BIG READ: School principals 'beyond fuming' that they are not part of pilot scheme

In August last year, the Government introduced a pilot scheme to facilitate the return of in-school therapy supports to 16 special needs schools.

The move came around five years after the HSE’s Progressing Disabilities Services (PDS) model for children and young people reconfigured children’s disability services. 

The PDS model saw clinicians, such as occupational therapists, speech-and-language therapists, and physios removed from schools across Ireland and placed on Children’s Disability Network teams (CDNTs).

The aim of CDNTs was to provide multidisciplinary therapy services to children in their communities and local areas.

However, the decision to remove therapists from schools was met with a backlash from parents, teachers and principals. 

In September 2021, then Minister of State Anne Rabbitte pledged to return therapists to special schools across Ireland. 

Six schools were selected to participate in Phase 1 of the pilot, introduced last year, and 10 schools were selected to participate in Phase 2, with phased onboarding of schools to the pilot over the course of the 2024/2025 academic year.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth states that, according to the HSE, all six schools in Phase 1 of the pilot have filled a portion of the therapy posts assigned as part of the pilot. This includes three of the Cork area schools in Phase 1, who have reportedly filled all therapy posts allocated as part of the pilot.

A spokesperson for the department said in January of this year that all schools in Phase 1 of the pilot are receiving some provision of additional in-school therapy supports, with recruitment efforts ongoing by HSE and the lead agencies to fill outstanding posts, in order to scale up provision to targeted levels. 

They said, “The recruitment campaigns for Phase 1 schools are at various stages, with some staff due to commence in post and others at a late stage in the recruitment process.

“Whilst recruitment efforts are ongoing, the children in each of the 16 special schools continue to receive supports through their local CDNT. 

“The HSE advises that it continues to pursue all measures to bridge the gaps that currently exist between intended levels of service and what is being delivered," they concluded. 

However, the spokesperson also stated that “any future extension of this pilot beyond the 2024/2025 academic year will be a matter for Government”. 

On January 23, new ministers were appointed to both the Department of Education and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. 

Spokespeople stated that officials from both departments will engage with their ministers and agree on priorities for the delivery of the commitments in the Programme for Government, including in the area of a dedicated National Therapy Support Service in education. 

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould called on the new Government to commit to continuing the scheme.  The councillor commented on the fact that he is glad to see Phase 1 in Cork finally have their posts filled, while stating that this was two years overdue. 

Mr Gould said, “What I am hearing from schools is that the current levels allocated to schools are positive but they are a drop in the ocean compared to the needs of these children.

“Many of these children have spent their childhood on a CDNT waiting list, never having actually seen a speech and language therapist or occupational therapist. 

“They are now getting a chance to reach their full potential but the hours allocated to schools simply aren't enough to deliver for every child," he concluded. 

Ground to make up 

Anne Hartnett is principal of St Paul’s Special School in Cork, which was included in the first phase of the pilot. She is also co-chair of the National Association for Special School Principals (NASSP), which launched in February 2024, and is a member of the Cork Special Schools Principals group.

Ms Hartnett revealed that a speech and language therapist recently started on a full-time basis at St Paul’s, months after the pilot was first rolled out. 

She has also been informed that an occupational therapist is due to start work at the school in the near future.

However, the Cork principal stated the school had greater therapy services back in 2018, before therapists were removed from schools. 

“It’s actually very frustrating to hear it called a pilot because it’s not something new - we had therapists in schools before, they were removed,” she said. 

The Cork Special Schools Principals group met last month with Dr Andy Phillips, regional executive officer of HSE South West. 

“There were only three principals there who were benefitting from the pilot scheme,” said Ms Hartnett. 

“The other principals were beyond fuming that they’re not part of it and they really, really want to be included as soon as possible, which is perfectly understandable because their children are missing out.

“I am overjoyed that we finally have one full-time SLT but we need three more to meet all of the children’s needs,” she added. 

However, Ms Hartnett revealed that there has been no mention of physiotherapists being returned to schools as part of the ‘pilot’ scheme. 

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“We have been told that the new Programme for Government does have an emphasis on disabilities and on returning therapists to schools but we need to see better communication on this.

“There’s certainly a long way to go,” she added. 

Ambitious plans 

The new Programme for Government has indeed set out ambitious plans to ensure “sufficient supply of therapists” in education.

The document states the Government will create a dedicated National Therapy Service in education, beginning with special schools. 

To implement this ambitious new programme and ensure a sufficient supply of therapists, this Government will, according to the programme, double the number of college places for speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, educational psychologists and any other specialists required.

It says it will also create new expedited qualification routes for professionals with relevant skills and experience; examine the provision of funding supports for those seeking to upskill into therapy programmes; and provide therapy assistant posts within the education sector.

The programme also aims to ensure that children in special education classes and mainstream can also access essential therapies. 

“If they had listened to us in 2018, we could have avoided these issues,” continued Ms Hartnett. 

“We’ve had countless meetings with government departments and officials, whether with NASSP or the Cork Special Schools Principals group, where we’ve been told they understand our concerns, they think we’re right and that they’re going to do something about it. 

“However, it’s about getting the people on the ground. For the first time in five years, we have one person on the ground now - we need more," she concluded. 

Calls to remove therapy from HSE

Speaking passionately, Ms Hartnett said NASSP has previously met with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and advised him to remove therapists from HSE control and place them under the clinical governance of the Department of Education.

“Then it would be similar to the National Educational Psychological Service, which is under the Department of Education and has no vacancies in terms of staffing,” she explained. 

“Look at all the vacancies in the HSE in terms of therapists roles - the system is just not working so why are they given the responsibility?

A spokesperson for the HSE said, “The HSE and the lead disability agencies it funds have been working continuously to develop supports for children with disabilities.

“There are significant shortages of qualified healthcare professionals across the globe. 

“To address resourcing challenges, the HSE has a Resourcing Strategy ‘Resourcing our Future’ to ensure a sufficient domestic supply of healthcare staff. 

“The strategy is being implemented to maximise the resourcing and delivery of publicly funded health services for the future. 

“Children’s Disability Services benefit from resourcing actions in the HSE Resourcing Strategy including increasing training places in Health & Social Care Professionals, delivery of apprenticeship programme for social workers and development of further apprenticeship programmes.”

The spokesperson also stated that health and social care professional training places in higher education have increased, with a growth in clinical placements in CDNTs.

When asked to provide the figures behind this claim, the spokesperson highlighted a Higher Education Authority press release from October last year, which stated “the government has significantly increased capacity in health and social care programmes” in recent years. 

“This expansion includes … new training places in vital areas such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy, with further expansion expected in 2025”.

The spokesperson added that there is a particular focus on recruiting Irish-trained overseas applicants and international recruitment “with a relocation package marketed to Irish-trained health and social care professionals who have travelled overseas”.

“The HSE and funded agencies are focused on identifying barriers to workforce growth and putting in place corrective retention and recruitment initiatives. 

“These initiatives have led to a growth in CDNT staffing levels, particularly in health and social care professionals roles,” the spokesperson claimed.