While acknowledging the extensive progress in school-aged provision for students with ASD, further improvement can be brought to the system in the following ways:
3.1 Inclusive admissions policies:
The NCSE should be equipped with the necessary authority to instruct a school to open a special class when it deems necessary.
NEPS staffing allocation should allow for a psychologist to allocate an appropriate number of days each year to provide a quality service to special classes and to provide advice on educational placements. The DES should quantify the appropriate number of days based on the needs of the students in the special class.
3.2 Developing post-primary provision:
Post-primary models of support should be age appropriate and reflect organisational structures. More able students with ASD should be supported through resourced mainstream provision while only those with complex needs should be placed in a special class.
The DES should consider making provision in post-primary schools, in line with educational need, to enable a teacher to have overall responsibility for the organisation and co-ordination of educational programmes for students with special educational needs, including ASD.
The DES should reframe its policy on the use of over quota hours for resource teaching to ensure that only teachers with appropriate skills, knowledge and competencies are allocated resource teaching hours. The practice of spreading resource teaching hours over an excessive number of post-primary teachers’ timetables should be discontinued.
3.3 Staffing matters
The DES should allocate additional administrative days to primary schools with teaching principals to allow for the additional workload involved in setting up and maintaining special ASD classes. The DES should quantify the amount of support required based on the needs of schools. The DES should also consider providing additional administrative support to primary schools with special ASD classes where a full-time secretary is not in place.
3.4 Redeployment panel
The DES should ensure that the operation of the redeployment panel enables special schools and special classes to recruit teachers with the requisite levels of experience and qualifications to work with the cohort of students enrolled. If no such teacher is available on the panel, the school should be allowed to make other recruitment arrangements.
The DES should further ensure that teachers recruited from the special panel for appointment in special schools and classes receive any necessary training before taking up this position or as soon as possible thereafter.
3.5 Substitution register
The Teaching Council should compile and maintain a register of teachers with experience and qualifications in special educational needs who have indicated their interest and availability for substitution work in schools.
2.3 Developing Knowledge, Skills, Understanding and
Competence of Teachers
2.3.1 Current Provision
Under the Teaching Council Act, 2001, the Teaching Council must ‘establish, publish, review and maintain codes of professional conduct for teachers, which shall include standards of teaching, knowledge, skill and competence’ (Government of Ireland, 2001). The Teaching Council’s functions span the entire teaching career – from entry to initial teacher education programmes; induction of those newly qualified into the profession; and continuing professional development throughout teaching careers.
Initial teacher education programmes are a minimum of four years for students following undergraduate courses and a minimum of two for postgraduate courses of teacher education. Students must take one module on inclusive education (which includes special education, multiculturalism, disadvantage) as a mandatory element of all ITE programmes.
Once probated, the Teaching Council considers that all teachers are qualified to teach all students in the sector for which they are qualified, primary or post-primary, while acknowledging that teachers may need to access further CPD when a student with more complex needs, including some students with ASD, enters their class. This includes students with ASD in both mainstream and special schools/classes.
The Teaching Council is currently working towards the development of a national framework on continuing professional development for teachers and has initiated a comprehensive consultation process to underpin its work.
However, the DES encourages teachers of students with ASD to obtain further training and qualifications in special educational needs and provides funding for this through the Special Education Support Service and through postgraduate diploma courses in colleges and universities. Teachers can access SESS supports by attending courses, by identifying areas for support and requesting same through their school principal, or by using online/telephone support where available.
While not yet mandatory, teachers are supported and encouraged by the DES to attend CPD courses run by these bodies, particularly if they are taking up specialist roles in mainstream schools or positions in special schools or classes. However, other than during ITE, there is no mandatory training required for teachers working with students with special educational needs, including ASD.
2.3.2 Review of the Current System: Summary of Views Expressed
During Consultation
Set out in this box are views expressed by group participants during the NCSE consultation conducted as part of its policy advice development. They do not necessarily reflect the NCSE’s viewpoint which is set out in the discussion section below.
Strengths of the System
Students with ASD are making progress in classes where they have highly experienced and competent teachers.
Considerable progress has been made over recent years in teacher education and training in working with students with ASD and as a result teacher knowledge and skills in this area have improved.
The work of the SESS in bringing about this improvement was particularly acknowledged. Its courses were considered to provide comprehensive training in ASD and the support it provided to teachers and schools was also widely acknowledged by consultation groups.
The re-conceptualised ITE programmes and their extension to four years should, in theory, help to provide increased training for teachers to meet the needs of students with ASD, as will the proposed Teaching Council CPD framework, when published.