Pupils with disability may miss school

By Niall Murray, Education Correspondent CHILDREN with disabilities could be forced to miss weeks of school because of delays by the Department of Education in handling their applications for classroom help.

The backlog around 5,000 cases affecting students starting second level education this autumn has been blamed on the illness of a senior department official, even though applications were submitted by most schools before the summer holidays, some as early as last February.

A number of schools in the vocational sector have written to parents of children with special needs, including physical and learning disabilities, to tell them they will not be able to enrol pupils until resources are allocated.