When I appeared on Virgin Media television's "Ireland's Education Crisis," I thought my phone would be buzzing from radio stations eager to find out why I thought the way we treat children with additional needs is Ireland's 21st century scandal. I didn't hear a single thing. It's a theme I'm getting used to when I raise special education: silence.

In the same vein, in this episode, I try to get a look into the inner workings of the NCSE. As you'll probably note from the length of this episode, I didn't get very far.

However, as I was writing this episode, something happened. The NCSE announced new guidelines for allocating resources. Perhaps our next episode will spark some positivity?

Welcome to access on done.

2

The collapse of special education.

3

Especial podcast from unsharp dot Nash.

4

This is Simon Lewis, a teacher and

principal for over 20 years in this

5

series, I look back over the short

history of how children with additional

6

needs have slowly but surely been

cast aside by the education system.

7

I argue that much like the crimes

of the Catholic church on children,

8

where the scandal of the 20th century.

9

That how the state is treating children

with additional needs will be the scandal.

10

Of the 21st.

11

I have to confess.

12

I'm a little disappointed.

13

That this podcast has

had the exact impact.

14

That I thought it would.

15

After I appeared on Arlen's education

crisis on Virgin media television

16

at the end of August, 2024.

17

I expected my phone to be buzzing the

next morning from the radio stations that

18

usually call me about education topics.

19

I didn't get a single message.

20

Perhaps foolishly.

21

Because I've even less

reach than Virgin media.

22

I thought I'd expand on the input

I gave to the show for this series.

23

I also hope by, by stretching out

the episodes a couple of weeks apart.

24

That I'd gather some content

from people in the system.

25

Even if it was anonymously.

26

Unfortunately barring one statistic.

27

I've had the same amount of

information as I had when I started.

28

This is the penultimate

episode of access on done.

29

Where I enter as far as I can

into the walls of the N C S E.

30

If I was to tell you that half of

the teachers in a school quit their

31

jobs within a couple of years.

32

It would probably be national news.

33

In fact, this is almost exactly what

34

in county Wexford called cushions town.

35

In a nutshell, several teachers left their

36

The board of management was dissolved

and the school almost came to a point

37

of being closed down as no solution

appeared to be on the horizon.

38

It was a fascinating story.

39

It was no surprise that it made

the national news and it might even

40

make a good podcast in its own.

41

Right.

42

However, when 31 out of the 66 and a half

43

Almost half of their entire

front facing workforce.

44

There wasn't a single word about it.

45

I have the names of every CNO that left

their position between those two years.

46

How many of them are you going to

hear from in person in this episode?

47

The answer.

48

As you may not be surprised to hear.

49

We'll be non.

50

This episode is going to be incredibly

short in some ways, because in

51

trying to build a picture of what's

happening inside the walls of the NCSC.

52

To be honest, I got almost nowhere.

53

Unfortunately, as you'll see

the walls of the NCSE are

54

similar to the walls of silence.

55

I faced since starting this series.

56

It's very hard to penetrate them.

57

We'll be left with more

questions than answers as we

58

come to the end of this episode.

59

However, I hope that this and the last

few episodes would have brought you

60

to a place where you'll also maybe be

moved to ask some questions yourself.

61

As I'm writing this episode.

62

I'm processing the contents of another

TV show that aired at the end of

63

October on RTE, it was called leathered.

64

It was an investigation into the physical

assault and abuses that took place on

65

a daily basis in Irish schools until

a corporal punishment was outlawed

66

in Irish schools in the early 1980s.

67

It was a very upsetting watch.

68

Mainly focusing on the lives of men still

affected by the treatment they received in

69

school, even though some of them are well

into their fifties and sixties and beyond.

70

And some of them visibly breaking down

as they recalled the daily punishments.

71

Of being attacked by their teachers.

72

It was difficult for me not to

keep thinking about the correlation

73

with this podcast series.

74

There were over half a million children

in the education system, the large

75

majority of them witnessing some of

the most vulnerable classmates being

76

assaulted sometimes every single day.

77

And yet only a small handful spoke up.

78

The rest stayed.

79

Absolutely silent.

80

I'm also just after watching a film,

small things like these, and it

81

couldn't have been a better title to

a film about one of the many scandals

82

of the Catholic church in Ireland.

83

And it was hard not to

draw comparisons again.

84

As I said, in a previous part

of this series, I believe what

85

we're doing to children with

additional needs has many parallels.

86

There's a perceived problem in

that we have lots of children

87

diagnosed with autism and we don't

have enough resources to provide

88

the children with what they need.

89

So we've invented things which we seem

to have no issue with calling units.

