Special schools forced to navigate a confusing 'quagmire' for in-school supports

Special schools have seen access to in-school therapeutic aid severly curtailed in recent years — at the cost of children’s education, writes Jess Casey

Staff and students at St Killian’s School, Mayfield, Cork, previously protested the cuts to in-school therapeutic supports in August of this year. Picture: Larry Cummins

Like all mothers, Orlaith Kerrigan has ambitions for her children’s education.

Her eight-year-old son Luke is a student at Kolbe Special School. The school in Laois specifically caters for children within the severe to profound learning disability spectrum.