Reform of special education teaching hours has no 'political payoff' for Taoiseach

Nessa Hill, co-chair and director of Neurodiversity Ireland, said the potential cuts to SET hours for some schools may lead to disruption in the class and a diversion of the teacher’s attention.

The co-chair of a group representing parents of children with complex needs says she has no hope that Taoiseach Simon Harris will push for reform of special education teaching allocation.

Nessa Hill, co-chair and director of Neurodiversity Ireland, said she did not believe there would be a "political payoff" for Mr Harris to seek a change to the system. 

On his election as Taoiseach, Mr Harris said he wanted to place a further emphasis on special education and reassigned the portfolio to chief whip Hildegarde Naughton.

Ms Hill was critical of recent changes to how Special Education Teaching (SET) hours are allocated to schools, saying that it means a third of schools will see a cut.

Under the new system of allocations, SET hours are assigned based on the overall enrolment numbers in a school alongside the standardised test results of pupils.

The change removed complex needs as an individual criteria determining SET allocations, due to concerns being raised by the Department of Education as to how data is provided by the HSE.

Ms Hill called on the Government to reverse the instructions, saying that schools should be permitted to provide data on children with complex needs directly to the department.

“It’s like doing your tax return, you can fill it out yourself. If it’s wildly wrong, the Department [of Education] will know,” Ms Hill said.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

Ms Hill said she had “no hope” that the decision to change SET allocations would be reversed under Mr Harris’ leadership, citing the short period ahead of an election and lack of political payoff for such a move.

“I don’t have any confidence that this will be looked at, as it won’t have the electoral reward,” Ms Hill said.

On potential cuts to SET hours for some schools, Ms Hill said that this wouldn’t just impact children with complex needs, but entire classes of pupils.

She said that, in situations where pupils with disabilities were not being provided with specialised assistance, it may lead to disruption in the class and a diversion of the teacher’s attention.

Ms Hill said

The teacher’s time will be taken up with dealing with these children.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education defended the changes and said that it was an attempt to “distribute teaching resources in the fairest possible manner”.

“The department acknowledges that every school is different and that schools can experience unique circumstances that may be difficult to reflect in any standardised method. This is always a challenge when making allocations in respect of 4,000 schools,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that further changes to the SET model are likely to be made in the coming years.

Ms Hill called for the Government to urgently enact the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004, of which large parts were never commenced.

The act itself primarily provides education rights to children with disabilities. The sections not yet started include giving the right for an education assessment of need, development of individual education plans and an independent appeal process.

Ms Hill said that the legislation itself does require a “huge” amount of work to bring up to modern standards, but that the sections should still be enacted by the Education Minister.