RTÉ radio presenter Brendan O’Connor has expressed frustration at the difficulties in securing a mainstream secondary school place for his daughter Mary.
Speaking on The Irish Times’s Conversations With Parents podcast, Mr O’Connor explained how Mary, who has Down syndrome, had gone to a mainstream primary school but had no option other than a special secondary school due to a lack of capacity.
“We’re lucky she has a place. It’s not what she should have. So basically what Mary should be in, she should be in a special class in a mainstream environment,” he said. “That’s where kids like her should be. So such a thing does not exist, basically.”
Mr O’Connor said they found one special mainstream class but were unable to get her a place.
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He spoke about how children with special needs can benefit from having the social and other support aspects of being in a special class, while also having “that kind of buzz of the mainstream dragging them along”.
However, it did not seem there was any opening for Mary “to be in that environment so basically this whole notion of inclusion that we all think we’re on about, as far as I can see, in the real world is bulls**t”.
Responding to the issue, the Department of Education said “the vast majority” of children with special education needs are supported to attend mainstream classes.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), the State body charged with delivery of school places for children with additional needs, said there “remains some available places in post-primary special classes in Dublin at the start of this school year”.
A spokesperson said it was aware of “an increasing demand for special classes at post primary and continue to work with schools where the need for additional classes has been identified”.
However, Mr O’Connor said his daughter, who was born in 2010, had experienced less inclusion as she has progressed.
“Like, you know, she had inclusion in primary and it was an amazing primary ... she’s now in an amazing special school ... but like, don’t tell me it’s inclusion because it’s not,” he told the podcast.
“I know there are people who can’t get a place for their kids in school ... but actually ... don’t tell me that, you know, that we understand the situation and we’re doing everything we can. We’re not.”
Despite society paying lip service to those with disabilities and the need to improve access, Mr O’Connor said the reality was that “the world is still massively segregated and there is no inclusion”.
The Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, recently noted that despite progress over recent years, there is “still a scramble every September to find appropriate school places for children with special educational needs”, particularly at second level.
Inclusion Ireland said it has been campaigning for funding to develop a six-year inclusive education strategic plan in line with its aspiration that all children go to school together. “The reality is we are some way from this inclusive education vision,” it said.
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