By Irishexaminer.com,Jess Casey, Education Correspondent

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The school is for students aged from four and 18 with a dual diagnosis of autism and an intellectual disability.

Opened by Cork Education and Training Board (Cork ETB) in 2021, CCSS issued 17 official suspensions out of a maximum student body of just 48 in three years.

Niamh O’Grady, whose child attends the school, said:

Most of these children would not understand the concept of suspension. All it does is cause stress and upset to parents.

Its sister school, Rochestown Community Special School, has a similarly high suspension rate. It issued 14 official suspensions between April 2023 and June.

Rochestown is also run by Cork ETB, which is the only school patron to open new special schools in Cork over the last five years.

This September, it also opened North Cork Community Special School. East Cork Community Special School, opened in 2024, is also under its patronage.

Last year, a group of parents at CCSS wrote to the Inspectorate and the Department of Education asking for urgent action to be taken and for the high suspension rate to be examined. Suspensions at CCSS stopped in 2024 after concerns were raised. However, parents are concerned they could resume.

Children’s anxiety among parents’ concerns

The group also raised concerns about high levels of anxiety experienced by students, as well as wider issues around the school’s policies, culture, class closures, and high staff turnover. Parents who spoke to the Irish Examiner say they would move their child from the school if they had the option.

Parents have also raised concerns about a culture of ‘de facto’ suspensions at the school where parents are being called on a regular basis to collect their child due to “distress”.

Ms O’Grady said the school had handed out suspensions “like confetti”.

Lack of full-time in-school therapies

A major issue flagged by parents is the lack of full-time in-school therapies, including behavioural therapies, occupational therapy, or speech and language.

This is resulting in high levels of dysregulation, which parents say is manifesting in their children’s behaviour. Despite this, the school does not have a full-time behavioural therapist on site.

Another parent who spoke to the Irish Examiner said: “We were the flagship school, and the flagship school is in crisis and has been for some time. You have children being penalised for behaviours intrinsic to their disabilities. It’s unprecedented. It’s as if [they believe] they need to unplug our children and reset them.”

Shine Centre family support manager Kieran Kennedy described the suspension rate at CCSS as “exceptionally high”.

“It’s completely out of the norm. It’s miles bigger than anywhere else.

It’s just completely ridiculous. There are a lot of children in that school who are suffering.

Cork ETB said it is aware of the matters raised and “has engaged intensively with parents around their concerns”.

It said: “The care and welfare of our students and their educational progress is always the number one priority for Cork ETB and for our special schools.”

A spokesman for the Department of Education said it has actively engaged with parents and the school to address concerns raised.

Minister of state for special education Michael Moynihan, along with department officials, has met with parent groups and the school in question to support resolution efforts, he added.

In-depth analysis of the issue at the school in Carrigaline is published in the Irish Examiner in print and online on Monday, September 22.