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Irish Examiner
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
'Small' number of special classes will not go ahead due to 'drop off' in expected level of need, Dáil hears
A 'small' number of special classes sanctioned for this September will not now proceed, the minister of State for special education has confirmed. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has advised minister of State Michael Moynihan this is mainly due to a 'drop off' in the expected level of need for these classes. It is expected that these classes may be required for the 2026/2027 school year subject to the local level of need, Mr Moynihan said. In response to a parliamentary question put to him by Sinn Féin TD Sorcha Clarke, Mr Moynihan said additional new special classes have been sanctioned. Mr Moynihan also confirmed he has directed a school in Kildare this year to open two special classes under Section 37A of the Education Act 1998. It is the third time these powers have been used by a minister, and for the first time outside Dublin. Mr Moynihan previously told the Irish Examiner that schools would be compelled to open special classes if reluctance to do so continues. Just over 400 new special classes are still being provided for the coming school year, he said in response to Ms Clarke. 'My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.' Sorcha Clarke said she knows of at least two schools that were sanctioned to open a special class for September. "It's now the middle of July, parents need to know where their children are going to school in September," she said. In places where classes have been suppressed, the minister and the NCSE need to be incredibly clear as to why this happened. A number of families have initiated legal proceedings in a bid to secure appropriate school places for their children for this September. Sinn Féin education spokesman Darren O'Rourke is due to raise issues around the provision of special education places with education minister Helen McEntee in the Dáil before its summer recess. He has previously called on the minister and the NCSE to confirm how many children are without a school place for this September. The Oireachtas education committee previously heard that as many as 260 children could still be without a school place for the new term. An official figure was not provided. Ms McEntee previously told the Dáil that 92% of the students notified to the NCSE had been allocated a school place. "Parents and families feel like they are being gaslit in relation to this," Mr O'Rourke said. We know that last year 126 children were left without school places, and all of the indications at the minute are that there are far in excess of that without a school place currently. We really need to have some transparency and accountability, and more importantly, action to ensure there are places for these children come September. Meanwhile, Early Childhood Ireland is calling on Government to bring pay for early years and school-age care graduates in line with primary school teachers. The advocacy group has urged for a date to be introduced for when graduates will be brought within public sector pay and conditions. Early Years and school-age care graduates are educated and trained to the same level as their peers in primary education. 'Guaranteeing public pay and conditions for early years and school-age care graduates would mark a turning point for the system," said the group's director of policy Frances Byrne. "As things stand, we are losing too many talented educators to sectors offering better pay and greater security.' Figures show that the national average staff turnover rate stands at 25%, rising to 54% in some areas. Read More 'Catch-all' special schools will leave some children with nowhere to go
Irish Examiner
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Minister instructs school patrons to review enrolment policies for special classes
School patrons have been directed to review their enrolment policies for special classes following a review that highlighted 'concerning' clauses and criteria that could limit autistic students' access to education. Minister for education Helen McEntee has instructed the school patrons, who are responsible for enrolment policies, to initiate the review after the Department of Education's Inspectorate published its findings. Carried out between last September and December, the review looked at the admission policies of 30 schools, including 15 post primary schools, and 15 primary schools. The review identified issues in 14 out of 15 post primary schools, and 12 out of the 15 primary policies, "raising significant concerns", said chief inspector Yvonne Keating. Some admissions policies required children to be able to participate in mainstream lessons as a condition for admission, while other clauses 'reserved the right to withdraw the offer of a place based on a perception of the student's behaviour.' The review of policies also indicated that many schools use the possibility of a child displaying behaviours that may pose a risk to the health and safety of others as a basis for exclusion from a special class. The report noted that "clauses that use perceived behaviour as a criterion for admission to a special class may imply that children with the greatest level of need cannot be supported to regulate their behaviour". "In addition, it is not possible to predict how children will respond to the structure of the school, the special class environment and to the school's support and provision." The inspectorate also noted that the way in which some schools interpret their responsibilities under the Education Act 1998 is 'leading them to discriminate against those children with the greatest level of need'. 'This approach, which unduly qualifies the right of some children to an inclusive education, does not acknowledge the impact and influence of interconnected environmental systems on their development.' 'It does not recognise how the culture and systems in place in a school can positively impact on children and their experience of and interaction with school.' This qualified approach to inclusion may also not align with Ireland's commitments to inclusive education under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), it added. Multi-denominational schools Meanwhile, school patron body Educate Together has called on Government to act on increasing the number of multi-denominational schools to improve choice for parents. Educate Together is the largest multi-denominational school patron in Ireland, having opened 50 schools since 2013. However, as no new schools are planned to open, it is calling for action on the schools reconfiguration for diversity initiative. Representatives from Educate Together met with TDs at Leinster House on Wednesday. Demand for Educate Together schools continues to grow, but 90% of primary schools remain under Catholic patronage, said Emer Nowlan, chief executive. "The successful transition of the first Catholic school to Educate Together opens up a pathway for others to follow, and there is broad support now for reconfiguration. We are calling on the new Government to proceed with the promised national survey of parents, and to support school communities that decide to transfer, so that more families can access this popular option." Read More Multi-denominational secondary school enrolments exceed Catholic counterparts
