'How do I explain to my son when he sees his brother going to school that he can’t go?'

Special education: Ahead of their protest rally in Cork on Saturday, parents speak out about the heartbreak of trying to find a school place for their children

Five-year-old James Maguire from Kilworth, North Cork, is one of the children whose parents are struggling to find suitable school places. File picture

“My question is — what do I do come September?

“How do I explain to my son when he sees his brother going to school that he can’t go?

“What is the plan for his future, or is there a plan for his future?”

These are the questions posed by one of the mothers who spoke to the Irish Examiner ahead of a protest in Cork City on Saturday.

A group of parents who have been arduously searching for appropriate school places for their children for this September are hoping to focus attention on ongoing issues in special education.

Ciara Maguire from Kilworth, North Cork, spoke to the Irish Examiner about her fears as she attempts to secure a place in a special school for her son James, who will turn six in September.

Jess Casey talked with more parents who have been fighting for school places for their children. See: 'Every day I'm fighting for my child to get a school place'. 

This is her second year searching for a school place for James.

She has applied to every special school in Cork, and another in Tipperary, despite being outside the catchment area.

“I was told to apply because they have taken kids from my area already,” she told this newspaper.

“I’ve had all my rejection letters — it’s either rejection letters or stuck on a waiting list.”

Nicole Hosford from Cork protesting on behalf of her daughter Libbycrae, who is 4, at the Department of Education on Marlborough St, Dublin. Parents will rally again in Cork on Saturday. Picture: Gareth Chaney

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.

“Nobody has given me my options yet, and I’m terrified.”

“Come September, the hardest part is going to be seeing his brother going to school, and why can’t he go?

“Every morning, he knows he is going to school, he picks up his bag, he gets on the bus.

“He’s so happy, it’s heartbreaking.”

“Like every parent, you feel like they are doing so well and you’re going to have to just wait for the regress to kick off and you’ll feel like an absolute failure again.”

This week, the minister for special education, Michael Moynihan, told the Irish Examiner that schools will be compelled to open special classes if reluctance to do so continues.

To date, an additional 23 special classes in mainstream schools have been sanctioned by the Department of Education for this September; 13 at primary level and 10 at post-primary level.

This equates to a total of 138 places, a spokesman for the Department of Education confirmed.

“It is expected that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) will sanction additional further new special classes very shortly, and these will be published on the NCSE website, and special educational needs organisers at local level will keep families informed of these new special classes,” he said.

Deborah McCabe and David Worrell from Malahide with their 10-year-old daughter Indy during the recent rally at the Department of Education on Marlborough St, Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney

To date, the National Council for Special Education has confirmed that 209 new special classes have been sanctioned in schools across the country for the next school year.

Nationally, up to 400 special classes, and 300 places in special schools, can be sanctioned for this September.

Last October, the Department of Education announced that five special schools are due to open for September 2025, including one in Cork.