Children with learning disabilities fall victim to cuts

CHILDREN with learning difficulties will also lose out as a result of government cutbacks, teachers have warned.

The 119 schools told earlier this week that they are to lose 128 special classes which cater for 534 pupils with mild general learning disabilities must now accommodate their needs with their resource and learning support teachers.

But in average schools, these staff are already catering for dozens of children with a range of learning difficulties.

Mary Diskin, special needs co-ordinator at St Fergal’s Senior National School in Bray, Co Wicklow, said those pupils will lose out. “They will lose their places or have reduced hours under the general allocation for resource teaching or learning support because their needs are not so severe.

“The 16 children from our two special classes are already integrated into mainstream classes in our school, but some of the 17 special class pupils we will have next year will have no special class to go to now.”

The special classes are being cut from next September, because the Department of Education says it is enforcing criteria in place since 1999 that require nine pupils in order to retain the special class teacher. Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe’s spokesperson said the changes are not being implemented because of the financial situation in the department.

He said 17 of the affected schools would be entitled to an extra classroom teacher because they would now be entitled to an additional teacher when the pupils move into mainstream classes.

The children in these special classes generally have difficulty with language and maths concepts, usually have low self-esteem and often have poor memories, Ms Diskin said.

They have an IQ of between 50 and 70, which is well below average, and would previously have been in the category of having mild mental handicap.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) said the money being saved by cutting the teaching posts and extra funding given to schools for special class pupils could be found by axing the 20 junior minister posts.

In an article for today’s Irish Examiner, INTO general secretary John Carr questioned why Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who has refused to abolish junior minister positions, is content to allow Mr O’Keeffe abolish classes for special needs children.

The National Parents Council-Primary has called for an assurance the children losing places in special classes have their needs properly catered for next September.

“We are concerned that if this decision has been made for financial cost cutting reasons, the individual needs of children may be severely affected. The children concerned must be assessed on a child-by-child basis and a decision then made as to what will be the most appropriate educational setting for them,” said council chief executive Áine Lynch.