Election 2024: Education — It's not good enough to leave 10% of our young people behind
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For most students, the Irish education system works. It works for those who suit the system as it stands, and it works for those who can access the education they need reasonably close to home.
It works for those who get to and from school Monday to Friday without much thought or worry, and it works for those who see sitting their Leaving Cert as a given. It works so well for many, we often run the risk of taking it for granted.
A few short decades ago, Irish schools were not nice places, as attested by the countless survivors of abuse who have bravely come forward about their experiences. This has changed today; schools are bright and welcoming.
They now have Children First safeguarding policies in place, and many also put an emphasis on the student voice, taking into account the opinions and rights of children while making decisions that affect the student body.
Our academic achievements have improved. A great deal of work and ambition from parents, teachers, and policymakers sees Irish students stand far apart from their peers internationally, both in terms of reading and writing, but also when it comes to critical thinking and creativity.
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As the Ombudsman for Children told the Irish Examiner last week, the education system as it stands is “probably doing a very good job” for approximately 85% to 90% of children.
What about the one in 10 for whom it doesn’t work? How well does the education system fare the students who are taxied daily from their homes, sometimes even across county borders, away from their locality, friends, and families all to be educated elsewhere because they have additional needs? How well does it work for families who are left with no choice but to protest for access to the therapies essential for their children’s education, such as the families at St Killian’s special school in Mayfield, and countless others around the country?
How well does it fare for those students who are left without school places after receiving multiple rejection letters in through the letterbox? How well does it fare for the families whose children struggle to even get to the school gates, never mind through the classroom door?
Children’s Ombudsman Niall Muldoon believes the next 10 years should see the Department of Education focus its efforts on the remaining percentage of children who find education is not their forte, and make it available to them in a better way. For him, these are the children who are disadvantaged, the children who are at risk of dropping out of school early, children with extra or special needs, and “all those children who find it difficult to see school as the way forward at this moment in time”.
By focusing efforts on this group, we could have the best education system in the world, he believes. What an achievement that would be.
In a general election, there are a lot of lovely buzzwords and tidy figures that can be bandied about and stuck on campaigning leaflets or bullet-pointed in election manifestos, particularly when it comes to education; Things like multi-million-euro school building projects, opening X amount of autism classes, or hiring Y number of new teachers or special needs assistants.
However, remember that much of this is simply just to meet demographic needs, of which there are many — particularly at second-level, where pressure for school places is expected to peak in the coming years due to expanding student numbers.
Also keep in mind that for all these lovely promises and pledges — for truly inclusive education, for lower pupil-teacher ratios, for effectively addressing educational disadvantage, for more schools and more school places — we need teachers. With all the will in the world, improving the education system as a whole will not be possible without more teachers.
We are failing to grasp the impact of short-term absences at primary level, where schools are turning to unqualified staff to cover absences.
Teacher shortages at post-primary are forcing many schools to drop subjects when a teacher simply cannot be found.
At a time when we should be making it easier to return, those who wish to come back to teaching in Ireland also face obstacles.
The Department of Education sanctioned more than 400 special classes for the current school year. It estimates that a similar number will need to open every year for the next three years just in order to meet the needs for such placements due to demographics and increasing disability prevalence rates.
Every year, without fail, desperate parents who have exhausted all other avenues privately feel as though they have no other choice but to go public about their experience of trying to secure a place for their child in a school that meets their needs and fulfils their constitutional right to education.
This is a damning indictment of our system, and unfortunately, one which is due to continue at pace with our expanding demographics. Without addressing the staffing levels in schools, promises made in election manifestos will remain just words on a page.