Principals call on Government to address 'therapy crisis in special schools'

The NASSP revealed that principals of special schools in Cork met with the Tánaiste Micheál Martin last month, to discuss solutions to the 'therapy crisis in special schools'. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Special school principals from across Ireland have called for the Department of Education to take charge of the return of therapists to schools amid ongoing frustration at the current HSE model.

The National Association of Special School Principals (NASSP) met in recent weeks to discuss their concerns, which centre around the HSE’s Progressing Disabilities Services (PDS) model for children and young people.

Introduced in the past six years, the model reconfigured children’s disability services and saw clinicians, such as occupational therapists, speech-and-language therapists, and physios removed from schools.

Instead, they were placed on the HSE's Children’s Disability Network teams (CDNTs), the aim of which was to provide multidisciplinary therapy services to kids in their communities and local areas.

However, the decision to remove therapists from schools was met with a backlash from parents and principals, and, in September 2021, Anne Rabbitte pledged to return therapists to special schools across Ireland, though this has yet to be achieved. Minister Rabbitte has labelled the removal of school therapists a “mistake”, and revealed plans to launch a pilot programme, which will see special schools given a grant to hire therapists themselves.

The NASSP revealed that principals of special schools in Cork met with the Tánaiste Micheál Martin last month to discuss solutions to the “therapy crisis in special schools”.

The group has outlined a proposal calling for the Department of Education to take charge of school-based multidisciplinary teams working in special schools.

“These teams will comprise of speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and psychologists,” the group said.

Teams can be shared between schools, addressing specific needs in specialised settings. School principals will collaborate to coordinate scheduling and timetables.

They also called for regional department inspectors to whom special school principals can report to, and who can assess the need for extra special needs assistants (SNAs) on a case-by-case basis.

Karen Byrne has been principal of St Michael’s House Special National School in Skerries since September, 2018. 

The school has 30 pupils, aged from five to 18, with moderate intellectual disabilities.

Ms Byrne, a member of the NASSP, has been working in education for 32 years, with 29 of those years in special education.

She said that therapy services at her school are “few and far between” as a result of the HSE model.

The principal recalled that therapists were removed from her school in 2019 in a move that she said had a “significant impact on our students”.

“Every single child in my school would benefit from intense occupational therapy support and speech and language support to begin with,” she said.

“There isn't one child who isn't challenged in their mobility and also in the area of communication.” 

Ms Byrne added that she was “dumbfounded” at the removal of therapists from special schools.

“Why remove people from schools where they have daily access to support the needs of the most vulnerable children?” she asked.

She said parents and school staff are “incredibly frustrated” at the lack of progress in returning therapists to special schools since Minister Rabbitte’s initial pledge in 2021.