Principals warn 'catch-all' special schools will push pupils back into mainstream classes
02 June 2025
Plans to develop ‘catch-all’ special schools will push students who have mild and general learning disabilities back to mainstream classes “that have already failed them”, principals have warned.
The school leaders, who oversee 30 special schools in 19 counties, serving more than 3,000 students, say they face growing pressure from the Department of Education to change their schools’ current designation to include children with 'complex needs’.
The principals have warned that this broadening of criteria will result in a phasing-out of special school places for children with mild and general learning disabilities.
Published in The Irish Examiner, 2nd June 2025