106. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Education for an update on resourcing for students with special educational needs in Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17089/25]
Sentiment score: 0.14
Is mian liom ceist a chur ar an Aire mar gheall ar acmhainní do leanaí i gCiarraí a bhfuil riachtanais speisialta oideachais acu. Mar is eol don Aire, tá uathachas ar 5% de leanaí in Éirinn faoi láthair. The percentage of children with autism has increased threefold in the past decade, with one in every 20 children diagnosed with autism. The education system must adapt to reflect this fact. According to the National Council for Special Education, the number of special education classes in County Kerry will need to increase substantially in order to keep pace.
Sentiment score: 0.21
Today is Karen O'Flaherty's tenth birthday. Karen is autistic and she has dyspraxia and EBD. She and her family moved from Navan to Moyvane in north Kerry during Covid, where she attends Murhur national school. Karen is eligible for place in a special class but at present is in classes with students from other years, including her sister Ellie May. She feels frustrated with the sensory overload. The school and her mother feel her needs would be best served in an ASD unit, a safe place within the school to allow her to receive the best education to which she is entitled. She would not be as burnt out in an ASD unit. Without it, it would be difficult for her to complete primary education but the school has not been sanctioned for one. If an ASD unit were granted, she may also not need the other therapies for which her parents pay €180 per week. Her school has an appropriate building and a vacant classroom. The principal, Finola Fogarty, wishes to establish a special class to cater for children in the area, and four other students, including siblings of current students, would use the unit in September. No other school in north-east Kerry has such a facility. Other schools in Kerry have a special class but the closest one is full. It does not make sense. It does not make sense that local children have to travel long distances, even outside of the county, for an education that could be provided in a local school. It does not make sense that Karen should have to move schools when the NCSE states the primary objective of special education provision is to enable students with special needs to participate fully and to be included in all aspects of school life and to be provided with equal opportunities to achieve their potential, regardless of their background or abilities.
Sentiment score: 0.10
Regarding Karen O'Flaherty, the Department has said in other cases that it will provide modular accommodation where there is insufficient capacity but a new special class is sanctioned. It does not make sense that Murhur has children entitled to a special class and the board of management is in favour of establishing one. According to NCSE guidelines, in certain circumstances the SENO may sanction a class before there are sufficient students if extra places will be filled as students have been identified. The overriding consideration must be to respond to the needs of the students with special educational needs who, had they not additional needs, would ordinarily attend a school in the local community. The recent circular says that medium and larger schools will be required to open special schools. Murhur is small, but Karen's needs are as valid as those of the children in bigger schools. She is entitled to her full education and is better served in a special class. The school has reached out and I respectfully urge the Minister of State to intervene and deliver what Karen, her family and the community deserve. As regards the whole of Kerry, 18 special education classes have been sanctioned and there is extra funding, but although they have been sanctioned, there are no additional classes available. That does not equate to delivery.
Sentiment score: 0.34