The body representing managers of the country's more than 140 Special Schools has criticised the lack of provision of therapeutic services to pupils, describing progress as "glacial" and pointing to the "detrimental" impact that the absence of basic services such as Speech and Language therapy is having on all aspects of children's development.
As the country's more than 140 Special Schools prepare to reopen to pupils in the coming weeks, General Secretary of the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education (NABMSE) Eileen O’Rourke said while they welcome news of a Government pilot scheme, which promises in-school therapeutic supports to children in an initial six schools, "it is just not enough".
Ms O'Rourke said children in "a significant number" of special schools are not receiving any therapeutic supports at all.
Describing the system as "broken", she said "children cannot progress if they do not get these services".
Earlier this month, the Government announced details of a pilot scheme which will see Speech and Language and Occupational therapies provided to children within their school and during the school day.
Six schools have been chosen to participate in the pilot from next month, with plans to extend it to an additional ten schools "in line with resource capacity building" over the course of the coming school year.
However, the leaders of special schools have characterised this as "miniscule".
Ms O'Rourke said the impact of a lack of access to supports was leading to some children becoming "highly disregulated", damaging their well-being, their educational progress, their skills development - especially their communication skills, and even their sleep.
Explaining the high prevalence of physical aggression by children towards staff in special schools, Ms O’Rourke said this distressed behaviour was "a symptom of a broken service".
"We are dealing with the symptoms of a system that does not meet the needs of our children," she said.
In an INTO teachers' union survey conducted earlier this year, 96% of teachers in special schools who responded said they had been victims of physical aggression from pupils.
While many primary and second level schools are planning to reopen to students next week, many special schools will not do so until the week after.
'Very limited Speech and Language Therapy'
Scoil Chormaic in Cashel will reopen to pupils on 2 September. With more than 220 children attending, it is one of the largest special schools in the country.
Principal Lorraine Lowry told RTÉ News that most pupils at the school had no access to a psychologist.
"We have a very very limited Speech and Language Therapy service, I mean very limited, very limited access to Occupational Therapy, and no physiotherapy service," she said.
She described as "miniscule" the inclusion of between six and 16 schools in the new pilot for in-school therapeutic support.
Questioning the need for a pilot she said: "Anyone who is wise to the situation is saying 'why are we having another pilot’. They know already what the schools need, so why not get on with it. There needs to be a sustained level of therapeutic input in all schools."
Ms Lowry said children in Department of Education funded special schools were unable to access the curriculum to their full potential because of the lack of access to therapeutic services.
Last week, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability integration and Youth named the six schools that will be included in the pilot. Four are in Cork and two are in Dublin.
In Cork later today the parents of children attending another special school in the city plan to demonstrate in protest at the fact that their school has not been included.
Parents at St Killian's in Mayfield say that the school has operated since 2020 "without a single therapeutic hour allocated to it".
This is despite the fact that most children attending the school have dual diagnoses of autism and an intellectual disability, as well as a range of further diagnoses such as ADHD and complex medical needs.
Parents said in a statement that some children at the school face "emotional and behavioural challenges, and severe self-injurious behaviour and suicidal ideation and are in urgent need of mental health support".
A group of parents plan to protest to highlight what they say is "the complete absence of therapeutic intervention in the school since 2020" as well as their "deep disappointment and frustration" at being excluded from the new pilot.
They say a meeting with Minister of State Anne Rabbitte late last year led them to believe that the school would be provided with therapeutic supports.
Eibhlín Gleeson’s son Artie is attending St Killian's. Five-year-old Artie is autistic and has a moderate intellectual disability. He is non-speaking.
Characterising the need of children at the school and the plight of the parents of children with disabilities here, she said: "It is like climbing Mount Everest. I have never seen anything like the lack of supports for children with disabilities. For this pilot to take place without us is an absolute disgrace."
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Gleeson said children are going back to school next week and there are still no therapies in place.
"We're still banging on every single door. We still feel like we're not being listened to and at this point the parents feel like they have absolutely no other choice but to stand at the school gates with our children and signs and try and make our case heard."
