Ireland
Country
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"all those whose disabilities and/or circumstances prevent or hinder them from benefiting adequately from the education which is normally provided for pupils of the same age, or for whom the education which can generally be provided in the ordinary classroom is not sufficiently challenging."
The Report recommended that:
"appropriate education for all children with special educational needs should be provided in ordinary schools, except where individual circumstances make this impracticable."
The Review Committee summed up its position regarding integration of pupils with disabilities and/or special needs into the mainstream school system by stating that it favoured as much integration as was appropriate with as little segregation as was necessary and proposed a system in which there would be a place for both mainstream and special schools. It envisaged that the special schools system would contract as levels of special provision developed in mainstream schools. It proposed the establishment of links between the two parallel systems involving the sharing of teachers and facilities, the interchange of pupils and involvement in shared projects.
The Review Committee proposed the establishment of a continuum of education provision to meet a continuum of special educational needs. It proposed a range of options, as follows:
- Full-time placement in a mainstream class, without additional support.
- Full-time placement in a mainstream class, with additional support in the class.
- Full-time placement in a mainstream class with withdrawal for short regular tutorial sessions.
- Part-time placement in a special class, spending more time in a mainstream class.
- Part-time placement in a special class, spending less time in the mainstream class.
- Full-time placement in a special class.
- Part-time placement in a special school, spending more time in the mainstream school.
- Part-time placement in a special school, spending less time in the mainstream school.
- Full-time placement in a day special school.
- Full-time placement in a 5-day residential special school.
- Full-time placement in a 7-day residential special school.
- Part-time placement in a Child Education and Development Centre and part-time in a special school.
The White Paper on Education, "Charting our Education Future" (1995), affirmed that the Government's objective would be:
"to ensure a continuum of provision for special educational needs, ranging from occasional help within the ordinary school to full-time education in a special school or unit, with students being enabled to move as necessary and practicable from one type of provision to another."
Current government policy is to encourage the maximum possible level of integration of children with special needs into mainstream schools and to put into place the necessary special supports to facilitate this development. It is envisaged that this support would take the form of learning support teachers, resource teachers, visiting teachers and special needs assistants. The pace and extent of the implementation of total integration is viewed as being largely governed by the capacities of individual children and the availability of resources.
For further information, refer to Sections on The Legal System and on Routes to Integration.