Resources fear over special needs pupils

SECOND-LEVEL schools fear they will be unable to meet their legal obligations to students with special needs unless proper resources are provided by the Department of Education, principals said yesterday.

Under the Education for Persons with Special Education Needs Act 2004, an individual education plan (IEP) must be drawn up for every child assessed as having such needs.

These plans are not yet required in schools but they will set out each student’s learning goals, a time scale in which they should be achieved, teaching strategies and the supports required to meet these goals.

But principals believe schools must be given proper resources and training time for teachers in order to meet these demands, which will cover a range of students from those with mild learning disabilities through to those with Down’s syndrome and autism.

Delegates at the National Association for Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) annual conference were told about guidelines recently issued by the National Council for Special Education on the preparation of IEPs.

“They involve talking to the student themselves, their parents and teachers, but also to other professionals such as psychologists, health officials, speech therapists or social workers.

“And in many schools, this may have to be done in respect of 100 pupils,” said NAPD special needs committee chairman Pat Kinsella.

“The principle of inclusivity is very welcome but it would be very irresponsible if we don’t try to address this in a very professional way,” said Mr Kinsella, principal of Coláiste Choilm in Ballincollig, Co Cork.

The association’s incoming president Patricia McDonagh, principal of Malahide Community School in Dublin, said a teacher in every school should be given time free from classes to do the necessary work, depending on the number of students with special needs.

“We also want the Department of Education to set aside a full day’s training for everyone in the school because teachers need to learn more about differentiated learning,” she said.

Ms McDonagh said the introduction of IEPS should be delayed until the proper resources and training have been delivered.

“Our concern is that the guidelines just sent out to schools will raise expectations among parents of special needs students, who will apply pressure to schools to introduce them before any, much less adequate, resources are in place,” she said.