According to a recent newspaper article and INTO spokesperson (there are many) states that special schools and special classes are a vital part of our educational infrastructure. Has anyone ever asked why this is so? Why are the vital? Is it an absolute impossibility to educate children with special needs in mainstream school? Let’s pause for a moment and think about it.

The Revised Primary Curriculum, to which every child in the country has a constitutional right of access, is child centred and can be adapted to meet the needs of children. This is not some fancy notion of mine, it is a statement from a Department of Education and Science circular. Yes, that’s right, it’s the DES own words enshrined in a circular to all schools. It happens to be true as well.  The curriculum is child-centred (well, at least it aspires to be) and is characterised by mixed ability cooperative group work and active learning experiences. I know teachers will say this is impossible to implement in overcrowded classrooms and large class sizes. There is some truth in what they say but I can’t agree that it is impossible to implement in all but a few circumstances.

Now, let’s take a look at the special classrooms that were part of the mainstream structure. They were mostly classes for children with Mild General Learning Disabilities. These are children with an IQ that is well below average. Years ago, before we invented categories of educational disability they were called Slow Learners. That may not be the most elegent term but at least they weren’t deemed to have a disability. Teachers knew they took longer to master some content, functioned at a more concrete and literal level than other children and required materials and teaching resources that were often teacher made. Is there any reason why a child who learns at a slower pace and at a level somewhat below that of the peers has to be removed from the regular classroom? I don’t think so.

We still have special schools in Ireland for childrne with mild GLD. Just why they remain open is beyond me. These children can integrate with same age peers of average intelligence if they are put in mixed ability groups in primary school and taught with active learning methodologies. Now I have nothing against these special schools and I know that many of them are centres of excellence and that the staff in them is among the most capable and creative in the country. I just don’t see why they are being used as a resource to mainstream teachers to a greater extent.

Recently a principal was on the telly saying that if SNA numbers were reduced then schools will have to consdier their enrolment policy for children with special needs. Let’s call a spade a spade shall we? This is a principal looking for any excuse to exclude some children from school. I have written about SNA’s before, they are the unsung heroines of the educational system.

If it weren’t for them some children would not recieve an education at all! So, Mr. Prinicpal, if you don’t want children with special needs in your school just say so, don’t hide behind the shadow of a departmental review of SNA’s.

Now, some people will say, “Well, OK, so we put children wtih speical needs in mainstream school, what happens after primary school?” Good question, but not on topic. The purpose of primary schooling is not to prepare children for secondary school. The special education mess at second level is the elephant in the closet but it isn’t up to the primary system to sort it out.

My thesis is simple: most childeren with special education needs can be appropriately educated in the mainstream. I don’t think there is anything at all “vital” about special schools and special classes.