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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 15 Apr 1997

Vol. 477 No. 5

Adjournment Debate. - Bundoran (Donegal) School.

The subject I raise is a serious one and requires urgent attention. I am glad that has now been accepted and I thank the Ceann Comhairle and his office.

Scoil Iosagáin, Buncrana, County Donegal is a special school with a special ethos. Its aim is inclusion and overcoming marginalisation. Already alongside the mainstream school with an enrolment of 552 pupils, Scoil losagáin has a class for 12 Down's syndrome children with moderate mental handicap. Plans are at an advanced stage for another class to cater for children with profound mental handicap. It will be the first of its kind ever attached to a mainstream primary school in Ireland. These are the initiatives it is taking to overcome social exclusion and marginalisation.

These children vary in their physical education and emotional needs. Anyone looking on will recognise the need for classroom assistants. This is acknowledged given that it already has an assistant. I raise this matter because this classroom assistant is to be taken away from these children and placed in the newly created class for profoundly mentally handicapped children.

Given that the Minister for Education is a teacher I cannot understand how one with that background can take away a classroom assistant and justify it. How can a school dedicated to promoting inclusion and developing all the children's varied abilities be abandoned in such a fashion? Where does it fit into the programmes for Government or even plain simple human rights? Education is a right and not a privilege.

These children are being catered for by a teacher whom they highly respect and who is ably assisted by a person whom they all know and trust. The level of the current provision is not in question. The abandonment of the teacher, parents and students by removing that help is in question. The rejection of their concept of cherishing all our children equally is similarly in question.

The Department of Education considered it necessary in June 1995 to make an appointment to help meet the needs of the pupils attending the special classes attached to the school. The appointment was to take effect in September 1995. By October 1995 the school was notified that when the new class for profoundly mentally handicapped children was set up, the classroom assistant would be moved out. I could speak for hours on how the parents feel about it. Their feelings of anger, frustration and helplessness are understandable. They know their children and the resources needed in time and people for each of their children. They appreciate the advances being made within the school to ensure their children are accommodated and cared for as individuals. They are at a loss to accept the reasoning behind the decision to remove the classroom assistant. They cannot understand that the finances involved warrant this level of disruption to their children's lives. I have been assured that for some of those children, this will be the end of their school days. Given the amount of individual care needed, one set of parents who have two children at the school will not leave them with a teacher and ten other children.

For the teacher there are various practical issues outlined in the letter which was forwarded to the Department and various other people. Poignant examples are, for instance, that one child has suffered kidney failure and an external bag is in place and has to be changed regularly which takes about seven minutes. Who does this task and who looks after the rest of the class if the assistant is not present? Incontinence, hygiene and puberty are issues that impinge on the day for one adult to deal with. How can one teacher alone cope with this while caring for the remainder of the class? These children have special needs and need special attention, be it in the classroom or in the playground. Often it is necessary to separate them into two groups for visits to clinics, psychologists, speech therapists, the swimming pool and for behavioural reasons. Sometimes there is a need for time out for those who display inappropriate behaviour.

One teacher for 12 pupils on individual education development programmes is not enough. Given the ratio of 1:10, if they lose the classroom assistant the social skills development will be such that the teacher will never be in a position to leave the classroom. I ask the Minister to look at this case, to understand the work and ambitions of the school and not to leave the class without an assistant because it is inhuman, senseless and too incredible in this day and age to contemplate. In these days of economic boom, the Celtic tiger and so on, I appeal to the Minister's humanity, his sense of fair play for those with disabilities, and to his common sense. One teacher in a class of 12 children with special needs cannot continue. We are still asking for a classroom assistant to cater for children with profound mental handicap.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The unit to which she refers is a special class being established to cater for children with severe or profound mental handicap. The need to make the support of a classroom assistant available to the children in question is fully recognised by my Department.

In anticipation of the establishment of this special class, my Department allocated a child care assistant post to the school in question in June 1995. At the time of this allocation, it was indicated to the school that the child care post in question was intended to be used specifically for this special class, once it had been established.

On a point of order, is the Minister's reply in connection with the class for the profound mental handicap because it is the other class I am asking about?

I am interested in the other class which is in need. It has 12 children with a moderate handicap who cannot be left alone.

I understand plans for the establishment of the special class are at an advanced stage. Some necessary building work associated with this development is expected to be completed shortly. The necessary furniture for the class has been ordered and the process of selecting pupils for enrolment in the class has already begun.

Where children with severe of profound mental handicap are concerned, the level of special need is such that a multi-diciplinary response is required. This response involves education and health care inputs. In the context of establishing this special class, my Department is in contact with the relevant health authorities to ensure the children in question will have access to the full range of necessary support services.

In terms of educational provision, the special class will operate at a maximum pupil-teacher ratio of 6:1. It is also intended that the class teacher will be supported by the child care assistant. Pupils attending the special class will also attract special capitation funding at a rate of £383 per pupil.

I understand officials of my Department are in ongoing contact with the authorities of the school in question in relation to the establishment of the special class and the class is expected to commence operation in the near future.

Where children with certain disabilities are concerned, including those with severe or profound mental handicap, my Department fully recognises the need to provide backup support through the allocation of child care assistants. The need for such support can arise in relation to such matters as mobility and toileting and other non-teaching duties.

Since taking office the Minister for Education has allocated a total of 175 child care assistant posts to special schools and special classes. This brings the total number of child care assistants now in place in the special education area to 252 and provides concrete evidence of her commitment to the needs of the children in question. It is her intention to maintain this commitment in the future.

I am disappointed I have not got the answer to the question I asked about.

Acting Chairman

In fairness the Deputy is out of order as she cannot comment at this stage.

The Minister of State did not answer the question I asked. The matter I raised was about a different class in the same school.

Acting Chairman

The Deputy will have to raise the matter in some of the many ways the Ceann Comhairle offers every morning.

The question asked about a special pilot unit.

Acting Chairman

The Deputy will have to raise the matter in some other way.

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