Children left in limbo
By Ellen O'Regan
Parents of children with special educational needs in Cork are being told there are not enough spaces for their children at secondary level.
Mother Aisling Henebry has been “left in limbo” as her 11 year old daughter Kayla has nowhere to go to secondary school come September.
Kayla has a dual diagnosis of autism and a moderate learning disability, and she currently attends a special primary school which caters to her educational needs.
Kayla is graduating this year, and she is one of seven from her class, and one of over twenty in the county, who have not been offered one of the ten coveted places in special secondary schools in Cork.
Instead of school, children like Kayla are being offered 20 hours of home tuition every week.
Ms Henebry highlights how home tuition would not offer the structured environment, social interaction and routine which Kayla needs, and which she has been already missing during the pandemic.
“It was a real eye opener for us during Covid, just what can happen when she’s not in a structured environment. She regressed into herself, and started presenting with challenging behaviours,” said Ms Henebry.
She also points out the challenge of trying to find a tutor who can replicate the services offered in special schools, such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and psychology, on top of teaching.
Ms Henebry struggles herself to understand why there is no space for her daughter, never mind trying to explain it to Kayla.
“If I could say something like the school has burned down, and show her a picture of a burned down school, she’d understand. But what can I say to her? I can’t turn around and say the Government can’t give you a place. She doesn’t understand that.
“I see how happy she is in the school, and to have to take that all away from her and not be able to explain what’s going on, it makes it even harder.”
Cork City Councillor Mick Nugent stated that Sinn Féin representatives will be putting forward a motion to address the issue at the next Cork City Council meeting, after being contacted by a number of parents about the issue. “In 2021 it really shouldn’t be the case that you have children with intellectual disabilities and autism falling through the cracks,” he said.
“A temporary solution would be adding space to an existing school in the short term, but longer term we need a new fit for purpose facility.”
Despite recent publicity, and support of local councillors, little has changed for children like Kayla who cannot wait for a new school to be built. For parents like Aisling, they just want their children’s’ rights to education vindicated. “It’s heart breaking. This is something I should not have to fight for. No mother should have to fight for their child's education,” she said.