Increased resources for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and special education are to be sought by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), according to a strategy document published this morning. The organisation said ICT had tremendous potential for enhancing the learning opportunities for children with special educational needs. "The current structures and resourcing levels do not allow this potential to be exploited fully. To date, the Department of Education and Science has no co-ordinating body in place to formulate policy and oversee provision of ICT resources to children with special educational needs. "The current grant application procedures which teachers may use for accessing ICT for children with special educational needs are totally unclear, inadequate and haphazard."
The INTO, according to the statement, wants adequate funding of the technology and a special needs advisory unit in the Department. "This unit should act as the co-ordinating body of all those involved in the integration of ICT in the education of pupils with special educational needs. "The development of a comprehensive policy which ensures equality of access to appropriate technology for all children with special needs is vital. "An expert advisory and research unit, which assists in and evaluates research in relation to ICT and special education, needs to be established. "A transparent, predictable and systematic structure should be introduced by the technology and special needs advisory unit for the allocation of grants to schools for ICT resources for pupils with special educational needs."
The statement says that comprehensive, professional development and support services in ICT should be provided as a matter of urgency to all teachers involved in the teaching of pupils with special needs to enable them to make critical decisions about ICT as a teaching and learning tool in the context of special educational needs.
"The need for a co-ordinated affordable nationwide approach to technical support is now vital as so much equipment has come into the school system under Schools IT2000. "No less than other settings, special schools urgently require this technical support. "The dearth of educational software which is suitable for the revised Irish primary curriculum is of enormous concern to teachers. "Very little suitable software is available tailored to the needs of Irish primary pupils. The situation is exacerbated in special educational settings where suitable software is almost impossible to source."