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‘The system is under real pressure': why do so many Leaving Cert pupils need special supports?
‘The system is under real pressure': why do so many Leaving Cert pupils need special supports?

Irish Times

time19 hours ago

  • Health
  • Irish Times

‘The system is under real pressure': why do so many Leaving Cert pupils need special supports?

Last Friday afternoon school principal Craig Petrie finally got the call he had been waiting for. Two students who injured their hands in recent weeks were finally approved by the State Examinations Commission for access to a scribe to write down their answers during the Leaving Cert exams which begin on Wednesday. 'It's a huge relief,' he says. 'If it had been any later, we might not have found out until the day of the exams.' Last week, the school also received late confirmation that two students who had been diagnosed with ADHD in recent months would have access to a small classroom instead of a large exam hall. READ MORE 'If they had been turned down for any reason, it would have been too late to appeal the decision in time. Appeals can take two or three weeks,' Petrie says. East Glendalough School in Co Wickow, where Petrie is principal, is a relatively small secondary school of 360 pupils. The process of preparing for the exams, however, is increasingly complex. [ Classroom to College: our essential newsletter on navigating the Leaving Cert for parents, guardians and students Opens in new window ] It has four main exam halls for the 120 students sitting Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert exams this year, as well as 12 smaller so-called special examination centres. They are provided under the 'reasonable accommodation' scheme, which allows for a range of adaptations for students with additional needs (such as anxiety, learning difficulties or physical disabilities) who would struggle to sit exams under normal conditions. It means students may be sitting the same exam but they won't be in the same room. Some will be in the traditional sports hall with large numbers of students, while others may be in a classroom, one-to-one with an invigilator or with a small number of other students. Some will be using a traditional pen and paper, while others will have laptops, 'reading pens' or access to scribes. The aim of the scheme is to remove barriers and provide a level playing field. The problem is the number of pupils who have these arrangements has increased so significantly that schools are struggling to find enough classrooms or qualified staff. In many cases, schools say they end up waiting until just days before the exams to find out if students have been approved for special supports. [ 'Early mornings worked best. I was at my desk at 4.30am': How I got 9H1s in the Leaving Cert Opens in new window ] When it started in 2003, about 5 per cent of candidates were provided with reasonable accommodations. Ten years later it had climbed to 13 per cent. Last year, the total number reached to a record 24 per cent, or 31,800 State examination candidates. If current trends continue, numbers for this year are expected to climb higher still. The vast majority of candidates availing of the reasonable accommodation scheme have learning difficulties, while vision- and hearing-impaired candidates make up a small proportion of the overall numbers (1-2 per cent). The most common type of special measures students receive include spelling or grammar waivers, reading assistance, use of a word processor or exemption from a subject or component. The sharp rise appears to reflect the growing prevalence of conditions such as autism and other learning difficulties. Most education experts put this down to an increased awareness of symptoms, better diagnosis and a significant widening of assessment boundaries for disorders. More controversially, experts also say the fact that a diagnosis can unlock supports means that clinicians are more likely to diagnose a child, even if they on the borderline of clinical criteria. [ Leaving Cert 2.0: What to expect from the reformed senior cycle Opens in new window ] The volume of students availing of smaller special centres has also climbed dramatically. In 2018, for example, a little more than 18,600 students sat their State exams in special centres. Last year, it climbed to 31,800 candidates, a 70 per cent increase. With such sharp growth in numbers, can the system continue to cope into the future? 'I think the system is under real pressure, but I do think it's fit for purpose,' Petrie says. 'The SEC [State Examinations Commission] delivers an extraordinary service when you think of the numbers. They will always answer the phone and respond, under huge pressure.' Another principal, who declined to be named, said we are at risk of reaching a point where a minority of students will be in traditional exam halls: 'We're just about responding to the needs. Too many students are finding out if they are approved late in the day. If the trends continue, it will pose serious logistical problems. A spokesman for the SEC said it operates a number of Race (Scheme of Reasonable Accommodations at Certificate Examinations) application processes with various closing dates, including a 'late application' process with a deadline of April 2025, and a separate 'emergency application' for candidates with broken bones, hospitalisations or other issues. Given the circumstances in which emergencies arise, the spokesman said the application and decision-making process for reasonable accommodation is 'time constrained'. SEC staff, he said, were working throughout the bank holiday weekend finalising applications, issuing decisions and putting arrangements in place with school authorities. 'All emergency applications are handled as a priority and all decisions will be issued in time for the start of examinations,' he said. [ The rise of extreme Leaving Cert study regimes online: 5am alarms and marathon cramming sessions Opens in new window ] In the background, meanwhile, there is a wider debate over the level of diagnosis for a range of conditions and related supports. Petrie feels we need to tread carefully before changing eligibility rules. 'I do worry that maybe we are over-diagnosing. The system does bestow benefits in terms of reasonable accommodation, access to the Dare scheme [lower CAO points requirement] and supports in college ... but this system is also here to help students. I'd be very wary of changing rules that would not make students entitled to supports aimed at levelling the playing field.'

