Autism charity welcomes moves to tackle special class policies which block children with greatest needs
The charity AsIAm has reacted to the publication of a report by the Department of Education's Inspectorate, which found issues with almost all admission policies used by a selection of mainstream schools to determine entry to their special classes.
The review provides an important spotlight on the admissions policies of some schools, the charity said.
The inspectorate's findings confirm that, too often, admission policies can include exclusionary criteria, such as discriminatory codes of behaviour, updated diagnostic documentation requirements or a lack of resources that disproportionately affect autistic students with higher levels of support needs.
Such practices are reflective of a school system that is not inclusive or in keeping with the spirit of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it added.
'We commend the report for documenting these issues and for recognising the inconsistency and lack of oversight in how such policies are applied across schools.
'We must remove the inherent prejudicial practices that exist within these policies.'
However, the charity also expressed some concern around the report's references to eligibility criteria for autism class placements.
"It is important to maintain the integrity of accessing an autism class which has a particularly defined criterion.
"It is important the eligibility and the use of these classes are used for the students who have a particular recommendation for same.
No child should be denied the opportunity to learn and thrive because of how their needs are defined or how systems interpret those needs.
Some policies reviewed by the inspectorate required children to be able to participate in mainstream lessons as a condition for admission.
Other clauses 'reserved the right to withdraw the offer of a place based on a perception of the student's behaviour".
It also found several incidences of schools requiring parents to provide additional reports or documentation at the point of application.
Education minister Helen McEntee has now written to the school patron bodies, asking them to commence a review of admissions policies. There are currently 3,335 special classes attached to mainstream schools.
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Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Education Minister defends length of school summer holidays in Ireland
The Education Minister has defended the length of schools' summer holidays, saying they offer people a chance to "take a break". Helen McEntee acknowledged that it was a challenge for parents in need of childcare, and any decision on changing the length of the school year would require a considered approach. There has been some commentary in recent weeks that the length of the school holidays – three months for secondary schools and two months for primary – are out of date, as Ireland has some of the longest school breaks in Europe. Visiting a Clondalkin primary school on Thursday, where children were taking part in a summer programme for two weeks, Ms McEntee said: "I'm here in a school where you have principals, teachers, SNAs, who are working and supporting children throughout the summer. "We've always had a particular time period for school holidays. "What we find, particularly for our secondary schools, is that they're actually coming back earlier now, in August, so the Leaving Cert results will be out from the 22nd, some students are actually in that week and, in fact, the following week is when a lot of schools are coming back. "Our teachers work hard, our schools are very active throughout the year. I think the time that's taken throughout the summer gives everybody a chance to take a break." A view of the summer programme at St Mary's Junior National School in Clondalkin, Dublin. It features baking, literacy and outdoor classes for students over the summer break. Picture date: Thursday July 24, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Grainne Ni Aodha/PA Wire The children at St Mary's Junior National School learn literacy and numerical skills, and how to bake, as part of the summer programme, which gives educational support to children, including those with special educational needs. They can also paint in the school's outdoor wooden classroom, called the sun room, which was funded by the Arts Council. Ms McEntee said 1,800 schools are taking part in the summer programme this year, including 80 special schools, a 16 per cent increase on last year. Asked if the activity of the summer programme suggested the summer break was too long, she said the programme initially began "with a particular emphasis on special education". "For children with additional needs, to have that structure and to have that focus, is really, really important. 'And I think there was an acknowledgement that to have that extra support throughout the summer is something that would be hugely beneficial, not just for the students, but also for the parents. "It's obviously since expanded, it's not just a focus on special schools or additional needs, it's a focus on our DEIS schools, making sure that where children – and it's not all children that access the programme – but if there is that need there to have that extra support, that structure throughout the summer, it's there. Education Minister Helen McEntee (left) and junior minister Emer Higgins (centre) during a visit to the summer programme at St Mary's Junior National School in Clondalkin, Dublin. It features baking, literacy and outdoor classes for students over the summer break. Picture date: Thursday July 24, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Grainne Ni Aodha/PA Wire "It's also fun. "I do acknowledge, I have to say, the challenges for parents when it comes to childcare, when it comes to the fact that in many households you have both parents working now full time, so the summer does pose challenges. "But you know, I think any changes to summer breaks, any changes to holidays, that's something that would always have to be considered in engagement and consultation with schools, with teachers, with parents, with families overall." Ms McEntee also announced a National Convention on Education, to inform a long-term strategy for primary and secondary education in Ireland. Professor Anne Looney, who will chair the convention, said in a statement she was looking forward to being involved in ensuring "we give our learners and those who work with them the best opportunities to flourish and succeed." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Irish Independent
16-07-2025
- Irish Independent
Wexford parents urge ministers to reconsider review of special school system – ‘This will have a far-reaching, devastating effect on students'
Currently there are 117 children on its roll, 117 children who avail of the specialised care and attention they receive from the school's teachers, special needs assistants (SNAs), and extended staff. However, the future of those children, and the children who hope to attend the school in the future, was thrown into jeopardy in May of this year when a letter, issued by the Department of Education, outlined its proposed changes for special education provision for the academic year 2026/27 and beyond. The letter (Circular 0039-2025), which followed engagement with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), details the department's plans to 'review the designation of existing special schools'. Set to be finalised by December 31 of this year, the plan states that 'where there is a need for special class places in a local area, and there is no available school to meet this need . . . the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) can approach other schools to open special classes'. With regards to the designation of special schools under the plan, the Department and the NSCE have said they 'intend to commence work on reviewing the designation of existing special schools to ensure that all special schools respond to the needs of children in their local region, rather than children having to travel past one or more special schools to access a special school placement due to the designation of those schools.' Under the new plans, pupils with MGLD may be required to attend special units in mainstream schools in their locality rather than travel to Our Lady of Fatima for their education. Already, the principal of Our Lady of Fatima, Ms Glenda McKeown, has voiced her deep concerns regarding the changes to the system and how it will impact children across Wexford, saying students in Our Lady of Fatima 'would definitely struggle for many different reasons – mental health or high anxiety levels – if they were compelled to go to a mainstream school, and there would be a greater level of absenteeism'. And now, with uncertainty and fear growing among those who attend Our Lady of Fatima, parents of some of the school's current students have had their say. Vanessa's story The changes detailed in Circular 0039-2025 are particularly pertinent for Vanessa Steenson and her daughter Helen Maria. Living in Gorey, they are a long way from Our Lady of Fatima in Wexford town and would, like many other families, be forced to go to the nearest available mainstream school if the changes are implemented. 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'.
