Principals warn 'catch-all' special schools will push pupils back into mainstream classes
The school leaders, who oversee 30 special schools in 19 counties, serving more than 3,000 students, say they face growing pressure from the Department of Education to change their schools' current designation to include children with 'complex needs'.
The principals have warned that this broadening of criteria will result in a phasing-out of special school places for children with mild and general learning disabilities.
The Department of Education told schools last week of new plans aimed at resolving long-standing issues with the application system for special education, which sees families struggling to find places each year.
These issues, as previously highlighted by the Irish Examiner, include a lack of access to appropriate school places.
The 30 special schools affected by the new criteria work with children who have mild and general learning disabilities, which typically means a child has an IQ between 50 and 69, as well as with students who are considered 'borderline'.
The schools also work with autistic students, often making up more than 50% of the student body, and who have a dual diagnosis of mild and general learning disabilities and don't fit the typical autism class model.
The schools offer the full primary curriculum, the Junior Cycle at Levels 2 and 3, QQI Level 3, and the Leaving Certificate Applied.
However, the principals now fear their model of education is at risk, according to spokeswoman for the group, Debbie O'Neill, principal of Scoil Eoin in Crumlin.
Instead of creating new special school places, the department's plan simply reallocates existing places. This pushes children with mild and general learning disabilities back into mainstream environments that have already failed them.
'This is not inclusive education. It is reactive, rushed, and deeply unfair," she said.
The pressure on schools to change designations to cater for a wider cohort of disabilities has become 'very apparent' in recent years, particularly as the crisis in placements for autistic children took hold.
'They are calling them 'catch-all' special schools, which is the most horrendously disrespectful language to any child or parent with a disability, and they are looking for us to become these 'catch-all' special schools," Ms O'Neill said.
'Mild' schools redundant
Within four years, the intention is that 'mild' schools would be 'redundant' and students would be back in mainstream classrooms. There would only be a specialised setting for those with the most complex needs, Ms O'Neill said.
The recent circular concerned principals as the new language used around designation has been 'kept vague on purpose', she added.
'We recognise the urgent need to find school places for autistic children," she said.
No child should be left without a school place, and no family should be left in limbo. We stand with those parents. We want those children to be supported.
However, the apparent current strategy of 'repurposing mild and general learning disabilities schools" is not the answer, Ms O'Neill said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said it is not the intention to exclude children who require a special school place from accessing certain special schools.
However, it is not "appropriate" that children and young people have to pass special schools and travel long distances because "they don't meet the narrow criteria for admission to those special schools who cater for children with mild general learning disabilities", the spokesperson said.
"A number of these special schools have already moved to broaden the profile of students they support, in response to the changing needs of students. The department and the National Council For Special Education will support other schools to do the same."
