A chara, – My thoughts are with the parents and staff of Scoil Naomh Cholmcille, Togher, Co Louth, who have been reduced to standing outside the Dáil to highlight the lack of special needs support in their school.
As a principal, I relate to the feelings of desperation evident among the participants. Trying to provide support with so few resources is stressful.
Principals around the country are now accepting applications for next September’s infant intake. We plan early so we are well prepared and fully resourced. At present we are enrolling children with complex needs with our hands tied behind our backs because we don’t and won’t know our allocation of special needs assistants (SNAs) until May at the earliest. In my own school’s case, it is my measured opinion that our current allocation will not be sufficient to support new complex needs among our infant cohort.
No organisation – unions, patron bodies or indeed colleagues in the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) – can confirm whether the New Inclusion Model in relation to SNA allocation is being introduced for next year. We have had two years of a “rollover” allocation which may or may not continue for next year. This is the third year in a row that we find ourselves in a position where we actually cannot apply for resources we know we need. We’ve been told to wait to see what our allocation is in May and then, if needed, start an “exceptional review” to apply for extra support.
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Can you imagine the tsunami of such applications come late May? This process should surely start now so that schools are ready to meet their obligations in relation to students who require extra support.
Vulnerable children deserve better. Their parents, some of whom are coping with unimaginable delays in therapies for their children, deserve better. School staffs who go above and beyond to provide the best for the children in their care deserve better.
Schools are expected to plan ahead. Why is the Department of Education and the NCSE not allowing us to do this effectively? There has to be a better way. If this is how the new School Inclusion Model is going to work, I despair. – Is mise,
EIBHLÍN McGARRY,
Principal,
St Mary’s National School,
Dublin 3.