90

And once the children are in these units.

91

I mean, even the name would give it

away that there's something wrong here.

92

What a name to give to someone that's

supposed to be caring a unit or you

93

couldn't get a more uncaring name, but

anyway, once these children are in these

94

units, the perceived problem seems to be

gone away according to the vast majority

95

of people and much like Eileen, who's

the main character, his wife in the film.

96

Who innocently justifies her husband.

97

Bill's discomfort by saying that

the nuns feed the girls, clothed

98

the girls and give them work.

99

She also tells bill if you

want to get on in this life.

100

There are things you have to ignore.

101

In fact, I would say she is

the voice of general society.

102

Kilian Murphy's character, bill,

is most likely going to be punished

103

for his small, but heroic action.

104

And in the end, even though he did

one small thing in the bigger picture,

105

because of society's reluctance to speak.

106

Bill will be the one to pay the price.

107

I've spoken before about my own

experience of standing up to

108

leaders when I was in school.

109

And perhaps as a teenager, one gets get

out of jail free card because of the folly

110

of youth, perhaps, however, I've seen

how a community will stay quiet and it

111

allows someone in power use their power to

keep that power, whether that's terrible

112

things or maybe just small things.

113

So in a way as we enter the end of my look

at the NCSE, we're kind of back to where

114

we started with the compliance of silence.

115

The cost of that silence is that

we allow bad things to continue.

116

The cost of not being silent is

the risk of potential self cost.

117

I know this a little bit though.

118

I also know that the rewards for staying

silence, aren't really important.

119

You don't get to be the head of any

organization by being outspoken.

120

I think I've learned that for sure.

121

You get there by not being

outspoken and staying quiet.

122

Anyway, let's enter the walls of the

NCSC with one of my favorite statistics.

123

And I've already mentioned it because

I think the statistic alone summed

124

up everything you needed to know

about the NCSC and why you believe

125

they failed children in Ireland.

126

And here is that statistic.

127

In 2003, the NCSE employed 72 CNOs.

128

And 15 other staff.

129

In 2019, they employed 64 and a

half CNAs and 150 other staff.

130

I wrote that as statistic in a tweet

131

And I got a response.

132

From someone called Ashlyn bacon.

133

Now, if that name means nothing to you.

134

Don't worry.

135

It meant nothing to me either.

136

However, if you look at the list of the

31 seniors that left the NCSE between

137

2021 and 2023, her name is on that list.

138

And this was her reply to my tweet.

139

I left the NCSE after 17 years

where I worked tired of C as a CNO.

140

I loved my job and I worked

collaboratively with schools and parents.

141

I left because of shocking management.

142

I left because I could no longer stand

over decisions made by management.

143

I could write a book.

144

It was mashed with several

well-wishers who confirmed that

145

she did work tirelessly as a CNO.

146

It seems she was a good egg.

147

I tried to reach out to her, but

I never heard from her again.

148

However, as much as I suspected that

CNAs were being relegated in their duties

149

to merely pushing paper around and not

being allowed to make any decisions.

150

I never heard anyone

say anything out loud.

151

And that was the closest I got to it.

152

I can't tell you anything else about

any of the other 31 CNAs on the list.

153

Apart from one John Morin who

left the CNO position to become

154

a principal of a special school.

155

If someone leaves a CNO position

after 20 years to become a principal,

156

I'd wager it wasn't because the

opportunity never came up before then.

157

However, I don't know the

reason, so I can't make a point.

158

There are however, one or two others

on the list who stories I currently do

159

know, but I can't share them right now.

160

And maybe in the future,

I will be able to do so.

161

However privately they have backed up

what Ashlyn bacon said in her tweet reply.

162

One CNO pointed, meets the public accounts

of the NCSC to look up their legal costs.

163

So I've done that.

164

I also sent in a freedom of information

request regarding these legal

165

fees, that the NCSE have incurred.

166

But to be honest, I wouldn't

be getting very excited.

167

The figures are for sure interesting.

168

But I don't know if there's

anywhere to go with them.

169

I decided I'd look at the

170

And to be honest, I'm only going with

this thread because of the anonymous

171

tip-off and I'm not exactly sure what

legal fees could be incurred by the

172

NCSC except for employment issues.

173

Maybe WRC cases taken from parents.

174

Maybe getting legal advice.

175

Uh, around the new Brunswick model or

so, or maybe the Aon, but it is possible.

176

Uh, the NTSA to get legal

advice and pay for that.

177

On these other issues.

178

However, I will say their legal

fees are actually quite interesting.

179

The first thing I noticed.

180

Well, it's from 2003, all the

181

legal fees of 15 1 5 15 Euro.

