Special Needs Pupils Get Cross-Border Attention

A ground-breaking, first ever north/south conference for special school principals has just been held.

Will Haire, Permanent Secretary, Northern Ireland Department of Education launched the event - held in the Irish Republic.

Speaking at the conference in the Radisson Hotel, Sligo, the Permanent Secretary said: "Special schools are doing an outstanding job working with and nurturing disadvantaged children and young people in our society who can have complex additional needs. I commend the work of the Principals and all staff in these schools.

"Whether a child's full potential is going to be a surgeon, a mechanic or to engage in therapeutic work for a few hours a day in a day centre, every child should be given the opportunity to achieve it.

"We know that the special school landscape is changing, there are greater numbers of children with special education needs and disabilities being educated in mainstream schools and advances in medicine mean more children with complex health needs are surviving. There are more children with autism, behavioural and social difficulties and speech and language needs.

"That is why conferences such as this are so vitally important as they enable us to share good practice, to learn from each other, highlight concerns and together, bring solutions to the table," he said.

The conference looked at the changing role of the special school as a resource for mainstream schools, the promotion of innovation in the education of pupils with special needs, developing links between the special school and the local community and sharing best practice between the North and the South.

The Department of Education commenced a review of Special Educational Needs and Inclusion in April 2006 to address a range of issues associated with the current framework. The proposals emanating from the review are presently with the NI Executive awaiting approval to proceed to consultation. Public consultation should commence in early 2009.

(BMcC)