Parents are welcoming the news that student teachers will undergo mandatory placements in special education classes. 

Minister for Education Helen McEntee has said she will write to the Teaching Council, asking them to draw up plans to facilitate the move. 

On The Hard Shoulder, Rebecca, whose daughter has dyslexia, described it as “good news” for children with special needs. 

“It took up until first-year to realise that she was severely dyslexic,” Rebecca said. 

“Now, I understand we had COVID years in that time but I definitely think that they should 100% be trained to see. 

“Just so they can see and help children that are undiagnosed.”

Children queue up for a meal in a school canteen. Picture by: Alamy.

Rebecca’s daughter is now studying in a special needs school; however, she was initially educated in a mainstream school. 

“When she was struggling and they realised she was struggling, there was nowhere else for her to turn,” she said. 

“They said to me, ‘This is the schools that you should try and get her into because we have a teacher that takes her out for English, takes her out for Maths.’ 

“Then that teacher had to cover another class because that teacher had gone out sick for the week. 

“Then she was a whole week left there, losing her little mind.” 

Children with autism

Another parent, Jodie, whose son has autism, said the State also needs to focus on speeding up the diagnosis of children with special needs. 

“If you’re looking for an autism class for your child, how are you going to get them into an autism class without an autism diagnosis?” she said. 

“That’s the problem; you need all these extra reports, you need recommendations that primarily you’re going to be waiting on the Health Department for. 

“I do think it’s a good thing that every teacher that’s going into teaching, they should be shown and told to teach in an ASC [Autism Spectrum Condition] class.” 

Jodie added that at the moment, there are far too few classes for children with special needs. 

“Because look at the problem that we’re in at the moment,” she said. 

“There’s no classes and if there is a class, there’s no teacher to teach them. 

“So, where do you go?”

You can listen back to the full interview here:

Main image: School girls are taught by a teacher. Image: Chris Bull / Alamy