Principal hits out at Department for not trusting schools on their pupils' special education needs
The Golden They’re School They're Lawson/pa Plex Says: The The In Their The Best Owenabue Have Data Date Ones To On That Stock Trina With Schools Pupils ' Principal Picture: Data Ones Danny Kids 'the And Needs Etns Up The Know With Most
A Cork school principal has criticised the Department of Education for “not trusting” principals to supply accurate information on children with complex needs amid concerns that special education hours may be cut further.
Owenabue Educate Together National School principal Catriona Golden said the new Special Education Teaching (SET) allocation model will have a “significant impact” on her school, with hours likely to be cut for her pupils.
Ms Golden said there is a high proportion of pupils with complex needs in her school but, due to having smaller overall pupil numbers, there are likely to be cutbacks.
Under the new system of allocations, SET hours are assigned based on the overall enrolment numbers in a school and the standardised test results of pupils.
Ms Golden has criticised the decision to utilise standardised testing as a means to determine SET allocation, saying that this will potentially prevent early intervention as these tests do not begin until second class.
“I think we’re really losing that focus on early intervention,” Ms Golden said.
"It’s a very narrow view of what support needs to look like.”
In particular, Ms Golden highlighted that some children with complex needs would be “very capable” at literacy and numeracy tests, potentially leaving them without supports due to the use of standardised testing.
“A lot of our neurodivergent pupils, or autistic pupils, may struggle massively in other areas, but can sit a standardised test without issue and their needs aren’t reflected in this model,” Ms Golden said.
Ms Golden said there needs to be a better overall model for assigning SET hours while accepting that the previous system was “even more inequitable”.
She suggested that there was a “lack of trust” between the Department of Education and schools, as the information on pupils with complex needs could be provided directly from individual schools. She added:
She said precautions could be put in place to prevent schools from overestimating their need for SET hours, saying that support plans for pupils could be provided directly to the Department to prove they have complex needs.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said the new model is an attempt to “distribute teaching resources in the fairest possible manner”.
“The revised model is providing an annual allocation of SET teaching hours, using the best possible available data sources and is ensuring that the right resource is available at the right time to meet the needs of children with special educational needs.”
They add that individual schools can have “unique challenges that may be difficult to reflect in any standardised method”.