Teachers ‘should get special needs training’

Teacher training programmes should be overhauled to better prepare those who are working with children with special education needs, according to a study.

Research conducted on behalf of the National Parents and Siblings Alliance argues that while there are approximately 2,300 teachers trained to work with pupils with Special Education Needs (SEN), “Based on the estimated prevalence of SEN in Irish children, all teachers should be trained to work with pupils with SEN”.

The research, which analyses data from a number of existing reports, states that between 2006 and 2012, more than 12,000 primary school teachers and 8,000 post-primary teachers were trained in Ireland.

In the same period, almost 2,000 completed the Post-Graduate Diploma in SEN and almost 300 the Master of Ed in SEN — meaning that approximately 2,300 teachers are now qualified to work with pupils with SEN, but more than 20,000 new teachers are not.

The report also looks at the “dramatic discrepancy” between the estimated number of children with SEN in the primary and post-primary school system, and the amount of resources currently allocated to them.

It quotes a 2011 report which said there were approximately 125,000 pupils with SEN in primary schools and 90,000 in post-primary.

Records from the Special Education Administration System (SEAS), operated by the NCSE (National Council for Special Education), records that as of Aug 2010, there were 17,512 children at primary level and 16,629 at post-primary who were allocated additional teaching hours with a further 3,135 and 9,881, respectively, who had SNA (special needs assistant) support, while also quoting figures for resource hours and other provisions.

According to the report: “While these are all estimates and should be interpreted with caution, there is a dramatic discrepancy between the number of children who may have SEN and the level of additional support available.”

Instead, most of the responsibility for addressing SEN lies with class teachers but “there is no obligation to provide properly trained teachers, though there is an expectation on the part of parents and children”.

The report, written by researchers Brian Merriman and Aideen Rickard, also claimed that “based on the estimated prevalence of SEN in Irish children, all teachers should be trained to work with pupils with SEN”.

“Initial Teacher Education does not adequately prepare new teachers to work with pupils with SEN,” it said.