182

In total, in those four years.

183

In 2007, they went up to 600 and

five-year-old which for anyone who's

184

getting legal advice is not much.

185

And then in 2008, it

did go up significantly.

186

Up to 12,138.

187

I don't know why that is.

188

If there's no detail of it.

189

From 2009 to 2011, they were back down

to an average of about a thousand Juro.

190

Um, a year, which seems about right.

191

2012 went up to 2000 before going

192

So.

193

Um, freely from 2003 to 2016.

194

Uh, an average of less than a thousand

195

2019, for whatever reason, legal fees

jumped to over 10,000 Euro a year.

196

And then all of a sudden in 2020.

197

Legal fees hit 102,000.

198

Gero.

199

And in 2021, they jumped to

200

And we haven't received

201

But with all the legal

challenges to the AOM process,

202

I look forward to seeing them.

203

So, I mean, you can see there

from nothing, almost nothing to

204

nearly 200 ties and zero a year.

205

Something is going on where

there's a lot of legal action being

206

taken, or a lot of legal advice,

certainly a lot of legal fees.

207

And in order to figure.

208

Out how much money was spent on

legal fees on staffing issues.

209

I made my guess, that this would have

been expenses that say for the work

210

relations commission or the WRC as it's

known and knowing how specific one has to

211

be with freedom of information requests.

212

I knew I had to ask specifically

for this, so maybe there's other

213

legal fees around staffing, but I

just don't know how to ask for them.

214

So I only was able to get three

years of data from the freedom

215

of information request, but the

figures were kind of interesting.

216

Nonetheless.

217

I'm just quoting the latter.

218

I received.

219

Outlined below is a spend on fees by

the NCSC directly related to WRC cases.

220

20 23, 40 6,162 Euro 34 cent.

221

Um, 20 22, 30 8,010 Euro, 40 cent

222

I also asked, uh, by parents

taking the NCSE to the WRC.

223

And since 2014, the total legal

costs were less than 15 times.

224

And so it doesn't seem to be parents

that are causing the huge legal fees.

225

I mean, again, it's very hard to know.

226

I also asked them about

resignations of CNOs.

227

He knows because I felt that

was important for correlation.

228

And again, I should have been more

specific because the figures I was

229

saying don't really match the 31

230

I know some people retired

and I know one that died.

231

However, just taking resignations into

232

more resignations in those two years.

233

Than in the first six years

234

And again, I don't know

what that tells us.

235

It's just interesting to see their

figures and we can draw whatever

236

conclusions we must from them.

237

I'm not sure what

conclusions I could draw.

238

The account of the NTSC from 2003 to

239

interesting to see the eye watering

amounts, which have come into the

240

budget over the years because wages

have remained relatively stable.

241

It's fascinating to see how

the total budget is spent.

242

Front-facing expenses remained

largely stable, but other expenses

243

have increased by nearly 8 million

Euro a year in the last decade.

244

And ultimately as

disappointing as this might be.

245

I just couldn't bridge any further

into the walls of the organization.

246

I've no stories from the inside.

247

Yes.

248

So, all I can do is tell you that

hopefully one day they will come.

249

All that's really left to do.

250

It's maybe come up with solutions.

251

It will be very easy for me to

share more stories about the NCSE.

252

My favorite one was B I

was there for heartache.

253

With the new Brunswick model back in 2019.

254

And I'm not sure what actually

halted, whether that was the COVID-19

255

pandemic or the fact that it turned

out, it was going to cost more than

256

the current system was costing.

257

However, I feel it's only fair that

I would tell you what I would do if I

258

were the minister for education after

all, that's the title of my podcast.

259

Despite how bad things have become.

260

And despite had the NCSC was

slowly but surely becoming an Ima

261

punishable, bureaucratic machine.

262

I still think it's not

too late to rescue it.

263

It's entirely a coincidence, but

in the last few weeks, the NCSC

264

has made some announcements.

265

And.

266

On the face.

267

To ease many of the problems that they

actually created in the last decade.

268

And I'm going to acknowledge them.

269

I can go to explore them.

270

But you're going to have to

wait another couple of weeks.

271

When I aim to rebuild the N C S E.

272

The on-call dot net podcast is written

and produced by me, Simon Lewis.

273

If you'd like to hear more of my thoughts

on primary education in Ireland, you

274

should subscribe to my mailing list

on Shaw dot Nash slash subscribe.

275

If you've enjoyed this podcast so far,

please consider reviewing it on your

276

favorite podcast player, as it will

help other people find it more easily.

277

Until next time.

278

Thanks so much for listening.

279

Bye-bye.