Nearly two-thirds of schools short-staffed in some areas, warn principals 

IPPN chief executive Páiric Clerkin said that school leaders are managing a staffing crisis, as well as a lack of resources for children’s mental health and special educational needs

Schools should receive advance applications from children who have a recommendation for a placement in a special class or school two years before they start school.

That is among the calls from primary school principals as the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) annual conference gets underway in Killarney.

Opening the conference, IPPN chief executive Páiric Clerkin said that school leaders are managing a staffing crisis, as well as a lack of resources for children’s mental health and special educational needs.

On educational needs, he said: "The voice of the school leader must be listened to, and their message is loud and clear; the system is not working.

"Special needs are either met or they are not and, if not, there is a consequential impact not only on the child with special needs but also on the other children in the class." 

Admissions amendment

The IPPN is proposing an amendment to the admissions legislation to allow schools receive advance applications from children who need a special class or school 24 months in advance of their school start date. 

"This would alleviate difficulties and negate the need for section 37A.

“It would provide certainty to parents about school placement, and, most importantly, would give children in need of a special class placement the opportunity to attend the same local national school as their brother or sister.” 

The crisis in staffing teachers is a particular challenge in Dublin and the surrounding areas, and the availability of substitute teachers is an issue nationwide, Mr Clerkin said. 

"Nearly two out of three Dublin schools are short-staffed. Positions on supply panels remain vacant. This has an impact on all children, but especially on the most vulnerable children in our schools," he said, adding that many special education teachers are placed in classrooms “simply to keep schools open". 

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“The immediate reinstatement of the facility for schools to bank hours when no substitute is available is of vital importance as is long-term investment in the CLASS hours programme, if we are to minimise the loss of teaching time to our most vulnerable children.”

With more than 10,000 children currently on a HSE waiting list for mental health treatment, their needs "lie far beyond what schools can provide". This is the point where external support is needed, he added. "Too often, this is the point where children are failed."