pauline O'Reilly mentioned the SNA contract. This is again something we are looking at. To respond to Senator Sherlock, the issue of diagnosis is a big one. I am liaising with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, in that regard. I know she has reduced assessment times. The therapeutic supports are really important. I am working with the Minister of State on that.

Senator Marie Sherlock

Will the Minister of State address the case of St. Gabriel's National School in Stoneybatter?

Deputy Josepha Madigan

St. Gabriel's is one of the schools under the section 37A process. By virtue of this process, schools are named and these names are published on the Department's website.

Senator Marie Sherlock

The school was continuously engaging with the Department, however.

Deputy Josepha Madigan

The reality is that, even if there is engagement, if the school does not agree to open a special class, the section 37A process kicks in.

Senator Martin Conway

And so it should.

Deputy Josepha Madigan

That is the reality. I thank Senator Conway for his comments. I will talk to Senator Currie about Danu Community Special School. I have no difficulty in that regard. I will provide any supports or assistance I can to Senator Currie. The same applies to Senator Maria Byrne. I thank the Senators for being here today. I appreciate all of their contributions.

Question put and agreed to.

Seanad Éireann debate - Monday, 11 Jul 2022

Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Bill 2022: Second Stage

Seanad Éireann debate -
Monday, 11 Jul 2022