02 June 2011

Dáil Debates

• Adjournment Debate: Achieve ABA school in Kilbarrack

Parliamentary Questions

• Academy for children with autism

DÁIL DEBATES

• Adjournment Debate: Achieve ABA school in Kilbarrack

Deputy Terence Flanagan (FG):  This is an issue with which the Acting Chairman, Deputy Broughan, as my constituency colleague, will undoubtedly be familiar. There is an urgent need for the Minister for Education and Skills to continue to provide funding to the parents of children who attend the Achieve ABA school in Kilbarrack. This issue is one that was inherited by the new Government. It was flagged with the new Minister over two months ago and it needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency. There are ten teaching staff and eight children attending this school in Kilbarrack on a daily basis. Effectively, since last September, Achieve ABA has received no State funding in respect of four of the eight students who attend the school. The situation has been unsustainable for some time and is now coming to a head, with the management giving one month’s notice of the school’s closure by 24 June if funding is not provided by the Department. It would be a shame if that were to happen. The Minister must continue to provide the home tuition grant to parents of children who attend the school. In addition, the school has submitted a joint proposal, along with Mayo Autism Action, to the Minister and his Department officials for the setting up of an ABA academy which would specialise specifically in the teaching of autistic children through ABA. Achieve ABA is a tightly run school with an excellent track record for the five years in which it has existed. The average cost for a student in one of the 126 State-funded special schools is €38,725 per annum, which includes the costs to both the Department of Education and Skills and the HSE; in comparison, based on the Achieve ABA model, schooling costs €30,000 per annum per student. Thus, from a simple economics point of view, there is a saving to be made by the Exchequer in continuing to fund this school and supporting parents and teachers in providing an excellent, first-class service to these children. The Acting Chairman has been to the school, as have I and other Deputies in the House, to see at first hand the great work that is done. It cannot happen that this school is not allowed to continue. An academy for children with autism is crucial. The proposal from Achieve ABA and Mayo Autism will include provision for the educational needs of the children but will also include the provision of psychology, speech and language therapy — which is so important — and occupational therapy, which will be provided by highly qualified and experienced staff. The State spent more than €70 million on pilot projects under the previous Government, but it is a shame to say that no report was ever produced setting out the costs and benefits of these projects. Clearly, it is working in this school. Achieve ABA has made a commitment that it will produce a report and set itself up for a peer review within the space of two years of receiving more funding. Funding provided in this area is money well spent. One system clearly does not suit all children, but we know that children who have attended this school have gone on to mainstream schools, so it has been a major success. I urge the Minister to visit the school and see the great work that is going on there. I implore him to continue to provide the home tuition grant to the parents of all children who attend the school.

Deputy Lucinda Creighton:  I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which provides the Minister with the opportunity to clarify the Department’s position with regard to the provision of funding to parents of children who attend the Achieve centre.

