Legal battle to go on for pupils with Down syndrome

The Department of Education looks set to continue defending cases brought by families seeking guaranteed resource teaching hours for children with Down syndrome, who should now qualify for the support after a government decision this week.

Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan announced an interim measure on Tuesday under which those with Down syndrome who have a mild, general learning disability would no longer have to rely on their mainstream school’s general allocation of learning support teaching hours.

Instead, they will be given two-and-a-half hours a week of one-to-one resource teaching — a support currently available three hours a week for those with Down syndrome who have a moderate general learning disability.