More special needs training urged

TEACHERS must be given more training and the opportunity to share their experiences in order for schools to properly cater for children with disabilities, a major international report has advised.

The recommendations were made in an study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) of special needs provision in 20 countries.

The Education Policy Analysis 2003 report said the extent to which students with particular needs attended mainstream schools indicated how well they were able to accommodate diverse needs.

But, the OECD report said, school systems could be made fairer for students with special needs and mainstream schools could be helped cater for them better.

“Staff should be given more coherent and targeted training than most currently receive,” it said.

“Education authorities also need to encourage staff to share expertise more effectively with each other, collaborate with psychological, health and social welfare professionals differently and work closely with parents and others in the community,” the report recommends.

The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) agreed that special needs education was not carried out by one teacher alone, but by numerous staff working on behalf of the child.

“Time needs to be factored into the school day so that this work can be co-ordinated. There needs to be an increase in training available to all teachers in the area of special needs but this training cannot be confined to resource teachers only,” said INTO general secretary John Carr.

A Department of Education spokesperson said the Special Education Support Service set up in September offered professional development and other supports for school staff working with students with special educational needs

Most of the country’s 3,300 primary schools have learning support teachers and 476 schools provide special classes for those with special needs. Around 10,600 second-level students have special educational needs, supported by more than 1,000 teachers and 435 special needs assistants.

The department is compiling a census of special needs staff in all primary schools. When the findings are published, Education Minister Noel Dempsey plans to allocate standard levels of special needs personnel to every school from next autumn.

While the aim is to eliminate the need for long assessment and waiting times for children seeking assistance, there have been concerns that it could lead to cutbacks in services.