I understand the Deputy is referring to the Achieve centre in Donaghmede, Dublin 13, which is a privately funded ABA centre. I wish to clarify that the Department has no direct funding arrangements with the group that operates the centre. The Minister has been advised that four children attending the centre are using their home tuition funding to pay the fees. The home tuition scheme, which the Department operates, provides funding to parents to provide education at home for children who, for a number of reasons such as chronic illness, are unable to attend school. The scheme was extended in recent years to facilitate tuition for children awaiting a suitable educational placement and also to provide early educational intervention for pre-school children with autism. Continued funding to the parents of the four children in question through the home tuition scheme will be considered for the next school year in the context of available school placements.The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is responsible, through its network of local special educational needs organisers, SENOs, for allocating resources to schools to support children with special educational needs. SENOs are a valuable source of support to parents who are actively seeking a placement for their children. A proposal for funding for an academy for children with autism was submitted to the Department for consideration. The Minister wishes to thank the Deputy for also forwarding a copy of this proposal. The Department will respond to the submitted proposal shortly. However, I must remind the Deputy that consideration of this proposal will take account of the Department’s policy in this regard, which is focused on ensuring that all children, including those with autism, have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post-primary school network. This facilitates access to individualised education programmes, fully qualified professional teachers, who may draw from a range of autism-specific interventions including ABA, special needs assistants, and the appropriate school curriculum, with the option, where possible, of full or partial integration and interaction with other pupils. As each child with autism is unique, it is important that children have access to a range of interventions so their broader needs can be met. The Department’s policy is to provide for children with special educational needs, including autism, to be included in mainstream schools unless such a placement would not be in their best interests or the interests of the children with whom they are to be educated. Some children may be supported in a special class attached to a mainstream school. These students have the option, where appropriate, of full or partial integration and interaction with other pupils. Other children may have such complex needs that they are best placed in a special school. Students with special educational needs have access to a range of support services, including additional teaching and care supports. In special schools and special classes, students are supported through lower pupil-teacher ratios. Special needs assistants may also be recruited specifically where pupils with disabilities and significant care needs are enrolled. Reflective of the important role of continuing professional development, the Department has put in place a training programme for teachers in autism-specific interventions including treatment and education of autistic communication handicapped children, picture exchange communications system and applied behaviour analysis, ABA, through the special education support service. The Deputy will be familiar with the ABA pilot scheme which has been funded by the Department for the past decade. All of the centres which participated in this scheme have been granted recognition as special schools for children with autism. These schools will operate in line with the Department’s policy. I am pleased to update the Deputy that following their recognition the new schools are currently progressing well in the transitional phase. Twelve schools have opened and the remaining school is scheduled to open shortly. It is the Minister’s intention to continue to support this transitional process.

The pilot scheme was established in the absence of a network of school-based special classes for children with autism which is now available. The Deputy will be aware that the establishment of this network of autism-specific special classes in schools throughout the country to cater for children with autism has been a key educational priority in recent years. In excess of 430 classes have now been approved throughout the country at primary and post-primary level, including many in special schools. On behalf of the Minister, I thank the Deputy once again for raising this matter.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS

• Academy for children with autism

Deputy Simon Harris (FG): asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider making funding available to a school, (details supplied) which has not received any State support since September 2010 and which is entirely dependant on essential and urgent State support to remain open and provide education to children with autism;

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn):  It is understood that the Deputy’s question refers to a proposal for an academy for children with autism which was submitted to my Department for consideration by an organisation in Dublin 13. My Department will respond to the submitted proposal in the near future. The Deputy will be aware that my Department has no direct funding arrangements with the group in question.

Consideration of this proposal will take account of my Department’s policy in this regard, which is focused on ensuring that all children, including those with autism, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network. This facilitates access to individualised education programmes, fully qualified professional teachers who may draw from a range of autism-specific interventions, including ABA, special needs assistants, and the appropriate school curriculum with the option where possible of full/partial integration and interaction with other pupils. As each child with autism is unique it is important that children have access to a range of interventions so their broader needs can be met.

My Department’s policy is to provide for children with special educational needs, including autism, to be included in mainstream schools unless such a placement would not be in their best interests or the interests of the children with whom they are to be educated. Some children may be supported in a special class attached to a mainstream school. These students have the option, where appropriate, of full/partial integration and interaction with other pupils. Other children may have such complex needs that they are best placed in a special school. Students with special educational needs have access to a range of support services including additional teaching and/or care supports. In special schools and special classes, students are supported through lower pupil teacher ratios. Special needs assistants may also be recruited specifically where pupils with disabilities and significant care needs are enrolled.Reflective of the important role of continuing professional development my Department has put in place a training programme for teachers in autism-specific interventions including Treatment and Education of Autistic Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH), Picture Exchange Communications System (PECS) and Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) through the Special Education Support Service. The Deputy will be familiar with the ABA pilot scheme which was funded by my Department for the past decade. All of the centres which participated in this scheme have been granted recognition as special schools for children with autism. These schools will operate in line with my Department’s policy. I am pleased to update the Deputy that following their recognition the new schools are currently progressing well in the transitional phase. Twelve schools have opened and the remaining school is scheduled to open shortly. It is my intention to continue to support this transitional process.

The pilot scheme was established in the absence of a network of school-based special classes for children with autism which is now available. The Deputy will be aware that the establishment of this network of autism-specific special classes in schools across the country to cater for children with autism has been a key educational priority in recent years. In excess of 430 classes have now been approved around the country at primary and post primary level, including many in special schools.

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