State failing children with special education needs, says Children's Ombudsman

The failure to provide for children with special needs is 'not acceptable', said Children's Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon. Picture: Leah Farrell

The State is failing children with special education needs, effectively segregating them from mainstream education by denying them the resources they need, according to a damning report published today by the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman (OCO). 

It says the system prevents children with SEN from integrating into standardised school settings, leading to the “emergence of a dysfunctional parallel system that the Department of Education needs to dismantle as a matter of priority”.

According to the report: 

• 4,000 children are awaiting a diagnostic assessment to get a school place; 
• 15,500 have to travel outside their locality each day to attend specialist provision; 
• 1,455 students receive home tuition due to a lack of specialised placements; 
• Up to 270 autistic children who require the support of a special school do not have an offer of a school place for this coming September.

In the report foreword, Children's Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon states: "This situation is a clear failure on the part of the State, which has an obligation to respect, protect, and fulfil the right to education of every child."

The report was sparked by complaints to the OCO about children with SEN not being able to secure appropriate school places in a timely manner, close to their homes, as well as the review of section 37A of the Education Act 1998 that is currently under way.

"For children who live in provision ‘black spots’, most notably Dublin and Cork, the system can fail in its response," Dr Muldoon said. 

That such failings occur is not acceptable."

He also expressed concern that policy advice on special schools and special classes, promised by the NCSE in 2019, has still not been produced, arguing that it could be contributing to "the ongoing segregation of children with SEN from mainstream education".

The report estimates that 25% of the total student population have a special education need, and 1.55% of the total student population are autistic. Parents interviewed in the report describe the system as ineffective, "shadowy", and without a proper structure.

In its contribution to the report, the Department of Education said elements of the National Development Plan will help provide the school places that are needed.

However, the OCO said that given the level of autonomy enjoyed by schools, including in the provision of special classes, there needs to be more central Government oversight.