Pupils with autism may be rejected by school

ONE of the country’s most inclusive schools may have to end access for pupils with more serious disabilities after cuts to care supports for children with autism.

St Senan’s Primary School in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, has been told that appeals against the withdrawal of six special needs assistants (SNAs) could not be considered — eight months after they were lodged.

The school has a waiting list for its three special classes for children with autism, which opened more than six years ago. Department of Education policy suggests a ratio of two SNAs for each class of six children with autism, but additional support may be sanctioned if children have other care needs.

In addition to being on the autism spectrum, many children in the autism classes at St Senan’s have other illnesses or disabilities, including epilepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and extremely challenging behaviour.

When the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) visited the classes to review their allocation of SNAs a year ago, 17 SNAs were working with the 18 autistic pupils. But the NCSE said in September it was to withdraw four SNAs in the autism unit and another two who had worked with two children who are now in mainstream classes with the school’s 514 other pupils. This meant the special classes would have 18 children but just 11 SNAs.

Parents and management followed the appeal procedures and, on October 20, submitted appeals in relation to five of the posts being cut. The school kept its current allocation of SNAs pending the outcome of the appeal, also in line with NCSE procedures.

The process says appeal forms should be processed by a senior special educational needs organiser (SENO) within 20 working days. But it was only last week that St Senan’s principal Henry Goff got a letter from the NCSE’s local SENO. She wrote that it would be inappropriate to allow use of the appeals process because the number of SNAs being “queried” was part of an overall allocation exceeding department policy parameters.

But staff and parents insist all SNAs in the school were sanctioned by the department or by the NCSE, based on professional assessments of the children’s needs.

“The parents of children in our school are being deprived the right to appeal and it’s being done retrospectively. They’ve moved the goalposts, it’s a shocking decision,” Mr Goff said.

While some schools with autism units limit entry to those at or above the more moderate scale of the autism spectrum, he said St Senan’s never refuses any child. That may now have to change.

The NCSE was not able to respond to questions from the Irish Examiner about the situation yesterday.