Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 March 2021
475. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education if her Department will consider conducting an analysis or doing a report to quantify the impact of school closures on children with special needs during the Covid-19 pandemic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11724/21]
View answerCOVID-19 has negatively impacted across all aspects of society including in the area of education which has seen the closure of schools on two occasions.
My Department has recognised that such school closures can have a particular impact on children with special educational needs and accordingly has –
- Prioritised children with special educational needs for the earliest possible return to in school teaching, with pupils in special schools and special classes having now returned to school.
- Urgent consideration is underway as to when children with special educational needs who attend mainstream education can return
- Specific guidance and supports have been provided to schools to support continuity of learning for these children during the school closure period.
- A significantly expanded summer education programme for children with complex special educational needs was provided last year which aimed to prevent regression among children with special needs.
- A supplementary education programme is currently being provided for children with special educational needs who have missed in person education
However, notwithstanding these efforts, my Department is aware from discussions with disability and parental representative groups, that pupils with special educational needs have been impacted to a significant extent by school closures. For many pupils, the break in routine will have a disproportionate impact on their learning and behaviours.
Students with more complex special educational needs had limited capacity to engage with learning in a remote teaching environment. Some of these students receive high levels of additional teaching and SNA support in schools. Meeting their needs in the home placed additional challenges on families and in some cases impacted on home schooling for their siblings. This was further exacerbated by disruption to their therapeutic and respite care.
Once children have had an opportunity to settle back into school and their individual needs have been supported by their school, there will be opportunities to reflect on the impact of school closures on these children. It is clear however that schools are the best place for the education of our children and my Department will continue to work with stakeholders, in line with the public health guidance, to ensure that schools can reopen, remain open and deliver education to support all children including those with special educational needs.
Schools will evaluate the educational needs of individual students, including consideration of whether their learning needs have increased over the school closure period, and schools have discretion to allocate the highest level of special education teaching support to those students with the highest level of need.
My Department will review the effectiveness of the summer programme and the supplementary support scheme.
