Department ‘hopeful’ over special needs posts

THE Department of Education has dismissed doubts over its ability to deliver on a promise to provide 350 extra resource teachers for special needs pupils by the start of the new school year.

But a spokesperson admitted there had been problems with teacher shortages in the primary school sector generally and said the Department was “hopeful” rather than definite that all the new posts could be filled in time.

“As many as possible is the aim,” said the spokesperson. “The actual recruitment is a matter for the schools themselves so it will be up to them to find suitable candidates for the job.”

Schools cannot begin advertising for candidates, however, as over 3,000 schools are vying for the posts and they have not yet been told where the appointments are being created. The spokesperson said the allocations would be announced “as soon as possible”.

The Department was responding to concerns expressed by a pioneer in special needs training for teachers who said its pledge to have the much-needed extra manpower in place by September was “optimistic”.

Founder of special needs training programmes and retired head of education at University College Dublin, Professor Desmond Swan, welcomed Tuesday’s announcement by Education Minister Noel Dempsey as “a very important development” but doubted it was feasible.

“Will these resource teachers all have full scale appropriate training before they commence on this extremely demanding work? You cannot presume that all teachers are equally suited to this kind of work,” he said, adding that it would “unwise” to appoint personnel who were not fully trained.

Prof Swan said he was also concerned that there was no corresponding increase in the number of special needs assistants.

There are 2,600 resource teachers and around 5,000 special needs assistants working in Irish schools, but there are still 7,000 schoolchildren on waiting lists who need to be provided with the specialist help they offer.

Mr Dempsey admitted last year when he announced plans for a National Council for Special Education that the special needs sector was under-resourced and new policies and strategies were needed to improve services.

The Department spokesperson said yesterday that steps were being taken to boost the numbers entering the teaching profession and the numbers undergoing special needs training.

A budget of €250 million was in place for special needs training, the intake of trainee teachers in training colleges had been increased and teaching posts had been opened up to a wider range of candidates.

The spokesperson added that it was expected there were teachers with special needs training who were not using their expertise but who would be ready to slip into the new posts once they were advertised.

But Prof Swan warned there was a long struggle ahead even if all the posts could be filled quickly as there was a dire shortage of special needs services in post-primary schools and little continuity of care for a pupils progressing to second level.