Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 March 2017
34. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of autism spectrum disorder, ASD, units at both primary and post-primary level in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10452/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy question relates to the status of the provision of ASD units at both primary and post-primary level in County Kildare, in particular in my constituency of Kildare South. As the Minister will be aware, the provision of ASD units is of crucial benefit for parents of children on the autism spectrum or with special needs of some type whose place is in mainstream schools, but we have a deficit in some areas. My particular concern is the deficit as children head into second level education because we have far more units at primary level than we do at secondary level.
Deputy Heydon will be aware that the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is responsible for organising and planning provision for children with special educational needs, including the establishment of special classes in mainstream primary and post-primary schools. Special classes offer a supportive learning environment to students with ASD who are unable to access the curriculum in a mainstream class, even with support, for most or all of their school day. Special classes are for students who have a recommendation for a special class placement in their professional reports.
The NCSE continues to engage with schools in opening special classes where there is an identified need for special class provision.
Progress in developing the network of special classes has been significant and there are currently 1,153 special classes available, of which 889 are ASD special classes. As I noted to Deputy Durkan, this represents an increase of more than 100% since 2011.
With regard to Kildare in particular, there are 942 students with ASD attending schools in the county. Of these, 520 students attend mainstream schools and are accessing in-school supports including resource teachers and SNA support in the mainstream class. A total of 322 students are attending 59 ASD special classes, including six early intervention classes, 41 primary ASD classes and 12 post-primary ASD classes. A further 100 students with ASD are placed in four special schools. The number of ASD classes has increased in the area by 24% since the 2013-2014 school year.
My Department's building unit has advised that special needs units are currently under construction at three schools in County Kildare. In addition, major building projects for a number of schools in Kildare are included in the Department's six-year construction plan and special needs units will be included in these developments.
The NCSE has indicated that it is currently satisfied there will be sufficient ASD special class placements available to meet demand in the region for the forthcoming school year.
I thank the Minister for his response. There are a few different elements to the question. We have a number of special schools in our area where the pupils start at the four years of age and continue there all the way through to the age of 18 years. When someone is in an ASD unit in a different primary school and looking to access that special school at the age of 12 years or 13 years, there seems to be a deficiency in the number of spaces. This issue has been raised directly with me by parents with children who have not been able to acquire spaces in those schools. I welcome what the Minister said about increased provision in the future and I presume that the proposed extensions of Cross & Passion College in Kilcullen, Patrician Secondary School in Newbridge and Athy Community College will see increased provision for those with special educational needs and for ASD units. However, it is still the sense on the ground in Kildare South that we have children in ASD units in primary school but the corresponding spaces may not be there at secondary level. This is a cause of huge concern for parents.
There is a long list of schools on the construction programme that will have special needs units, including the schools in Kilcullen and Athy. I will provide the list to the Deputy. I will bring the point he makes regarding 12 year olds and 13 year olds accessing special schools to the attention of the NCSE to see if it is a particular pinch point, if one likes, for parents. We have dramatically increased the resources in this area and are trying to ensure we accommodate children in the best environment for them to progress, which is why there is the mix I described. I will alert the NCSE to the particular issue Deputy Heydon raised.
On the broader point, will the Minister outline the process? Does a school need to offer to take an ASD unit or can the NCSE and the Department of Education and Skills go to the school and say that it is necessary? Where does the ultimate decision lie? To refer specifically to the points I raised earlier, there is a sense that there is a deficiency at secondary level in the greater Newbridge area and I ask the Minister to raise that issue specifically with the NCSE.
This issue has been raised across the House. We are taking a power in the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill to designate a school to take a child with special educational needs but we are not taking a power, if one likes, to require a school to provide an ASD unit. At least, we are not doing that legislatively. The reason we have not done it legislatively to date is that we have not had a difficulty in getting schools to take it up. As I stated, we have more than doubled the number of schools with ASD classes and we invest to match a school's willingness to provide such a unit. To date we have not experienced the need for a compulsion in that area. I know that many Deputies feel there should be and we will listen to those arguments. However, I think there is also a feeling that this should be done in partnership and that compelling a school to do something like this is not the ideal way to go. As the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill progresses, we will need to provide evidence to Deputies to reassure them on this point. I know many Deputies, including Deputy Thomas Byrne, are concerned about the issue.
