Shortcomings in new special needs teaching system claims Sinn Féin TD

The appeal by one-in-eight of the country’s 4,000 schools of their teacher allocations for pupils with special needs is an indication of shortcomings of a new system, a Sinn Féin TD has claimed.

Carol Nolan, the party’s education spokesperson, said the fact that 519 schools appealed the staff numbers provided under the revised scheme to allocate special education teachers is evidence that there are concerns that need to be addressed.

The Department of Education designed the new model with the National Council for Special Education in the hope of saving parents or schools the time and cost of having children with more complex needs undergo a professional diagnosis before being allocated extra teaching hours.