'I will shout from the rooftops until Leah is allowed back in school' says Cork mother 

Michelle Forde's pleas for provision to enable her daughter go back to school have been bounced around between the HSE and the departments of Children, Health, and Education

Michelle Forde with her daughter Leah at home in Cork.   Picture: Denis Minihane

A Cork girl with complex medical needs has been refused access to school for more than six months, with various government departments refusing to say who is responsible for facilitating  her return.

Leah Forde, aged 10, from Turners Cross, has not been allowed to attend school since last October.  She has a rare chromosome disorder resulting in severe developmental delay. She is not able to walk or talk and is fed on a special blended diet using a tube into her stomach. 

Leah had been attending a special school — St Paul’s School in Montenotte — but needs a nurse to administer her feeding and, as the resource was not available, the school reluctantly had to send her home.

Leah's forced absence from school was first highlighted by the Irish Examiner on April 24 and, since that time, we have sought to establish who is responsible for making the decision that would allow her go back to the classroom. Here are the responses:

• The HSE says to contact the departments of Health and Education; 
• The Department of Education says it’s the HSE’s role; 
• The Department of Education has also said it’s a matter for the Department of Health; 
• The Department of Health said the ‘Disability function now sits with DCEDIY [Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth] rather than Department of Health’; 
• The DCEDIY apologised for a delay in replying but said they had been waiting on information from the HSE; 
• The DCEDIY has directed the school principal to apply for a pilot nursing scheme for which she has already been refused.

All of the departments and ministers’ spokespersons say they cannot comment on individual cases.

Leah's mum Michelle Forde, said: “I just had a baby boy so I have been quiet the last few weeks. I am back in action again and will shout from the rooftops until this is resolved and Leah can return to school. She has missed seven months of school so far. We need a response.” 

Principal's pleas for a nurse

Anne Hartnett, principal of St Paul’s School in Cork’s Montenotte, has written to ministers over the past seven months telling them that “the school desperately needs at least one additional nurse”.

She said: “St Paul's is a special school catering for 97 pupils aged 4 to 18 years old. The majority of these children have additional needs. When two classes were established there was one nurse — we now have 15 classes with 1.3 of a nursing post. This alone does not make sense.” 

In one of her latest emails to ministers Anne Rabbitte, Stephen Donnelly, and Josepha Madigan, which has been seen by the Irish Examiner, the principal's frustration is clear: 

“I am such a broken record at this stage but it is now 106 days since Leah Forde has been without school. I contacted you back in January about who to apply to for a school nurse and to be fair you said you were getting conflicting information and would get back to me. 

"Minister Madigan said it was Minister Donnelly who said it was you so I emailed you last week and again your secretary said you would get back to me. I am still waiting on a response to both emails. Please tell me some progress has been made.” 

Leah is still stuck at home

Many of her letters end with “I am contactable at any time on 087...” as she doesn’t want to miss any updates that might arrive on her landline or by post.

However, no extra nurse has been sanctioned and Leah Forde is still at home from school without any contact with classmates and without the singing, summer projects, outings, and social interaction she has a right to.

The DCEDIY responded to Ms Hartnett reminding her that “Disability Services contacted you in December, 2022 advising of a pilot nursing scheme to support children with complex nursing needs in schools that had been launched. This pilot is a collaboration between the HSE and National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and is being managed by the NCSE."

However, Ms Hartnett says: “I am aware of the pilot nursing scheme since the day it was launched and Leah's family have already made an application for that support but were refused.”

She has urged: “None of the information you have provided and which I was already aware of, is of any use whatsoever to Leah Forde who is now 118 days without school. Please go further in your efforts to enable this child to go to school.”