Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, for coming in to address the important issue of the reduction in special education teaching, SET, hours at Kilbride National School, Trim, County Meath and many schools across my constituency of Meath West.

In response to parliamentary questions I submitted, the Department of Education stated 67% of schools saw their allocation increase or remain the same while 33% experienced a reduction in hours and that, of the schools that experienced a reduction in hours, 90% was as a result of falling enrolment. In September 2021, enrolment at Kilbride National School was 158 pupils and it received an allocation of 52.5 hours for the academic years of 2022-23 and 2023-24. In September this year, the projected increased enrolment is 192 pupils, with allocated hours reduced to 47.5. That is with a projected increase of 34 pupils. Does that not make nonsense of the Department's answer that 90% of schools where hours were cut was because of falling enrolment?

It is concerning a school with no change in the number of students with additional needs and a growing enrolment has been subjected to a cut in hours. Kilbride National School has reviewed the pillars used to assess the allocation granted and the main rationale for the change appears to be high standardised assessment results achieved by the school. These were achieved by hard work. I commend the principal, Deirdre Murphy, and all her staff. She is passionate about the school and every one of the pupils, leaving nobody behind. The school has achieved high standards by the effective and correct use of SET resources, ensuring all students with additional needs received the minimum required support to enable them to access the curriculum within the mainstream classroom. They would not have been able to achieve this with reduced support, especially considering growing numbers. It would be unfair for the school and children to be penalised because of this success. If the cut to special education teacher hours is not reversed, the school will find it very challenging to distribute the 47.5 hours fairly and adequately and to ensure each child access to the curriculum. The school is concerned about the income it will have on all children in the mainstream class setting as it is evident the cut to hours will put extraordinary pressure on teachers to support all the children. Inevitably, the children will suffer.

The principal has submitted an appeal to the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, that the allocated be reversed and increased. It is not fair that 33% of schools across the country have SET hours cut on pupils who need it most. I call on the Minister of State as the Minister responsible to reverse the cuts. Will she commit to that tonight?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and giving me the opportunity to set out the importance of the special education teacher allocation in supporting children with special educational needs, SEN, in mainstream schools. My colleague, Deputy English, has spoken to me about the incredible work being done in Kilbride National School in Kilbride. He has consistently worked to ensure appropriate supports are provided to children and those who need them.

It is important to say there will more special education teachers in our schools in September 2024 than ever before, with an increase of 1,000 on the 2020-21 school year. This is in addition to a significant reduction in class sizes at primary level over three budgets to where our pupil-teacher ratio is now 23:1. This means that children with SEN in our mainstream schools are better supported than ever to meet their needs.

I would like to clarify that the SET model is an allocation model to provide schools with additional teaching hours to support the teaching 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 and the allocation to schools is to support all of the children who require some level of additional teaching support. There has been a limited change to the method used to allocate SET to mainstream classes. The allocation model for 2024-25 distributes the total available number of SET posts in line with each school’s profile of need. The model makes an allocation on the basis of a number of inputs, including enrolment numbers. It also uses school-level data from standardised tests to reflect relative levels of overall need. It seeks to distribute teaching resources in the fairest possible manner, taking into account quality, robust evidence in respect of individual schools. This ensures that resources are in the right place at the right time to meet the needs of children in mainstream.

In addition, the model will be run annually in line with general teacher allocations. This allows schools to better plan their staffing structures and gives them time to arrange clusters in areas where schools share an SET teacher. The Department acknowledges that every school is different and that schools can experience unique circumstances that may be difficult to reflect in any standardised method. This is always a challenge when making allocations in respect of the 4,000 schools. It is for this reason that the Department, working with the NCSE, has streamlined the review process for SET hours and schools who have any concerns can engage with the NCSE on their allocation. Reviews are being conducted by the NCSE between March and May to better enable schools to plan for the following September. Additional resources will be provided to schools in cases where the council has identified that they are required.

I am aware that representatives from Kilbride National School were in Leinster House last week. Unfortunately, I was not in a position to attend that meeting. However, the NCSE has confirmed to my Department that the school has submitted a review application. The council has communicated with the school and is awaiting documentation from the school to progress the review.

On receipt of the documentation, the review will be prioritised as a matter of urgency. In all cases where the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, review identifies the requirement for additional special education teacher, SET, resources to support students these resources will be made available to the school for the 2024-2025 school year. It is important to note that SET hours are only one component of support for children in mainstream education, but the most important support is the mainstream class teacher. The pupil-teacher ratio at primary level is now 23:1, which means there are more mainstream teachers than ever before in our educational system. There will be 14,600 special education teachers supporting mainstream classes, which is an increase of 1,000 since the end of the 2021 school year.

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State. In some cases the ratio is 30:1. I believe that is the ratio in Kilbride National School. Although the Minister of State has said she will look at it in the appeal, I was hoping she would give a commitment tonight to reverse the decision on SET hours in Kilbride. One third of schools have had their SET resources cut. However, prior to these cuts the vast majority of parents did not believe their children were being adequately supported in mainstream schools. This is according to research by Inclusion Ireland. Imposing these cuts or any cuts, whatever the criteria being used, whether it is enrolment figures or otherwise, is only going to hurt those children who most need the SET hours. This is the decision schools are being forced to make, namely, to use their insufficient resources to cater for the majority of the children thus giving less to the children who need it most.

If these cuts go ahead the children who need help are just being given a seat at the table in the mainstream class but not the time and attention they need for meaningful participation. This is what the SET hours allow for, namely, meaningful participation and an opportunity for the kids who need it most to learn on an equal basis. To cut the SET allocation for one third of schools in the State and to suggest these children are still being treated equitably and are getting the help they need is simply wrong. There is an old adage that the mark of civility in a country can be judged by how it treats the most vulnerable members. I do not believe we are covering ourselves in glory when we take away teaching hours from our children who are most in need of that little bit of extra help. Again, I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to reverse those decisions.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy again for raising this issue and for giving me the opportunity to discuss special education teaching allocations and the review process, in which the Kilbride National School in County Meath is currently engaging. The NCSE is reviewing that currently and engaging with the school. It is important to say that.

Approximately 97% of all children, including those with special education needs, are educated in mainstream classes. In addition to the increase in SET support that we discussed today, we are also supporting children and families who need specialist placements, including in special classes and special schools. In recent years we have seen significant growth in special classes from 548 in 2011 to 2,921 in 2024, with 390 opened in the past year alone.

I reiterate that there has been an increase in the number of full-time SET posts across the country. This is increasing the overall availability of resources. As I have said, there will be 14,600 special education teachers supporting mainstream classes in the 2024-2025 school year, which is an increase by 1,000 since the 2021 school year. This is the highest number of SET teachers ever in our schools.

I acknowledge that every school is different and schools can experience unique circumstances that may be difficult to reflect in any standardised method. There is always a challenge when we are looking to make allocations for those 4,000 schools. It is for this reason we have also streamlined that review process, with which the Kilbride school is involved, for special education teachers. Schools that feel they received an inappropriate allocation can seek that review.

As previously outlined, the Kilbride National School is currently involved in that process and that new streamlined review process has so far resulted in 32 reviews being completed and an additional 427.5 hours being allocated to these schools.