Concerns over cuts to special education

Concerns over cuts to special education

20 January 2016

A LOCAL politician said he shares parents’ concerns that nursery provision at a new junior campus for children with severe learning difficulties in Dundrum will be significantly cut.

Councillor Colin McGrath is also concerned the new £2m facility — which will be a feeder school for Knockevin Special School in Downpatrick — will not be completed until February.

Before Christmas, parents warned their children, many of whom have autism, are being “failed by the education system” arguing it is “unjust” they have already missed out on months of schooling and that their full school day, once it begins, will be almost cut in half.

Parents had expected their children to be allocated a traditional 4.5 hour slot per day at Knockevin’s nursery. After receiving a letter from the school indicating this will be cut to a 2.5 hour morning or afternoon session, they said they fear their three and four year-olds will never have the opportunity to recover lost time.

Parents believe their children are being denied crucial early years intervention and are concerned they have also been unable to avail of essential physiotherapy, speech and language and occupational therapy during their five month wait for the new unit.

Councillor McGrath recently raised his concerns and those of parents with Education Minister John O’Dowd and expressed disappointment with the reply he received, suggesting Mr O’Dowd “missed the point” about the need for full-time pre-school places.

He continued: “I wrote to the minister to ask what was causing the delay in opening the Dundrum site and why children with special educational needs were not being offered access to proper pre-school places.

“I received a reply that detailed the timescales of the new-build and causes for the delay and what the Education Authority is doing to mitigate this. I also got a two sentence reply that said there were lots of people needing pre-school places in a special unit so the only fair way was to split the time allocated in half so everyone got some time.”

Councillor McGrath said he viewed the response as a “wholly unacceptable way to govern our children’s education.” He said those with statemented special needs must have them addressed in as comprehensive a manner as possible, warning that to simply keep dividing the resources amongst an ever growing population needing assistance was “ridiculous.”

He added: “People are not getting the education they require and the attention they deserve and to do this on children with special needs is cruel.

“I can only hope when the new site in Dundrum is opened in the spring time and a new Executive is up and running later in the year, a greater focus can be placed on the needs of our children.”

The Education Authority says the significant investment in the Dundrum site will provide appropriate pre-school and early years services for children with special educational needs. It said minor project issues had resulted in a short delay to the proposed opening of the new nursery which will now take place in February, a few months behind schedule.

The Authority says there has been no reduction in funding or provision at Knockevin with provision planned in line with the assessed needs of pupils. The organisation says it remains committed to ensuring that all children who require specialist interventions have access to the appropriate level of support, with every effort made to ensure children are appropriately placed in a setting that meets their individual requirements as identified in their statement of special needs education.