Episode 2: Soft Barriers

In this episode I explore the role of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), a quango responsible for organising resources for special education. I trace the NCSE's establishment in 2003 and its subsequent decline in effectiveness, particularly since the detrimental effects of budget cuts since 2008. The NCSE's lack of adequate support, arbitrary allocation of resources, and controversial response to government cuts are all scrutinised. I argue that despite the increasing number of children with special needs, support has been reduced, leading to a progressively worse situation for these children. And when schools spoke out against the cuts, it was the NCSE, not the government that said schools were putting in soft barriers to stop children accessing support.

If you were to walk into any primary school and compared it to the classroom you might have sat in only a generation ago, apart from a big screen instead of a blackboard, the biggest difference you would see is the diversity of students in that room. One in four children in primary school have an additional need* and according to recent research over 45% of children with support needs are being failed in accessing their right to education. I have spent the last 15 years witnessing the slow collapse of services for children with additional needs in school. Join me for 'Access Undone: The Collapse of Special Education,' where I explore what I believe is the 21st century’s greatest educational scandal."

If you were to walk into any primary school and compared it to the classroom you might have sat in only a generation ago, apart from a big screen instead of a blackboard, the biggest difference you would see is the diversity of students in that room. One in four children in primary school have an additional need* and according to recent research over 45% of children with support needs are being failed in accessing their right to education. I have spent the last 15 years witnessing the slow collapse of services for children with additional needs in school. Join me over the coming weeks for 'Access Undone: The Collapse of Special Education,' where I explore what I believe is the 21st century’s educational scandal."

Sources: https://www.sensationalkids.ie/our-impact/facts-figures/ and https://inclusionireland.ie/news-events/department-of-education-removes-vital-resource-while-45-of-children-with-support-needs-are-being-failed-in-accessing-their-right-to-edu/