Concerns of Mayo special needs education sector highlighed on return to school
AN urgent call has been issued for the Department of Education to address concerns of the special needs education sector in Mayo.
The county's four special schools – St. Anthony's and St. Brid's in Castlebar and St. Dymphna's and St. Nicholas' in Ballina – have this week welcomed back their pupils - with extensive preparations put in place before they arrived.
But they are deeply concerned that their unique requirements have not been adequately addressed by the Department of Education in its schools roadmap.
Up to 150 students between the ages of 4 and 18 attend the four schools, travelling from many parts of the county to their respective centres in the two towns.
A spokesperson for the Mayo special education sector said the task of reopening was made additionally difficult by a failure of the department to take into account the extra challenges facing vulnerable pupils.
They are particularly worried by the operation of the school transport scheme for special needs children coming from many different parts of the county.
The spokesperson outlined: “It was stated by the department on August 8 that all secondary age pupils will travel on buses with 50% capacity in line with public transport guidance.
"However, this has not been applied to our sector despite the risks posed by Covid-19 to students aged between 13 and 18 years.
“It is a source of frustration to us that the directive is not being applied across the board. It is also a fact our pupils travel on smaller buses, increasing the risk.
“We expected our students would have been given equal consideration due to their increased vulnerability, but this is not happening at this point.
“It's been a very stressful lead-up period for school principals and their staff in general, but the levels of anxiety and apprehension are even greater in our sector.
“When our concerns were raised with the department, we were disappointed with the level of response.
“On a positive note, we are delighted to be bringing our students back and reintroducing routine to their lives.”
“While we have done everything possible to ensure a safe and smooth return, we fell things could have been done much better from the department's perspective.
"There is still time to address our concerns and we hope this happens very soon."
The CEO of autism charity AsIAm, Adam Harris, said the 49-page report outlining the roadmap of returning to school included just a half a page relating to special education needs.
Mr. Harris said one of his main fears is that students with special educational needs could lose out if schools fail to secure enough substitute teachers.