Protest about cuts in special neeeds education

lady of the flowers

To all budding teachers... although I'm not affliated with any of the organisers there's a protest organised for next wed. Spread the word

(this is an account from the special needs parents association)

Following on from recent local school protests, protests outside the Dail and meetings all over Ireland re special educational cuts, parents of children with special needs, other parents, educators, SNAs and supporters are invited to gather for a family friendly demonstration outside Leinster House to coincide with the Dail Technical Group dedicating their three hours of Private Members Question time to the issue of changes and ...cuts in all areas of special educational resources. The demonstration has been endorsed by Inclusion Ireland, Impact SNA Section Special Needs Assistants and Parents Groups and is being supported by several members of the Dail Technical Group and commences at 3pm.

The Special Needs Parents Association is calling on the Government for a commitment to

-Introduce an Independant Appeals Process which parents can apply to directly as per our submissions to the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Education & Skills in 2010
-Ensure that the 10% of Resource Teaching Posts and 475 SNA Posts held back to cater for late and new applications in the autumn are utilised in full within a specified time frame and any potential surplus protected from cuts in the upcoming budget.
-Include parents as educational partners, in any correspondance between schools and NCSE with regards to their child and decisions made in relation to allocation of supports, to ensure transparency within the system.
-Expidite the allocations of an SNA in the case where a school has implimented behavioural strategies which have failed to avoid children being withdrawn from schools for 'safety reasons'.
-Ensure that every child has an Individualised Educational Plan as a statuatory requirement
-Give consideration to filling the gap left by withdrawal of an SNA to a child with non specific 'care needs', but who requires support all the same to access education as identified by the Special Needs Assistants Scheme-VFM Review.

edanto

I think it's one of those cuts that it's possible to get changed, if there are enough people protesting about it.

It's such a false economy to cut SNAs, it will make things so much harder for all the children in the class, not just the ones with extra needs.

Makes me damn angry to hear about cuts like this when gazillions are still being wasted on 'external consultants' and paying back those damn bondholders.

If you care enough about this - be on Kildare St this Wednesday (13th) at 3pm. Family friendly protest - bring colourful banners and balloons.

Some more info here - http://www.stephendonnelly.ie/events/special-needs-assistants-march-to-leinster-house/

[SNIP]

mushymoo

I saw the protest, I watched the debate as it happened inside, I spoke to a handful of TDs on my own individual case (I am a parent of special needs 7yr old already affected, I also am a IT teacher myself)

Some song lyrics that come to mind seem apt right now, as I attempt to sum up what happened this week:

“I believe that children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be

Everybody searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone to fulfill my needs
A lonely place to be
So I learned to depend on me

I decided long ago
Never to walk in anyone’s shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I will live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity”

I am a parent of a special needs child, having worked myself in education in the past, my son and thousands of other children will come September (and have been already and will continue to) be DIRECTLY affected by those very same issues debated this Wednsday 13th July. I cried inside up in the Gallery and briefly for a moment had visible tears during the debate, as the anger, frustration and hurt hit me right to my very core.

And I can safely say this: that this is something that will not, should not, MUST not go unnoticed or unheeded by a LOT of people in this country. Education is an enshrined right, in this country and in the UN Rights too.

I commend the Independent, ULA, PBP, SF etc. TDs for engaging in a very empassioned and important debate, and was heartened by their strongly voiced arguments, the clear evidence was read out time and time again from real-life cases happening now all over the country. These are not exceptions that were highlighted, just some examples, but I also commend Government TDs for standing in the Dail at that same debate and those who gave their point of view on the issues. They do I imagine think it is okay to wait and wait when it comes to a child’s needs, and maybe forget that the same child (my child for instance) grows and develops and lives their life one day at a time, and the parent copes and worries and frets often for their future.

However, having already spoken to my aunt living in Holland, she although Irish herself clearly states as far as the Europeans are concerned, the IMF-ECB bailout negotiations will not be successful for Ireland and that we are indeed now labelled as “junk” on the international markets and in the foreign media. I believe her.

“Junk” is also now the label the people who run this country gave on Wednesday to my 7 year old son. An amendment was made which basically threw out all the good wording and suggestions made, and this again (as had already been happening due to inadequacies in the present system) sacrificed my child’s education and welfare for a few poxy million euro. Sure, now the Irish people are more concerned about 100s of billions and yet a democratically elected Government gives more priority, it seems, to the banks and bailouts. How are these nameless, faceless investors more vulnerable than a child’s future?Than a special needs child’s?

This will not go unrecognised, children cannot wait! And parents WILL not accept that their children are not a matter of urgency, the hard-working and overstretched SNAs, classroom teachers, resource teachers, language support teachers, all those frontline service providers MUST not let Irish children be treated as a non-priority. They are not to blame. They are innocent.

I can say with 100% safety that a special needs child in contemporary Ireland waits long enough (it can be measured often in years) to get assessments, services, diagnoses and treatment as it stands. If you have the money you clearly get more and quicker, and so you “matter”. If you don’t have the money, then you don’t count.

Those in Government (and former Government parties) have a lot to be grateful for right now, that they have (presently) their salaries, expenses, pensions and their jobs….for now. Yes, they are comfortable enough not to have to suffer the cuts, caps, cutbacks etc. to access a service or an education, not as many others are suffering and will continue to suffer for the next 3-5 Budgets. One last word, however. Karma.

looksee

And parents WILL not accept that their children are not a matter of urgency, the hard-working and overstretched SNAs, classroom teachers, resource teachers, language support teachers, all those frontline service providers MUST not let Irish children be treated as a non-priority. They are not to blame. They are innocent.

The people you have listed, the front-line people, have absolutely NO control or say in this situation. Parents have more 'clout' than the employees you mention. There is nothing that teachers etc can do to change the situation.

byhookorbycrook

looksee wrote: »

The people you have listed, the front-line people, have absolutely NO control or say in this situation. Parents have more 'clout' than the employees you mention. There is nothing that teachers etc can do to change the situation.

Teachers and parents marched not so long ago, it was taken as teachers complaining again... Parents certainly have more clout,but we all need to stand together on this.

looksee

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Teachers and parents marched not so long ago, it was taken as teachers complaining again... Parents certainly have more clout,but we all need to stand together on this.

Exactly! But teachers are seen as having a vested interest - as though parents don't have a vested interest in their children - I am just pointing out that other than doing the same as the parents, teachers and SNAs have no special power to do anything.

mushymoo

well, plenty of teachers and SNAs are parents too.

if they all stand up for the schoolchildren together as a group en masse, thus in large numbers, surely that can only help show solidarity especially as all 3 are effected in differing ways by the same cuts to the same children?

teachers will be DIRECTLY effected come september when they have large class sizes and special needs children come into the sytem but nonly the severe behavioural/dangerous behaviours wiill get a child an SNA, plus the present job losses of 272 posts means many children have lost supports and hours, thus impacting hugely on the teacher's ability to teach all the children in the class. it may seem to them like its "doing less with more" and a good move as a cost saving measure in the Dept of Ed's bidget, but when children are excluded or actively discouraged from enrolment to schools due to the reduced supports available, many more parents can sue the State (equality, disability and education legislation not to mention UN conventions) and that costs way more than the 20 million involved, both in legal fees and in costs if parents are successful. then it really isn't such a cost saving measure after all, plus the health and saftety issues and potential for accidents that may occur in the classroom due to dangerous behaviours and lack of supervision. surely teachers and more relevantly school principals will be VERY uneasy about these developments come september?