Principals demand resources for special needs

SECOND-LEVEL principals have welcomed plans to test all primary pupils as a way of identifying children with special needs but they want more resources to help those students.

National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) president Derek West said the proposals announced by former Education Minister Noel Dempsey in July could have a positive impact.

The plans, involving standardised assessment of all children’s literacy and numeracy skills in third and sixth class, have been criticised by primary teachers who believe they are already in a position to identify children in need of extra help.

But Mr West said, while it was regrettable the minister had not consulted with partners in education, the initiative would be helpful to principals receiving students from up to 30 primary schools every year.

“Schools want to know the strengths and weaknesses of their incoming pupils and, in that respect, a standardised national assessment at sixth class level would be of considerable benefit,” he said. He told the NAPD annual conference in Killarney anything that would enable earlier identification of students with special educational needs and quicker application for the resources they need could only enhance the process.

“We have seen in the past two years, with mushrooming demand, a confused response from an overworked Department of Education - too little, too late.

“If a standardised test can promote the early identification of children with special needs and subsequent allocation of adequate resources, we welcome it,” Mr West said. He cautioned Mr Dempsey’s successor Mary Hanafin against proceeding without further consultation and also warned against too much testing of children.

The NAPD president also expressed concern about losses of special needs teachers in some primary schools under new staffing arrangement, particularly in schools without disadvantaged status but with high numbers of disadvantaged students.

“These losses will follow through to post-primary with a catastrophic effect on the standard of students coming in to us. If children cannot access resource hours at primary level, it becomes even more difficult to do so when they move to second level,” he said.

The special needs situation has been highlighted as one of the main issues of concern by Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) president Susie Hall.

The NAPD is a professional organisation which does not have the negotiation powers of a trade union, but efforts are being made to persuade ASTI and the Teachers Union of Ireland to better represent the employment issues of second level principals.