This article is from page 36 of the 2009-03-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 36 JPG
A SCHOOL in Shannon has been given the go-ahead to appoint a teacher specifically for autistic chil- dren, just weeks after facilities for children with special needs were curtailed by the Government.
St Senan’s National School is hope- ful that the appointment will take effect in September, after a refur- bishment programme has been com- pleted at the school.
PU ilecteme Nien nM see m-LULWtcyecm-DRom e100 rently on the school’s books. The area, when developed, will cater for up to six children, in a specially-de- signed unit in the school.
Applications will be invited for the post over the coming months and the post will be filled prior to Septem- ber.
“It is great news, in the face of cut- backs. The building is in place. It is really about the refurbishments now, which hopefully will be finished by September. It will be more cosmetic and to ensure the safety of the chil- dren,’ said school principal Sally O’Neill.
Local Fine Gael councillor Tony Mulcahy said he was delighted to hear that the appointment would be pa reNeloe
“Any form of specialist education is critical intervention. The more in- tervention and the earlier the better,”
said Cllr Mulcahy.
This appointment has been given the green light, just weeks after it emerged that a class for children with special needs at St Senan’s National School in Kilrush was to be discon- mbOLECoLO
St Senan’s was the only school in the west Clare peninsula that offered special needs supports.
Last month, INTO representative for Clare, Sean McMahon labelled the announcement by the Education Minister Batt O’Keefe to close 128 special classes for children with mild learning difficulties “a disgrace”.
Reacting to Minster O’Keefe’s comments that many children would integrate easily into mainstream edu- cation, Mr McMahon said, “It is pat- ent nonsense to return these children to classes in which through no fault of their own they couldn’t cope with in the first place. These mainstream classes are themselves now even more over-crowded than they were when the children were withdrawn because of the other recent budget cutbacks, which resulted in signifi- cant increases in class sizes.”