Primary School Education

Starting School

Most children in Ireland start their first-level education in primary schools (also called national schools) at the age of 4 or 5 years of age. Legally, children can be enrolled at primary school from the age of 4 upwards and must have started their formal education by the age of 6 years.

Is Ireland Ready for a ‘Total Inclusion’ Approach for Special Education?

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/is-ireland-ready-for-a-total-inclusion-approach-for-special-education-1.4109360 Last month the National Council for Special Education floated a bold idea: we should consider abolishing special schools and special classes and place all children in mainstream schools. regardless of their level of disability. The council says Ireland may be in breach of a UN convention by “segregating” up to 16,000 special pupils

Diagnosis Not Needed To Secure SNA Support For Children:

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/diagnosis-not-needed-to-secure-sna-support-for-children-1.4119651 Thousands of parents will no longer need to pay for a diagnosis of a disability in order to access special needs assistants (SNA) for their children under major changes to the €500 million scheme. The Department of Education is instead planning to automatically front-load 17,000 SNAs to schools in

Download Today: AsIAm “Back to School” Handbooks

https://asiam.ie/download-today-asiam-back-school-handbooks/ Education can throw up many challenges for students with Autism such as the environment, structure, social aspect, curriculum and communication, to name just a few. However education is also an opportunity for people with Autism, of all abilities, to pursue their strengths, gain understanding in the local community and

Typing Tuition for the Visually Impaired:

https://www.education.ie/en/Parents/Services/typing-tuition/typing-tuition-for-the-visually-impaired.html Typing Tuition Scheme Typing Tuition is available to visually impaired pupils on the recommendation of the Visiting Teacher for the Visually Impaired. The Department can sanction a maximum of 20 hours’ typing tuition to a school to help improve the typing skills of the pupil in question. The scheme

Complaints, Bullying, Child Protection, Discrimination:

https://www.education.ie/en/Parents/Information/Complaints-Bullying-Child-Protection-Discrimination/ It is natural that a parent or guardian may from time to time have questions and concerns about their child’s experience in their school. This information aims to answer the questions commonly asked by parents. This information may also include students over 18 years of age. This information is

Appeal against Permanent Exclusion, Suspension or Refusal to Enrol:

https://www.education.ie/en/Parents/Services/Appeal-against-Permanent-Exclusion-Suspension-or-Refusal-to-Enrol/ Information for parents on section 29 appeals: An appeal may be made to the Secretary General of the Department of Education & Skills in respect of a decision by a board of management or a person acting on behalf of a board of management to:   permanently exclude a

Irish Sign Language (ISL) Tuition Scheme:

https://www.education.ie/en/Parents/Services/irish-sign-language-isl-/irish-sign-language-isl-tuition-scheme.html The Irish Sign Language (ISL) scheme is made available to provide funding for a weekly tuition service whereby a tutor visits the home of a deaf/hard of hearing pre-school child or school-going pupil to provide training in ISL for the child, their sibling(s) and parent(s)/guardian(s). How to Apply The

25% of Children with Disability ‘Denied Full School Day’ – Report

https://www.rte.ie/news/2019/0905/1073986-school-hours-disability/ The report found that thousands of children around the country are being affected By Emma O Kelly One in four children with a disability are being denied the opportunity to attend school for the full school day, with children with autism most at risk from the practice, according to a

Assistive Technology Sites:

https://www.sess.ie/links/sen-ict-and-assistive-technology AbilityNet: AbilityNet is a UK site, offering factsheets and training related to Assistive Technology. It also has a nice ‘Quick Links’ feature. Abledata: Abledata is a US-based site containing a database of over 20,000 Assistive Technology products. The database contains detailed descriptions of each product including price and company information.