…… the following shall be a function
of the Minister under this Act:
(a) to ensure, subject to the provisions
of this Act, that there is made available to each
person resident in the state, including a person with
a disability or who has other special educational
needs, support services and a level and quality of
education appropriate to meeting the needs and abilities
of that person.
(Sect.7(1))
During the first half of the twentieth century there was little or
no progress in the development of educational provision for people with
special needs.
However the special requirements of people with a
disability were recognised in the early 1950s and
a Commission of Inquiry into Mental Handicap, issuing
its report in 1965, stated a preference for special
schools to provide the necessary service. Many of
these schools were set up were under Diocesan patronage.
Others were non-denominational, grant-aided and had
voluntary bodies as their patrons.
Special Classes for pupils with Mental Handicap
(as they were then referred to) were introduced into
mainstream primary schools during the late 1970s and
early 1980s. After the introduction of the 1971 primary
curriculum most special schools and classes provided
a modified curriculum for their pupils.
Following on from this The Report of the Special
Education Review Committee (SERC) 1993 was of great
importance in the development of special education
in Ireland. In November 1998 the Minister for Education
and Science announced a number of initiatives, one
of which was the concept of the "automatic entitlement"
of persons with special needs to the resources necessary
for learning. On the 23rd of November 1998, the Education
Act was enacted into law. One of the stated objectives
of this Act is:
To promote effective liaison and consultation
between schools and centres for education, patrons,
teachers, parents, the communities served by schools,
local authorities, health boards, persons or groups
who have a special interest in, or experience of,
the education of students with special needs and the
Minister.
(Part I Section 6(a))
The National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education
(NABMSE) has a special interest in and experience of the education of
students with special needs and as such is one of the statutory consultative
groups in the educational process.
The aims of the Association of Boards of Management in Special Education
is to unite Boards of Management of special schools and of mainstream
schools with special classes and to provide a means for the expression
of their individual and collective ideas on matters affecting the education
of pupils with special needs.
The Association represents Boards of Management of special schools
and special classes and those who provide support for children with
low incidence and high incidence SEN and learning support needs and
those who are regarded as being within the following disciplines:
- (a) Physical Disability
- (b) Hearing Impairment
- (c) Visual Impairment
- (d) Emotional Disturbance and/or Behavioural Problems
- (e) Severe Emotional Disturbance
- (f) Borderline/Mild General Learning Disability
- (g) Moderate Learning Disability
- (h) Severe/Profound General Learning Disability
- (i) Autism/Autistic Spectrum Disorders
- (j) Specific Learning Disability
- (k) Specific Speech and Language Disorder
- (l) Multiple Disabilities
- (m) Traveller Education
Effective education for children with special
needs involves a balanced provision of education and
care, the nature of which can vary as the child progresses
and develops. It is essential, therefore, that it
is flexible enough to accommodate both ease of movement
between special and mainstream education and the transition
from primary to post-primary level.
(Primary School Curriculum: Introduction: Chapt.3
p.29)
A child with special educational needs shall be educated in an inclusive
environment with children who do not have such needs unless the nature
or degree of those needs of the child is such that to do so would be
inconsistent with-
(a) the best interests of the child as determined
in accordance with any assessment carried out under
this Act, or
(b) the effective provision of education for
children with whom the child is to be educated
(Education for Persons with Special Educational
Needs 2004, Sect.2)
1.1 At present there is little regular and sustained
interchange between mainstream primary / post primary
schools and special schools in the sharing of curricular
resources and expertise. The Association actively
promotes the provision of structures whereby such
linkages can be extended and developed within the
education system.
1.2 The availability of age appropriate, Irish-context
textbooks for use in educating pupils with special
needs requires urgent attention. The Association is
aware that some special schools have developed material
of their own and asserts the need to develop structures
whereby this expertise can be shared.
1.3 The Association actively promotes the right
of pupils with disabilities to an education appropriate
to their needs and abilities in accordance with the
stated objective of the Education Act (1998) which
is to:
Give practical effect to the constitutional rights
of children including children who have a disability
or other special educational needs, as they relate
to education.
(Part I, Section 6 (a))
2. Parent Partnership
2.1 The Association upholds the right of parents of
children with special needs to make collaborative
decisions with teachers and others who are involved
in the education of the child. There is a need for
mechanisms and structures that will improve and encourage
the involvement of parents in the education of their
children and to support them in their role as the
primary educators of their children.
2.2 The Association has always encouraged and will continue to encourage
the active role of parents in special education. Boards of Management
should actively promote parental involvement in the school and should
foster an effective liaison between the school and the home for the
benefit of the pupil and her/his parents in accordance with the spirit
of the Education Act (1998)
2.3 The interaction of a Board of Management, the
parents and the staff of a school and the easy accessibility
of one to the other is of particular importance in
the case of special schools and mainstream schools
with special classes. Boards of Management should
ensure that such cooperation is promoted at all times.
2.4 Boards of Management of mainstream schools with
children with special needs should ensure that the
interests of parents of special class pupils are fully
represented in all their deliberations
3. Personnel
3.1 A range of professions, such as psychologists, speech therapists,
nurses, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists, have both an
overlapping and independent role to play in the education and management
of pupils with special needs. The Association calls on all Government
Departments, statutory agencies and voluntary organisations to co-ordinate
their efforts in the provision of these professionals.
3.2 The Association regards it as its duty to seek and negotiate for
provision of all appropriate resources necessary to facilitate the education
and well being of pupils.
3.3 The Association actively promotes the importance of increased access,
both at pre-service and in-service level for class teachers and subject
teachers in mainstream schools at primary and second level, to professional
training in special education.
3.4 The Association calls on Government Departments and statutory agencies
to provide adequate training for Special Needs Assistants.
Introduction
- The Education Act
