Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 July 2024
808. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education if she has engaged with disability groups in regard to concerns about a lack of consideration towards disabled students in schools' codes of behaviour; and if her Department would review the guidance being given to schools in how to put together these codes. [32814/24]
View answerIn 2023 Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) set up a national steering committee to guide the review and updating of the current Guidelines for Schools in relation to a Code of Behaviour. TESS has a statutory remit for this work under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000.
The Department is working closely with TESS on the revised Guidelines and is represented on the steering committee. The steering committee is representative of the various stakeholders in education and includes the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education (NABMSE), whose sole focus is special educational needs, the National Parents Council and the National Council for Special Education.
To ensure that the revised Guidelines will accommodate the unique needs of children with special needs, consultations have taken place with special schools and schools with special classes. Additionally, to ensure best practice and a research-informed approach to understanding and managing behaviours is reflected in the revised Guidelines, Middletown Centre for Autism has played a key role in the review process. Exemplars have been prepared to assist schools in understanding a broad range of children's behaviours and the communicative nature of dysregulated behaviours when they occur. A number of advocacy groups have been consulted and further engagements are planned. It is important to note also that children and young people in special classes and in special schools have been consulted over the past six months.
TESS and this Department are very committed to ensuring that their voices will be represented in the revised Code of Behaviour Guidelines for all schools. TESS is continuing to have a series of consultative engagements with organisations, bodies and advocacy groups for students with special educational needs and feedback will assist in informing the final version of the revised Guidelines. The revised Guidelines will include links to publications currently being prepared by the Department and the National Council for Special Education in areas relating to special educational needs and behaviours.
An initial draft of the new Guidelines has been prepared. Feedback from the national steering group on the draft is very positive in relation to how the needs of all children including those of children with special educational needs can be accommodated. There will be structured and updated guidance in relation to suspension and expulsion. It is also intended that the new Guidelines will provide guidance also in relation to ways of communicating a school code of behaviour with children with a diverse range of needs and with members of the school community including parents/guardians/carers whose needs may also be diverse.
The Department will continue to work closely with TESS on the revised Guidelines to ensure that they address the needs of all children, including children with special education needs.
