Two children forced to stay away from school

A REFUSAL by the Department of Education to sanction special-needs assistants for a Kilkenny school has forced two children with a language disorder to stay at home.

As other children finish their third week back at school today, six year-old Shannon O’Dwyer and her four-year-old brother are still at home with their distraught mother. Caroline O’Dwyer gave up her job as an information officer with a local company to fight for the education her children need.

Neither Shannon nor Paul has ever seen a mainstream classroom. Between them, they received just 15 hours’ home tuition last year. Their mother has fought to secure them a place in a local language unit, but to no avail.