Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for her emotional presentation. I know she is acutely aware of the requirements that should be in place. She has the experience of a school that is doing the job really well. As she asked, why fix something that is not broken? Her experience of this school has obviously been a positive one.

The Government is committed to the provision of additional special school places for children with more complex educational needs. More than 300 new special school places have been and will be provided for in the coming 2025-2026 school year. Five new special schools are being established in addition to the 11 new special schools that opened over the past few years. Special school capacity has also been expanded across a number of existing special schools. It is important to note that it is not the intention to exclude children who require a special school place from accessing certain special school settings, but rather to allow children with complex additional educational needs apply for their local special schools. Currently, there are instances of children with complex needs not being able to apply for admission to their local special schools simply because they do not meet the narrow designation of those schools.

In this regard, and along with providing additional special school capacity, the Department and the NCSE consider that it is necessary to look at the profile of our existing special schools. This is not a new departure. The NCSE reports that more than half of mild general learning disability special schools have diversified to allow children with more complex needs in their communities who require a special school setting to enrol in their local special schools. Many schools have worked with us to broaden their designations and this Department will continue to support schools in this endeavour so that more special schools can better support children with complex needs in their local communities.

It is noted that many of the children enrolled in MGLD special schools do so around the transition point from primary to post-primary school.

Historically, these children and young people may not have had a local post-primary special class available to them. Through the accelerated provision of new special classes in recent years some of these children and young people should now have the option of attending a local post-primary school with a special class. The new senior cycle level 1 and level 2 programmes offers a new curriculum pathway for students with additional and special educational needs at post-primary level also.

The Department has asked post-primary schools to prepare and plan to provide at least four special classes each. The Deputy alluded to that in her opening statement - the decreased number of classes in secondary schools. I take on board everything the Deputy said today. I will relay her concern for this school and that it should not be, in any way, interfered with because the model works.

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