State cannot say how many children are pushed out of mainstream school, TD says

Eva Osborne

Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn has said the Minister for Education has confirmed that the State does not know how many children are being pushed out of mainstream schools because their additional or special educational needs are not being met.

The department provided data on home tuition sanctions, Independent Ireland said, but did not provide figures on how many children have ceased attending mainstream primary or post-primary schools due to autism, ADHD, or other additional needs.

It did not provide figures on reduced timetables, and it did not confirm whether schools are required to formally report these cases to the department, Independent Ireland said.

O'Flynn said this is a "serious failure of oversight".

“If the State cannot measure how many children are missing from mainstream education because their needs are not being met, then it cannot credibly claim it is delivering inclusion.”

O’Flynn said reduced timetables and partial attendance are widely used across the system, with many parents reporting that these arrangements arise because schools lack resources, specialist staff, or appropriate supports.

“In practice, some children are being managed out of full-time education, and the department has no clear line of sight on it. No tracking, no central visibility, and no accountability.”

He said the department’s reliance on general attendance reporting after 20 days’ absence does not capture informal exclusion and fails to distinguish between parental choice and unmet need.

“It doesn’t tell us how many children are receiving an education that falls well short of full participation. That should be unacceptable to any minister who claims to take children’s rights seriously.

“Without proper tracking, the State cannot say how long children remain outside mainstream education, whether they return, or what damage is being done in the meantime.”

He said every child has a right to an education and that right does not disappear because the system fails to plan or provide.

“The State must be able to say, clearly and honestly, how many children are affected, why they are affected, and who is accountable when inclusion fails.”