Partial Climbdown on Special Classes by Minister 18/02/09

INTO Press Release: Statement by John Carr on Special Classes in Primary Schools

18th February 2009

Statement by John Carr, General Secretary Irish National Teachers’ Organisation On Special Classes in Primary Schools

Education Minister does partial climb down on special class closures

The INTO said the admission by Education Minister Batt O Keeffe that he was willing to look at the rationalisation of special classes rather than the complete closure of 128 classes was the first sign that he understood the consequences for special needs children of last week’s shock announcement.

INTO general secretary John Carr said, “At long last it seems the Minister is prepared to look at the needs of children rather than trying to save what in national terms is petty cash. It now appears the Minister is prepared to examine the matter as an educational issue rather than a financial one only.”

Mr Carr said contrary to what the Minister alleged last week the INTO never suggested that three or four children should be kept in classes on their own when they could benefit from the interaction with their peers with support from their teachers. He said the union had consistently campaigned for the best educational placement for the child, be that in a special school, special class or mainstream class.

If the Minister had looked at the issue from this perspective he could have saved a lot of families a great deal of grief. “The INTO has no objection to a process of rationalisation provided children’s special educational needs can be met in schools.”

But he warned that proper support for special needs children is impossible in very large classes which said Mr Carr “will increase in size next September”.

Mr Carr said the Minister’s assertion that some schools voluntarily closed special classes and integrated children was true. “But,” said Carr, “what the Minister failed to say was that this resulted from assessments by parents, teachers and other professionals of what was best for the children in question. Such decisions were based on children’s interests, not financial considerations.”

He said it clearly never dawned on the Minister that these children were in special classes today because it was in their best interests.

Yesterday, the Education Minister Batt O Keeffe said he was willing to allow schools in close proximity to merge special needs pupils in order to retain special classes.  ENDS