10 Cheapest National Parks To Fly To This Summer
10 Cheapest National Parks To Fly To This Summer

Forbes

time4 days ago

  • Business
  • Forbes

10 Cheapest National Parks To Fly To This Summer

Grand Canyon National Park is one of the cheapest parks to fly to this summer. Few vacations are more iconic—and more affordable—for American families than a trip to a National Park. But even these historically low-cost getaways are getting pricier. According to Dollar Flight Club, the cost of accommodations near parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite has climbed by as much as 30%, and demand for rental cars can cause prices to skyrocket on peak weekends. Visiting the National Parks can get expensive faster than you might expect. To help families stretch their travel budgets, researchers at Dollar Flight Club crunched the numbers on more than 300,000 airfare records from U.S. departure cities to airports within a reasonable drive of a National Park to see which routes have the most affordable flights this summer. The data was collected from a mix of airline partners, online travel agencies, and the brand's internal tools. They found that overall, travelers can save more than $500 by flying into the most affordable gateway airports near National Parks. Choosing to visit one park over another could lead to even bigger savings, making it worth comparing flight prices before locking in your plans. Here are the 10 cheapest National Parks to fly to this summer, according to Dollar Flight Club. Low-cost flights to Las Vegas make it easier to see Zion National Park on a budget. Two of the most popular National Parks—Zion and Grand Canyon—also happen to be the most affordable to fly to, according to the Dollar Flight Club report. Round-trip economy flights can range from $29 to $163 per person when you fly to Las Vegas, putting you just a few hours' drive away from either of these popular parks. Want to visit the Grand Canyon? Try flying into Phoenix to get a deal on airfare. You've got options if you're looking for a cheap trip to the Grand Canyon. If you can't score a deal on flights to Las Vegas, try using Phoenix as an alternative gateway to the park. Round-trip flights to Phoenix range from $32 to $177 this summer, based on the Dollar Flight Club analysis. When you land, you'll be just about 3.5 hours away from the Grand Canyon's South Rim and under two hours from Saguaro National Park. Arches is one of the cheapest National Parks to visit this summer. Arches and Canyonlands took third on the list of the cheapest National Parks to fly to in this ranking. Round-trip flights to Salt Lake City, roughly four hours away from these two magnificent parks, run between $84 and $250 on average this summer. Bonus: These parks are typically way less crowded than Zion. Pinnacles National Park is just three hours south of San Francisco, where you can get a deal on airfare. You've got your choice when it comes to National Parks you can visit on a reasonable drive from San Francisco. Head four hours east to hit Yosemite or drive three hours south to visit Pinnacles. With round-trip airfare averaging between $129 and $397 this summer, SFO is one of the most affordable places to jumpstart a National Park adventure. You can see Rocky Mountain National Park on a budget thanks to relatively low-cost flights into Denver. Round-trip economy airfare from major U.S. departure cities to Denver is clocking in at $132 to $299 this summer, making Rocky Mountain National Park the fifth cheapest park to visit. And you won't be in the car for hours on end after you land—the park is just 90 minutes away from Denver, so you can make the most of your limited time off. Round-trip flights to Seattle are relatively affordable this summer, making it less expensive to visit Mount Rainier National Park. Mount Rainier National Park dazzles travelers with wildflower meadows and glacier views in the summer. Those views don't have to come at the cost of your entire travel budget, though. Round-trip flights to the gateway city of Seattle (just a two-hour drive from the park) range from $137 to $400 this summer. Yosemite National Park took both the 4th and 7th spots on the list of the cheapest National Parks to fly to this summer. If you're dreaming of a trip to Yosemite—but dreading the drive from San Francisco—try flying into Fresno. It's just 90 minutes from the park and flights are only slightly more expensive, ranging from $177 to $393 round-trip this summer. Skip the regional airports and fly into Spokane if you want to get cheap airfare for a trip to Glacier National Park this summer. Flying into Spokane gives you affordable access to Glacier National Park's west entrance—without the premium price tag of closer regional airports. Round-trip fares this summer range from $188 to $399, according to Dollar Flight Club. From there, it's about a 4.5-hour drive to the park entrance. Yellowstone's stunning waterfalls can be less expensive to reach by flying into Bozeman. Want to see Yellowstone's geysers and wildlife on a budget? Try flying into Bozeman. It's about 90 minutes away from the park's north entrance and offers round-trip flights from $202 to $499 this summer—a steal compared to flying into Jackson Hole. While Jackson Hole is one of the more expensive airports on this list, it's just 15 minutes away from Grand Teton National Park. Round-trip flights to Jackson Hole range from $400 to $600 this summer—the highest airfare on this list, but still a solid value for a National Park getaway. That's because Jackson Hole puts you closer to incredible parks than most gateway airports: it's just 15 minutes from Grand Teton and about an hour from Yellowstone. So while airfare may cost a bit more, you could end up saving on rental car fees and gas thanks to the shorter drive.

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