Irish Times
13-07-2025
- Irish Times
Some schools are relying on deposit return scheme to stop them going broke
If you are stumbling across sacks of cans and bottles in your child's primary school , welcome to free education. The deposit return scheme is all that is standing between some primary schools and penury. Patiently feeding plastic bottles into the maw of machines outside supermarkets is keeping the lights on and schools open. Meanwhile, more is being spent on free hot meals for students than on education itself. One principal in a middle-class urban area in the west told me it costs €35,000 per month to run her large school. She receives around €21,000 in funding every month from the Department of Education and Youth , but nearly €40,000 a month from the Department of Social Protection for school meals. Her students' families are not deprived. She does not begrudge the free meals, but she wonders about priorities, given that education has been underfunded for decades. READ MORE She does resent that principals are supposed to be leading teaching and learning but instead, her days are consumed by finding ways to fund the €14,000-a-month shortfall. She is also acutely conscious that she is in the privileged position of being able to balance her budget while colleagues, especially but not only in deprived areas, are constantly running unsustainable deficits. Her hall is in high demand for rental. An after-school creche on the premises provides a valuable community service and desperately needed cash. She reluctantly levies voluntary subscriptions and is grateful that parents are both able and are eager to help with fundraising. In contrast, she knows that a principal colleague in a small primary school of 150 students cleans the school herself because she cannot afford cleaners. [ How is a school with €8,000 supposed to pay €10,000 worth of bills? Opens in new window ] As Seamus Mulconry, secretary general of the Catholic Primary School Management Association (CPSMA) has said, what used to be some schools' problem is now every school's problem. CPSMA analysed the increase in costs for 250 schools from the academic year 2018-2019 to 2023-2024. Cleaning and sanitation rose by 60 per cent, utilities by 44 per cent, and insurance by 34 per cent. ICT equipment and services rose by an astonishing 551 per cent but don't mention ICT grants to principals. This year, principals were anticipating an ICT grant that would be the same as previous years, that is, €39.73 per mainstream student. They invested in equipment and software on that basis. Instead, schools received 36 per cent less, €25.33 per mainstream student. The department stated that there had been no cut. The grants had been front-loaded and it was always planned that the remaining tranche would be less than previous years. Principals pointed out that this is typical of communications with schools. There is no clarity from year to year about the amount that schools will receive and uncertainty about when they will receive it. How are schools supposed to budget? Schools are no longer places of chalk and talk. Schools use administration software such as Aladdin where the contracts can cost thousands. [ Schools told they cannot spend €9m phone pouch budget on other education needs Opens in new window ] Some schools have lifts – another maintenance contract. Alarms and security systems are now essential. Add that to the cost of living crisis and no wonder schools are, as Mulconry says, no longer underfunded but underwater. This is the time of year when budget priorities are decided. Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers is besieged from all quarters. He is to be commended for the fact that despite the pressures of the job, he has found time to be a community representative on the board of management in Scoil Ghrainne, in Clonee. It seems like an exemplary school, having had two autism classes since 2015, which it calls Croí classes. But it is still strapped for cash and its parents association fundraises, including through raffles and lotteries. The parents association also fielded marathon runners and in conjunction with the Keith Duffy Foundation (KDF), raised €15,000 for 'counselling services, autism assessments, teacher training for additional needs, and extracurricular activities for Croí classes. Thanks to KDF, the Sensory Pod Company is sponsoring a fully equipped sensory room.' It is not a cheap shot at Chambers to point out that the state-run community national school where he volunteers has to fundraise for its most vulnerable students. The system was broken long before he entered politics. The basic capitation grant is going up by €24 from September, but will not even make a dent in the persistent financial crisis. The payments system to schools is spread throughout the year and is cumbersome, frustrating and antiquated. A commission or taskforce is urgently needed to examine school finances. Every school has to submit audited accounts to the Financial Support Services Unit. It's imperative that all the data on these shortfalls is analysed now so that it is transparent what it really costs to run our schools. It is insane that schools pay VAT. Rendering education VAT exempt might be a first step. No amount of bottles and cans will solve persistent financial shortfalls. School leaders' public spirit is being exploited because everyone knows that their commitment to education keeps them grimly attempting to do the impossible. It is unacceptable to leave principals teetering dangerously on the edge of burnout.