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Helen Maria (12) has already spent some time in a mainstream school where it quickly became apparent that she required a more specialised environment. 'She spent junior infants in a school in Gorey, the teachers were very good, and understanding, but they weren't able to support her,' says Vanessa. 'She spent most of the time sitting in the back of the room with a piece of paper and some crayons. I knew she had a lot of potential but the teachers weren't able to unlock it.' Helen Maria has a rare genetic disorder which affects her cognitive learning abilities and she also has difficulties with sensory processing. In addition, Vanessa says that although 'her chronological age is 12, she's really only about seven or eight'. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Following junior infants, Helen Maria began attending Our Lady of Fatima. 'She was pre-verbal at this stage, she now talks, she's able to read, is at fourth class level and can read small novels,' says Vanessa. 'She has amazing potential and it's only by being in Our Lady of Fatima that they have found ways of tapping into it. "She couldn't learn in a mainstream setting where there's 30 kids, one teacher, lots of noise and distraction. Now she's in a small classroom setting, there's two special needs assistants (SNAs), plus the teacher, and her work is all tailored to her, as it is to the other students,' All the children who attend Our Lady of Fatima's have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) which contains various targets and goals for each child. "The teacher uses various learning approaches and teaching styles to suit that child. If you go into a mainstream setting the teacher is just opening the book and telling the class what they're going to be doing,' says Vanessa who is a teacher herself. 'If Helen Maria was in a mainstream setting she would be starting first year now, probably in Gorey Community School. She is tiny, can you imagine her in among a group of teenage first years? Children like her get forgotten or are labelled as disruptive in a mainstream school.' Although the academic year has now concluded at Our Lady of Fatima, the school is still working with its students, Helen Maria included, to ensure they are ready for all that the world throws at them in their future lives. 'They're doing their summer provision at the moment, it's like a summer camp,' Vanessa explains. 'They organise activities for the children, improve their life skills. I got an email the other day to tell me they were going to the shops, to the cinema. Chloe had to bring her little purse with money to buy a bottle of water, some treats, before they went to the cinema.' Darryl's story Describing Our Lady of Fatima as 'nothing short of a lifeline' for his daughter, Darryl Cogley, as chair of the parents association, says the proposed changes fill him with a mix of 'apprehension and deep concern for the future of our special schools'. 'Before Grace came here, we had navigated a labyrinth of challenges, often feeling isolated and misunderstood. But within the walls of that school, she has found a place where her unique needs are not just accommodated, but celebrated,' he says. 'The dedicated staff, the tailored curriculum, the small class sizes – these are not luxuries, they are essential pillars that have allowed my daughter to blossom, to achieve her full potential in a way that simply wouldn't have been possible in a mainstream setting. "This school has unlocked her abilities, built her confidence, and given her a sense of belonging that every child deserves. It's amazing to see a child going into the school at 9-10-years-old and watching their development; you'd have a child who wouldn't have spoke very much, where their peers (in mainstream) were moving on at a faster pace so they were left out of conversations. Now they're in with their own peers, their own age group, they're welcomed every day and all the anxieties they've had are starting to reduce.' Although the proposed changes won't impact Grace or any students from Our Lady of Fatima's for the upcoming academic year, Darryl says the prospect of a reduction in special school places for children with (MGLD) sends 'shivers' down his spine. "The Department of Education and the NCSE speak of expanding special classes in mainstream schools and a 'gradual phased basis' for changes to existing special schools, but what does that truly mean for our children?' he asks. 'Will the nuanced, individualised support that makes Our Lady of Fatima so exceptional be replicated in a mainstream setting? My fear, and the fear of countless other parents, is that it simply cannot. 'If this leads to a significant reduction in places for children with MGLD at schools like Our Lady of Fatima, it will have a far-reaching, devastating effect on hundreds of potential future students. We cannot afford to lose these vital spaces, these havens of tailored education. We implore the Department of Education to recognise the irreplaceable value of schools like Our Lady of Fatima and ensure that the needs of all children with special educational needs, including those with MGLD, continue to be met with the highest standard of care and specialized provision. Our children's futures depend on it. 'This isn't just about administrative adjustments; it's about the very heart of how we support our most vulnerable children.' Darryl's fears extend beyond his own situation, beyond that of the school's current student body. 