Madam, – I am a special needs assistant at St Joseph’s School, which exists to educate children with special educational needs. Our children have emotional and behavioural problems that are so serious that they cannot be taught in a mainstream school. Many of the children in the school also come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Department of Education is threatening to cut the staff in our school by two-thirds (Home News, February 8th). This means that the teacher numbers will be reduced from 16 to six and our special needs assistants are being reduced from 17 to five.
What Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe is attempting to do will utterly destroy the school as it will make it impossible for the school to function on a basic level. Our Government is targeting the most vulnerable people in our society – children with special needs who come from disadvantaged backgrounds – to pay for the Government’s mistakes. It is a reprehensible act.
Every single staff member in our school is required, and that is why their recruitment was approved by the Department of Education. As recently as 2007 the department undertook a review of the school, which resulted in a glowing report and a pat on the back for the Minister of Education. Now the department has changed its tune. What has changed between then and now?
The country is in the midst of an economic recession. We are all aware of that. The Taoiseach preaches to us time and again that we all must make sacrifices, but this is not true. We were informed that our school was to be reduced to nothing the same week that the Minister for Finance rolled back on pay cuts for highly paid public servants. Our judges are permitted to hide behind the Constitution in order that they don’t have to make sacrifices, and the richest children in the country, who have been lucky enough to go to private schools their whole lives, get a third-level education for free. This is unacceptable.
The children in our school need special help to cope with their disabilities. Every staff member is trained to help the children to reach their very best potential. The children, since the day they were born, have had very challenging lives. Their parents have fought constantly with various governments to obtain the services their children were entitled to. Some of our children not only have their disabilities to cope with on a daily basis but are also living on the poverty line.
Our school teaches the children many skills to cope with life. They are treated every day as equals.
They are respected and encouraged and because every single child obtains a certificate, be it Fetac, Applied Leaving Certificate or Junior Certificate, they obtain a sense of self worth.
If the proposed cuts go ahead the school will no longer be able to offer the children these certificate courses. In fact, the school may be unable to remain open, as health and safety is a matter of huge concern. Due to the nature of the children’s disabilities, many of them require staff members to be with them at all times to prevent injury and harm.
Our school has been abandoned by the State and our elected officials but we will fight Mr O’Keeffe and the undemocratic quango, the National Council for Special Needs, he cowers behind. There is only one chance at childhood and our children deserve every opportunity. – Yours, etc,