Very positive changes to DARE scheme for CAO applicants
CHANGES to the Disability Access Route to Education (DARE), which will start coming into effect for CAO applicants from this year, are very significant.
Students eligible for DARE may have one of a number of physical disabilities, conditions such as autism and ADHD, mental health issues, or specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia and dyscalculia.
The DARE scheme offers eligible applicants an opportunity to compete for a limited number of college places on lower points. DARE also guarantees access to in-college, supports such as mentoring, to all eligible applicants.
It should be said that many students who apply for, and are deemed eligible for DARE go on to gain access to college at or above the standard points and do not have to rely on the DARE points waiver.
While many students with disabilities progress to higher education, there remains a significant cohort who have been educationally disadvantaged relative to their peers and do not.
In general, the participation of students with disabilities in higher education in Ireland has been exceptionally low. Since DARE started in 2002, increasing numbers of CAO applicants have availed of it, and its growing success has been due, in no small part, to the commitment and support of professional guidance counsellors, who work to ensure that students with disabilities reach their full educational potential.
However, not everyone in the DARE target audience has been benefiting from the scheme.
In 2012, an evaluation of DARE was commissioned in order to determine whether it was meeting the needs of students and it found that it was not.
The report also highlighted a double disadvantage experienced by students who cannot afford the high cost of obtaining a professional report that is no more than three years old, in order to support their application. This is particularly the case for students with specific learning difficulties, who then find themselves effectively locked out of the scheme.
DARE has relied heavily on medical or diagnostic criteria for determining eligibility, but does not systematically capture students whose educational experiences and attainment have suffered as a result of their disability.
In consultation with the universities and colleges participating in DARE, the scheme has been redefined, replacing the exclusive use of medical or diagnostic criteria in the application process, with a more holistic approach that recognises the impact a physical disability has on educational achievement levels.
This change in focus will be of great benefit to students who suffer disadvantage where a physical disability or psychological issue forces them to miss large amounts of school (medical appointments, hospital stays), hampers their ability to engage with the curriculum (side effects of medication, epilepsy, ongoing illness) or reduces their ability to participate fully in the classroom or interact with peers as in the case of social anxiety. It is these students, whose academic potential is not reflected in examinations results, as well as students with physical and sensory disabilities that DARE needs to capture.
Another of the important changes — due to take effect in 2017 — will mean that students with a specific learning difficulties will be able to use a professional report confirming their condition, which they received at any time in their life (many students get these at primary level, but, under existing DARE rules, they are not acceptable).
Some changes in the scheme are relevant for applications for entry to college in 2016, and others for 2017. Guidance counsellors can explain the new criteria to pupils while all the information is also available on accesscollege.ie.