10% Cut to Special Needs Resource Teachers

On Wednesday 1st June, the Department of Education announced cuts of 10% to the amount of hours allocated to a school for children with Special Educational Needs. On the ground, this is a cut from 25 hours to 22.5 hours, for example. This is putting further strain on the mainstream classroom environment where huge efforts are made to include every child in education as a whole group. INTO General Secretary feels that this cut will hit those who have been most inclusive up until now.
These cuts will come into effect in September 2011, the beginning of the new academic year. Although the amount of resource teacer posts will be at 9,950, a rise of 350 since 2010, children with special educational neeeds will not be granted access to the provisions they need. A spokesperson from the Special Needs Parents Association says, 'We have taken enough cuts when it comes to Special needs already.'
Although the Department has not set this figure in stone, with a hint that it may rise the number of ours allocated if required, confidence in such measures should be low, as Minister Quinn has been ruthless since coming into power. From an NQT perspective, the main point is that the resources (Qualified Trained Teachers) are there to fulfill the provisions required by children with Special Educational Needs, but Government Policy is denying this provision.
Circular 0037/2011: Revised Arrangement for the Provision of Resource teaching Supports for 2011/2012