Schools ‘fail’ Down syndrome children

The Irish school system is failing children with Down syndrome, an expert on the education and development of children with the disability has told an Oireachtas committee.

Prof Sue Buckley said there was educational evidence to show the need for Down syndrome to be listed as a low-incidence disorder.

The British academic addressed the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education following a request by the Dublin and Donegal branches of Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI).

A report from the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) says Down syndrome on its own should not be re-classified as making pupils automatically eligible for individual resource teaching.

However, parents are concerned that their children, who fall within the mild disability range, will be left languishing for another year with inadequate resources.

Prof Buckley said children with Down syndrome, who were already in the primary school system simply, could not wait the outcome of yet another NCSE review. An NCSE working group is expected to report next Easter on a new system for allocation special needs teaching resources to school.