Principal criticises ‘total inclusion’ for special needs pupils

Plans proposed by a Government body to place all children in mainstream schools, including those with special needs, has been dubbed “catastrophic” and “not possible”.

The recommendation from the National Council for Special Education’s (NCSE) for a ‘total inclusion model’ would see children placed in mainstream school regardless of the level of their disability.

Principal Niamh Corrigan of St Declan’s Special School in Ballsbridge, Dublin, told The Irish Catholic the model would not suit the pupils in her school.

“I don’t believe the proposed changes is an appropriate model and feel it would not suit the children attending St Declan’s – the purpose of our school is to help children who for one reason or another are experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties in their own local school and need extra support,” she said.

“We do this by building strong and positive relationships with the children and their families and by also having small class sizes. This is not possible in mainstream schools as classes are already overcrowded and teachers and principals are already stretched to their limits.”

Mention

The model was introduced in New Brunswick in Canada, where special schools and classes have been abolished, with all children being taught together. They have eliminated all mention of special education and now have no definition of special needs students in order to create more inclusive schools that they say reflect what they want to create in society.

The NCSE made the proposals last month and it has been hotly debated, along with another recommendation that would make it illegal for schools to ask parents during enrolment whether their child has a disability. Schools have said the information is needed to determine whether they have the facilities to cater for the child.

Writing in the Irish Times, the General Secretary of the Catholic Primary Schools’ Management Association, Seamus Mulconry criticised the idea, saying it would potentially be “catastrophic on an already pressurised and overloaded system”.

Poor
 success
 rates

He said several facts were missing from the NCSE report including a 2016 report showing poor success rates for some students in maths, science and reading.

Mr Mulconry wrote: “Student numeracy, literacy and achievement levels paint a stark picture of the system and do nothing to instil confidence in this education model.

“The official policy is ‘inclusion for all’ in regular classrooms but it is far from universally accepted in the special education community.”

“I urge all stakeholders, to participate and engage in robust debate on this issue, before critical decisions are made, which affect the most vulnerable children in our schools,” he added.