Concern over shortage of school places for autistic children in East Cork

Families in and around Youghal are “in a very distressing limbo” regarding secondary school placements for children with additional needs, a Cork TD has said.

Speaking in the Dáil, Social Democrats Cork East TD Liam Quaide explained that there are 16 classes for autistic children in five primary schools in or around Youghal area, but only three classes in Youghal’s only secondary school.

“This equates to 96 students in primary schools who will be seeking to avail of one of 18 secondary school places. Parents can be left in a deeply unsettling state of uncertainty.”

Mr Quaide added that a recent draw for places at a special school in Dungarvan saw 20 children from Cork, South Tipperary, and Waterford left without a place.

“In my constituency, it means families having to face travelling into Cork city or potentially Waterford city to access education for their children. The stress of long school commutes, some of which are spent in traffic congestion, can take an immense and cumulative psychological toll on these children and their families.

“Attending school so far from home also disconnects children from their communities at a particularly sensitive stage of their development.

“This is heaping another form of chronic stress upon the many other challenges these families deal with.”

He added that a group of parents have come together to advocate for an additional class in Youghal, asking for the Government’s support to establish this, which would be aimed at autistic children with mild learning disabilities.

“These students have educational needs that are too complex for mainstream classes but would not necessarily qualify for a special school placement. They are at risk of falling between the cracks of the mainstream and special school systems.”

He thanked his TD and councillor colleagues for their work on this issue, including Fianna Fáil TD James O’Connor, who had arranged for minister of state Michael Moynihan to visit these schools.

Mr Moynihan confirmed that he was looking forward to visiting, saying: “The spend on special education is at an all-time high, with more than a quarter of the education budget allocated to special education.”

Mr Quaide added that one particular Youghal family he has spoken to face an “uncertain and anxiety-provoking” wait to find out if their son will get a suitable secondary school place.

“The two nearest suitable placements would be either in Dungarvan or Carrigtwohill. Both involve significant travel time and disconnection of that boy from his local community. As things stand both of those schools are very much oversubscribed so other options the family may have to consider would be as far away as Waterford city or Rochestown in Cork.”

Mr Moynihan agreed: “It is totally and absolutely wrong that children are travelling long distances to school. These are children with additional needs and they are expected to travel for over an hour in some instances. That practice cannot continue.”

He added that previously “we had some instances where the children did not know where they were going when they finished primary school. They did not know in the last week in June where they would be in the first week of September,” assuring Mr Quaide “that practice is no longer acceptable”.

A department spokesperson told The Echo that it expects that new special classes will be confirmed across Cork very shortly, and a new special school is being established in Cork for the coming school year.

“Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact the NCSE locally.”