'There's a lot of parents out there who had thought their children would be going to Our Lady of Fatima in the next couple of years and they're worried about what's going to happen with their child now.' Nicola and Thomas's story Gerard reached fourth class in a mainstream setting before it became apparent that his situation was no longer sustainable. While he got on well with his peers, was liked by his classmates, the academic challenges were mounting, causing the young boy severe distress. "He used to be crying going into mainstream, it was so hard on him, he couldn't cope with it,' says his dad Thomas. 'At night time he couldn't sleep with the anxiety, the worry.' Now 15, Gerard, who has autism and MGLD, had done his level best to keep up, but the school setting just wasn't appropriate for his needs. 'He went as far as fourth class, at that point even those within the school felt he needed more,' says mam Nicola. 'They gave him plenty of support, looked after him really well, he was popular with the other kids and socially he mixed with everyone. But academically he began to feel the pressure, he would say to us, 'why am I struggling, why are things so hard? Everyone else can do it but I can't'.' The switch to Our Lady of Fatima happened six years ago and the changes in their son's demeanour have taken even his parents by surprise. 'It's been brilliant, he's done his Junior Cert, he's halfway through the Leaving Cert Applied,' says Nicola. 'He hated drama before, but he's acted in a play now; he's given everything a go, took part in things he would never have done before. Our Lady of Fatima has made a huge difference to his life, to his confidence; we can see how much he's matured.' Those levels of maturity have seen the teenager complete two blocks of work experience, one in a car dealership and the other with a local charity, and a realisation that 'anything is achievable'. This extends to his extra-curricular work, to embracing his own natural creativity and blending it with the skills he has acquired in school. 'He's started to write his own book, we never fell over when he came to us with that,' says Nicola. 'It's a science fiction story, he's done it all by himself. Seeing him doing that, the pride he takes in it, he takes in his schoolwork, is incredible. He's also done some public speaking. The school is navigating a path for him for when he finishes, ensuring there's variety there for him.' Karen's story Since the birth of her daughter 11 years ago, Karen Whitty says she'd had to 'fight for everything'. Diagnosed with an incredibly rare genetic syndrome which affects just 400 children worldwide, Daisy May also has a MGLD and attended a specialised pre-school from a young age. From there she was fortunate enough to go straight into Our Lady of Fatima, straight into an environment which has allowed her to flourish from the outset. 'Her specialist in Crumlin would have always said the reason she is doing so well is because she's in Our Lady of Fatima,' says Karen. 'There's no way she would ever be able to settle into a mainstream setting. I would not do that to her, I wouldn't let her go.' While her place is secure for the upcoming academic year, Daisy May and hundreds of children like her face an uncertain future due to the changes being implemented by the Department of Education and the NCSE. The prospect of having one of the few certainties in her daughter's life taken away fills Karen with dread. 'You have to fight for everything when you have a child with special needs. Everything. Basic things are a fight. Our Lady of Fatima is the one thing we have that we can rely on and now there's a possibility it could be taken away. I couldn't believe it when I saw the letter for the first time, I just thought 'this is typical, here we go'. "She's such a happy little thing at the moment, but the minute she'd walk into a playground in a mainstream school she'd be different straight away. And she doesn't feel that way in Our Lady of Fatima. In there she's not different, she doesn't even see difference, it's just such a lovely environment for her. It's the entire community, from the caretaker to the bus escorts and drivers, it's so reassuring as a parent.' Karen hopes that sense of reassurance will extend well into the future, a future which she believes would otherwise consist of her daughter sitting at home every day, her entire education gone to waste in an inappropriate setting. 'She has seven years left in Our Lady of Fatima, that'll bring her to the Leaving Cert. Her entire future is at stake here. The school will get her ready for when she leaves. She has so much to give and they will get it out of her, they'll make sure she's ready for the world when she walks out those gates for the last time, and that she won't just be left sitting at home with me.' Patience's story Prior to attending Our Lady of Fatima, Patience Saunders daughter had become something of an errand girl in the mainstream school she attended. It wasn't that her services were particularly in demand, that a lot of errands needed doing; it was just the only way the teachers could keep her out of their classes, and thus out of their hair. Now 15, Sophie has been in Our Lady of Fatima for eight years after spending her early years of education in a mainstream setting. "The teachers would have her doing errands, they'd say 'I can get on and teach the other children now when Sophie isn't here',' Patience recalls. "It used to break my heart, I'd actually get a pain in my chest when I got a call from the school telling me that Sophie was being disruptive, that she'd done such and such a thing again today.' Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and a MGLD, Sophie is now flourishing in Our Lady of Fatima, in an environment where there is 'lots of acceptance, and love among her peers'. 'For her it's not a school, it's a community,' says her mother. 'The confidence she has now, the belief in herself, she's just a completely different person there.' In the coming academic year Sophie will take on her first set of state exams, and, far from being apprehensive, she is relishing the project. 'She'll be doing her Junior Cert next year and she's excited about taking on the new subjects, they go to Selskar College and St Peter's for some of them,' says Patience. 'She just wants to fit in, I think that's all anybody wants in life. Our Lady of Fatima gives them the tools to become a member of society. If she had remained in mainstream she would have stopped going to school. Once she reached first year in secondary that would have been it.' The future In the wake of the letter issued by the Department of Education, Our Lady of Fatima and the other 29 special schools for children with MGLD issued a joint statement to Education Minister Helen McEntee. It called upon both the Department and the NCSE to 'protect our model, to expand provision across the board, and to invest in the full range of needs' and for Minister McEntee to meet them in person to discuss the issues they are facing. 'It is her responsibility to stop this harmful action, to engage with staff and parents affected and to consider alternatives,' read the statement. And in the Dáil, on July 1, Wexford TD George Lawlor offered his full support to Our Lady of Fatima and schools potentially impacted by these proposed changes. Noting that pupils from the Wexford school had recently gone on to third level and been accepted onto apprenticeship programmes, Deputy Lawlor said these schools, and the children who attend them, needed to be supported. 'We need to stand up for the children with a mild, general learning disability because they thrive in places like Our Lady of Fatima school. They thrive in what these schools offer them. Children who attend special schools like Our Lady of Fatima would definitely struggle for many different reasons, including mental health or high anxiety levels, if they were compelled to go to a mainstream school. 'The students in the likes of Our Lady of Fatima in Wexford town flourish. This school offers the primary curriculum, junior certificate level and level 3 subjects, and has started senior cycle level 2 and the leaving certificate applied. The students receive the same as they would in a mainstream school but the difference is the number of students is smaller. The anxiety they would have felt in a mainstream school has been taken away. Our Lady of Fatima special school can attend to their needs. As a result, the students in this wonderful school and wonderful schools like it across the country are successful in accessing the curriculum. 'The argument that no child should pass the school that is right beside their house is understood, but schools such as the one I have mentioned should be an option for parents who want to send their children to them. The policy outlined in Circular 39/2025 (letter from the Department) creates the risk of students being very unhappy in an environment in which they do not flourish. The success of the children of Our Lady of Fatima special school when they leave school is proof of how it works. "There is a strong chance that these students would not have been able to achieve this in a mainstream setting. Our Lady of Fatima special school is a model that works and the feeling now is that this model is at risk and that the education of the children who are content and anxiety free is at risk. Darryl Cogley, the chairperson of the school parents' association, has a daughter who originally attended mainstream school and then moved to Our Lady of Fatima special school. 'He said that children like his daughter require a specialised school and educational environment, and dedicated support. She got it at Our Lady of Fatima special school and continues to flourish on a day-to-day basis. I ask the Minister of State to re-examine Circular 39/2025 for the benefit of these wonderful schools across the country." Returning to the parents, they say there is one reason behind the proposed changes, one reason why the Department wants to change the provision of special education throughout the country. 'It's down to a lack of funding and resources," says Vanessa, 'they don't want to spend money building schools for these children, schools that are needed. They don't want to invest, they're saying 'you know what, we'll get the kids from MGLD and we'll put them into mainstream and put the kids with profound needs in there instead'. 'But how are teachers going to teach children with MGLD children in classes that are already packed, when their resources are already stretched?' On a potential meeting with either Minister McEntee or the Minister for Special Education, Michael Moynihan, the parents have one simple requirement. 'Engage with us, that's all we want,' says Darryl. 'Come down and talk to us and the parents from the other schools.' They have contacted both departments says Vanessa, but with varying results. 'That's the worst insult. 'Thanks for you letter, here's a generic response, it's been noted'.
