Emer Higgins
Question:121. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Education the plans in place to support special needs students during level 5 lockdown. [1957/21]
View answerThursday, 14 January 2021
Questions (121)
Written answers
My Department is conscious of the fact that closing schools has hugely adverse consequences at individual, family and societal level and that the effect on children with special educational needs can be even greater.
The Deputy will be aware that a number of meetings have taken place recently with primary and special education stakeholders.
All parties are working together towards a phased return for children in special schools. A return to school for those in special classes in primary schools and for children with significant additional needs in mainstream primary classes, is now planned to begin on Thursday 21 January.
The Government had paused plans for a partial reopening last week, recognising that the education partners were expressing concerns in relation to proposed reopening on 11 January. The pause has given me an opportunity to listen to those concerns, to engage intensively with key stakeholders, with Public Health and with disability advocacy groups, in order to address these concerns.
A series of meetings with key stakeholders from the primary school and special school sector have taken place, with all parties sharing an objective to work together so that children with special educational needs, who find it very hard to engage with remote or online learning, receive some face to face education in schools.
We are now working together on a phased return for children in special schools and a return to school for those in special classes in primary schools and children with significant additional needs in mainstream classes beginning on 21 January.
During this phased commencement of in-school services at primary level, we are also working in parallel with post-primary stakeholders to address their concerns; recognising that post-primary schools present different logistical challenges if a partial return is to be possible.
I very much hope that we can work together to set out a pathway for the return of all children at all levels of schooling at the start of February, subject to Government and public health consideration of what constitutes the safe movement of people at that point.
I should also add that updated Guidance on Continuity of Schooling: Supporting Pupils with Special Educational Needs (for mainstream primary and special schools and for post-primary schools) has been made available by my Department.
This revised guidance advises on how schools and teachers can support continuity in the learning of pupils with special educational needs during the school closures associated with COVID-19. The guidance builds on the key messages in a range of guidance materials which were issued to schools and centres for education as they were published. Specific guidance has been published by the Department to support schools in the context of remote teaching and learning in a Covid-19 context:
Guidance on Remote Learning in a COVID-19 Context: September – December 2020 ; https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a0bff-reopening-our-primary-and-special-schools/#additional-guidelines-and-procedures (Department of Education, October 2020)
This has been complemented by the Department of Education Circular Letter 0074/2020 in relation to the establishment of Digital Communication, Teaching and Learning Platforms: https://www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Active-Circulars/cl0074_2020.pdf
This guidance is intended to assist mainstream and special schools as they endeavour to support teaching and learning for pupils with special educational needs through remote teaching approaches. Key themes of the guidance include:
- The role of schools and teachers in engaging with pupils with SEN
- Teachers and school leaders working to support pupils with SEN
- Keeping in touch with parents and guardians
- Keeping pupils with SEN safe in the distance learning environment
- Resources for teachers
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is also communicating directly with schools on the range of supports available to families and schools at this time.