Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for tabling this motion, which the Government is not opposing, because it gives me the opportunity to discuss the measures Government is taking to improve and enhance education provision for children with special education needs. Since being appointed as Minister of State with special responsibility for special education and inclusion just over two months ago, I have met with children, their parents and teachers in schools across the country. I have heard their stories and listened to their concerns and I understand the frustration, and, sometimes the anger, that many feel. I am determined to continue to increase resources and to help alleviate the pressures faced by families when seeking a special educational placement or access to supports for their children.

It is important to remember where we have come from in this regard. Since Fine Gael entered Government, we have delivered an 81% increase in special needs assistants; a 40% increase in special education teachers; and a 386% increase in the number of special classes, with 1,300 new special classes sanctioned and seven new special schools established over the last four years alone. We have record numbers benefitting from the summer programme, and I wish to see this increase, and a third of the overall education budget is being targeted at special education.

I know we have more work to do. Among the measures I am working on to deliver in the coming weeks is a 50% increase in the numbers of SENOs. I want to see these SENOs working on the ground with children and their parents. We have confirmation of more than 360 new special classes for the coming school year and the establishment of four new special schools. The placing of 39 therapists on a permanent basis to work with teachers across the school community has been a priority for me and I am happy to confirm that these 39 therapists have now been sanctioned for the NCSE. This will greatly help in relation to ensuring that children across the country will have access to those therapies.

To the parents, children, teachers and SNAs who might be watching the debate, I want them to know that I am listening. Providing an appropriate education and school placement for every child is an absolute priority for me, the Government, the Department and the NCSE. That is why the Taoiseach decided that the position of Minister with special responsibility for special education and inclusion should be held by a Minister of State who sits at Cabinet. That is also why the Taoiseach has established a dedicated Cabinet sub-committee on children and education and disability that will oversee the implementation of the programme for Government commitments in this area. To be clear: special education is a priority area for investment for this Government.

The motion before the House comprises a mix of issues, including the challenges associated with finding school places, the summer programme and special educational teaching allocations. In relation to school placements, over the past number of years a number of initiatives to ensure there are sufficient special classes and special school places have been introduced. These initiatives are bearing fruit. There are now more than 3,000 special classes in our education system providing places for over 20,000 students. Some 1,300 special classes have been established in the past four years alone. It is worth noting that for the current school year, all children known to the NCSE who required a special class place have received one. This Government has established seven new special schools in the last four years and four more are being established this year in counties Meath, Kildare, Wexford and Limerick. More places have been provided, and more will be provided, in existing special schools, which are providing more places to children who need this intensive educational support.

For the coming school year, more than 360 new special classes have been sanctioned nationwide, providing over 2,000 special education places in mainstream schools. Places continue to be finalised and I am confident that any child known to the NCSE who needs a special class place for the coming school year will receive one. I understand that some parents are frustrated and do not believe that adequate help is being provided to help them secure an appropriate education for their child. That is why this Government has provided significant additional resources to the NCSE to help it deliver a better service for children and their families. SENOs are a vital point of contact for parents and guardians and play a key role in securing school places for children.

From September, the NCSE will have 120 special educational needs organisers working in communities. There were 73 in place at the beginning of last April. Additional administrative staff are also being employed, allowing SENOs to get out and start working with schools and families so children with special educational needs are supported. There will also be more support staff, team managers, and other professionals. Recruitment is ongoing across a range of grades and there are now 88 SENOs and 16 team managers in place, more than ever before in the NCSE. These numbers will continue to increase in the coming weeks so as to ensure the system is fully resourced by the start of the new school year.

A key priority for me is ensuring that a comprehensive summer programme is available for children who need additional support during the summer months. There has been a very positive upward trend in participation in the summer programmes in recent years. I want to demonstrate this by outlining the following numbers: In 2019, 303 schools took part in the summer programme and 13,000 children participated. In 2021, when we started running an expanded scheme, we had just over 1,100 schools and 38,000 children. Last summer, we had more than 1,400 schools and 50,000 children taking part. For 2024, we have had more than 1,700 expressions of interest from schools, and we expect a further increase in the number of children taking part in the summer programme.

The number of special schools taking part increased from 31 in 2019, to 39 in 2022, to 59 in 2023. In 2024, we will see 72 special schools involved. Every school has a chance to run a programme over the summer months. We continue to look at all ways to increase the number of schools that take part, including through the budgetary process. A key barrier to participation previously has been the availability of staff. In 2023, teachers and SNAs working on the school-based scheme were given a higher personal rate of pay, which resulted in more schools taking part. While the capitation rate in mainstream schools was raised to €45 in 2023, the €30 rate per week for 2024 is in line with the rate for the inclusion programme in previous years and reflects the costs associated with running a programme. The capitation rate for special schools remains at €60 to reflect the unique circumstances of running a programme in those settings.

Our goal is to maximise the number of schools and children taking part. It should be noted that this change in capitation has not affected the number of schools taking part, which, as I said, continues to rise. The motion also refers to the special education teaching allocation model. More than 19,000 special education teachers - 1,000 more than just three years ago in 2021 - are employed across the system, of which more than 14,500 will be supporting children in mainstream classes in September.

In addition, there are more than 21,000 SNAs working with children in our schools. The special education teaching model provides schools with additional teaching hours to support the needs of their students. When the 2017 model was introduced, it replaced a diagnosis-led model with one based on need. This has not changed for 2024.

There has been a limited change to the method used to allocate special education teachers to mainstream classes. The Department of Education commenced a review of the model in late 2022, which involved extensive consultation and visits to schools by the NCSE. The feedback has been incorporated into the revised model for the 2024-25 school year. The allocation model for 2024-25 distributes the total available number of special education teaching posts in line with each school's profile of need. The model makes an allocation based on a number of inputs, including enrolment numbers and school-level data from standardised tests, which reflect levels of overall need and complex need within a school. It seeks to distribute teaching resources in the fairest possible manner, taking into account robust evidence in respect of individual schools. While the model allocates resources based on a school's profile of need, it does not dictate what child receives support. The deployment of resources is the responsibility of the board of management and the school, and the requirement in this area remains unchanged since 2017.

Primacy within the continuum of support is that the child with the greatest level of need is provided with the greatest level of support. It is acknowledged that every school is different, and that schools can experience unique circumstances, which can present challenges when making allocations in respect of 4,000 schools. It is for this reason that the Department, working with the NCSE, has streamlined the review process for special education teaching hours to ensure schools that have additional identified need receive the required resources.

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