Galway Bay FM Newsroom - A deputy for the Roscommon/Galway constituency has said that The Government must take action to prioritise children with special needs and their families following the announcement that Special Schools would remain closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and level five restrictions that determine that all schools due to open tomorrow are to stay shut until the end of the month at the earliest.
Three leading advocacy organisations representing students with additional needs, Down Syndrome Ireland, Inclusion Ireland and AsIAm, are to meet with Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD, tomorrow, to discuss the closure of special schools, special classes, and the lack of support being made available to students with special educational needs in mainstream classes.
The three groups welcomed the opportunity to engage with the Minister on the issue and said that urgent progress was needed to protect the country’s most vulnerable students.
Deputy Claire Kerrane has called on the Government to urgently introduce a suite of measures to ensure that children with special educational needs can get some form of in-class learning as soon as possible but stressed that it needs to be in a manner that is safe, and has the support of teachers, as well as families.
The TD who is also a teacher said:
“After the closure of schools earlier this year, my party repeatedly called on the Government to prepare a plan B if we were to end up in a similar situation again and that such a plan needed to prioritise children with special and additional educational needs. These calls went ignored.
“Without consultation, the decision to keep Special Schools closed was announced on Thursday evening, this is a major let down to children, their parents and their teachers. This decision was made with no additional supports ready and available to parents.
“I welcome that the Minister will consult with stakeholders on Monday however, she needs to listen to what is needed and action must follow this engagement.
“For me and my party, and we have been consistent on this, children with special educational needs need to be priority number 1, above all else. They lost out enormously last spring as did their families.
“They were among the greatest victims of the last lowdown. Many of them regressed during that time. I know that children with special educational needs and their parents are likely to be very disappointed at the government's failure to plan properly here.
“We need to ensure that children with special educational needs can get some form of in-class learning as soon as possible but clearly it needs to be in a manner that is safe, and has the support of teachers, as well as families.
“SET Teachers, SNAs and other school staff have very reasonable concerns about Covid-19 and their unions weren't consulted on these proposals. The government tried to bounce them and it hasn't been demonstrated that their school environment - their workplace - can be made safe.
“In my view, there is a desire among staff and their representatives to provide a service, in person where it cannot be done remotely provided it can be done safely. The Government must engage on that sincere desire, to ensure a service can be provided, but it must be a real engagement not a fait accompli. This is a matter of urgency.
“We also have to remember that this isn’t just about Special Schools but also Special Classes. Children who are enrolled in both need to be supported. “The Minister needs to step up here, she cannot simply accept the situation as it is. Children with special and additional educational needs deserve far better.”
