Wexford parents hit out at ‘vacuum of silence’ from Department of Education over special school places

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

A year after they first raised concerns about the welfare of their children, parents from Our Lady of Fatima Special School in Wexford town have had a face-to-face meeting with the politician capable of protecting those children, and many others, for generations to come.

Their concerns centred around plans to review the eligibility criteria for special schools in Ireland. Under the proposed changes, children with Mild General Learning Disabilities (MGLD) would have to attend mainstream schools “in a local area” rather than travel to schools like Our Lady of Fatima’s which caters specifically for pupils with MGLD.

The plans, which were presented by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and the Department of Education, stated the intention to review “the designation of existing special schools to ensure that all special schools respond to the needs of children in their local region, rather than children having to travel past one or more schools to access a special school placement.”

However, parents, teachers, and special needs assistants (SNAs) at Our Lady of Fatima’s voiced their strong objection to these changes to the education system arguing that forcing children with MGLD to attend specialised units in mainstream schools would stymie their progress, lead to heightened levels of anxiety, and ultimately result in increased absenteeism.

Having tirelessly campaigned for these proposed changes to be scrapped, Darryl Cogley, whose daughter Grace has just completed her Leaving Cert at Our Lady of Fatima’s, had the opportunity to speak with the minister responsible for the special education and inclusion, Michael Moynihan TD, last week.

During the meeting Mr Cogley gave an impassioned speech on behalf of parents of children with MGLD across Ireland, parts of which are quoted below.

“For our families, this school is not just a building; it is a sanctuary. It is a lifeline. But outside these walls, we are forced to deal with your department. And frankly, we are sick to death of it.

“​We are sick of the empty rhetoric. We are sick of the glossy press releases.

“Recently we have listened to you in the Dáil and at podiums, speak about inclusion and on your department’s new money-saving scheme of ‘inclusive classrooms’ but with no detail on how this will operate in schools.

“We get grand promises of ‘inclusive models’ and ‘structural reviews’, but when we ask the simple, critical questions about what this actually means for our kids, all we get from your offices is a deafening, bureaucratic silence.”

Having been met with what Mr Cogley called a “vacuum of silence” from the Department of Education and the NCSE, parents and teachers from Our Lady of Fatima’s did some research of their own, contacting representatives from mainstream schools to discuss how they intended to deal with an influx of MGLD pupils at the beginning of the upcoming academic year.

“The feedback we received from those educators has been resounding,” said Mr Cogley. “What we heard was: Mainstream schools are not ready to support your MGLD children. Mainstream schools are not resourced to support your MGLD children.

“Mainstream schools - despite the amazing, heroic efforts of those brilliant, professional teachers, SNAs, and principals — are absolutely not the appropriate school placement for MGLD children.

“​These are the very professionals you claim are ready to absorb our children into mainstream settings, but they are telling us the opposite. They are already drowning. They are under-resourced. Yet your department keeps pushing the redesignation agenda that ignores the reality of the classroom floor in our schools.”

Our Lady of Fatima school on Carrigeen Street.

Accusing Minister Moynihan of being “disconnected from our reality” and “detached from our school’s community and the parents who live this every single day”, Mr Cogley said the generic responses he had received from the Department of Education were “deeply, profoundly disappointing”.

As if to illustrate the importance of having teachers and SNAs who have dedicated their careers to teaching pupils with MGLD, Mr Cogley informed Minister Moynihan that, while they spoke, children were benefiting from the specialised care and attention they receive at Our Lady of Fatima’s.

​”Our Leaving Certificate class are completing their final exam just a couple of rooms away from us at this very moment. These children have reached this incredible milestone because of the amazing, specialised education they have received right here in this school.

“​They are the story that needs to be told today. They are the living, breathing evidence that MGLD schools are essential and must be protected at all costs. You cannot argue with their success, and you cannot write off their achievements.

“​Our Lady of Fatima was their rescue from the nightmare of mainstream failure. By threatening to alter what this school is and who it serves, you are threatening to deny future children the exact lifeline that allowed these students to reach their full potential.”

Darryl’s daughter, Grace, was among those Leaving Cert students and has now graduated from Our Lady of Fatima’s, but while her time at the school has come to a close, her father, and other parents, are loathe to even consider a future where MGLD children are forced into mainstream settings.

Painting a picture for the minister, Mr Cogley said MGLD students faced the prospect of being “left in isolation” in a classroom where “a stretched, exhausted teacher doesn’t have the time or training to help them” if they couldn’t attend a special school.

“(This) leads to crushing mental health issues in children who are far too young to carry that weight. It turns into severe school avoidance, where parents have to drag crying, terrified children out the door every single morning which will lead to early school leavers.

​”When you force a child with an intellectual disability into an environment that cannot support them, you crush them. You cause a systematic failure to reach their undoubted potential and our children have so much potential. Our children are capable of incredible things, but they need the specialised environment of Our Lady of Fatima to show it. Mainstream didn’t include them—it many cases it broke them. And we will never let you send them back.”

Following the meeting, Minister Moynihan issued a statement in which he pledged to draft new proposals which “will ease the concerns of parents, staff and schools”.

“I appreciate the time taken by the parents to meet with me to discuss the importance of MGLD schools,” he said. “It is clear that there is a high standard of education being provided in Our Lady of Fatima Special School. The commitment of the school staff is clear, and the appreciation of this from parents, including the positive impact the school has had on their children, was clearly articulated and understood.”

Stressing that no changes have yet come into effect and no MGLD schools have been impacted by the previous proposals, Minister Moynihan said any discussion around the redesignation of pupils was “never intended to exclude children and young people who require a special school place from accessing certain special school settings.”

Further to that, he said he remained “committed to the provision of additional special school places for students with additional needs”, and that “special school capacity is also being expanded across a number of special schools”.