An increase is litigation over alleged assaults of children with special needs in schools has sparked concern at senior levels of the Department of Education, internal records show.
Officials are aware of about 40 parents who say they are planning legal actions after their children with conditions such as autism were subject to alleged mistreatment by staff members in schools such as being dragged across school floors, physically held against their will or locked in rooms alone.
“A number of families have come together in a group ... who say that their children have experienced assaults in schools by school staff,” according to a message from a senior Department of Education official to Tusla, the child and family agency.
“They acknowledge the very positive experiences that they have had with most of the school staff during their educational journey, but where alleged assaults occurred they are of the view that the system as currently configured is designed to protect school staff rather than the children who are the subject of alleged assaults.”
The records, released under the Freedom of Information Act, come amid controversy over guidelines for schools on how to respond to “behaviours of concern” among children which many advocacy groups say do not go far enough to protect vulnerable pupils.
The guidelines, published last December, state that schools may no longer use seclusion. In addition, physical restraint is no longer permitted except in a “crisis” situation where there is a risk to the student or others.
These include situations such as a student self-injuring, throwing large items such as computers or furniture or physically attacking another person.
Schools will be required to report any restraint of a child with special needs to the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) for data collection. It will not have any investigative role in relation to these incidents.
While the then minister for education Norma Foley said the guidance would “aid schools and provide guidance on effective approaches to supporting students with behaviours of concern”, records show it has sparked concern among advocacy groups, teachers' unions and school management bodies.
The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO), for example, told the department it was “unacceptable” that schools appear to have a role in self-policing the use of restraint without any independent accountability mechanisms.
By contrast, the OCO said, the use of restraint in children’s residential centres is subject to significant oversight and regulation.
“Each year we receive complaints from parents about harm experienced by their children [in schools] as a result of the use of seclusion and restraint,” it said. “Often time, these parents are unaware of these incidents as their children may be non-verbal and its use only comes to light after the harm has been done ... the current guidelines are completely insufficient from a child protection lens.”
The office said school complaints processes are not sufficiently robust to deal with these matters.
Groups such as Inclusion Ireland and autism charity AsIAm told the department the guidance did not go far enough to protect disabled and neurodivergent children who would remain exposed to abuse within the education system.
Teachers’ unions also raised separate concerns such as the increase in workload for staff, the need for ongoing training and the lack of focus on wellbeing of teachers who must handle challenging situations.
“There is no provision for care and support for these educations,” the Teachers’ Union of Ireland told the department, adding that “assault leave” should be provided to staff affected by physical and psychological issues linked to “behaviours of concern”.
Similarly, the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation said the communities in special schools were experiencing a “high degree of trauma caused by the level of challenging behaviour” they were experiencing and witnessing, which had not been addressed in guidelines.
