Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. May I also take the opportunity to congratulate her on her election to the Seanad?

Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government and for me, as the first dedicated Minister with responsibility for this area. Next year, over 20% of the total education budget or €2 billion will be invested in supporting children with special educational needs. As a result, the numbers of special education teachers, special needs assistants, SNAs, and special class and school places are at unprecedented levels. As many as 197 new special classes have been established nationally for the 2020-21 school year. Of these, approximately 189 will be new ASD special classes with 64 of these in post-primary schools. Budget 2021 provided for an additional 235 special class teachers in 2021. We hope this investment will provide 1,200 additional special class places.

My Department's policy is that all children with special educational needs, including those with autism, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs and preferably in school settings through the primary and post-primary school network. This policy has been informed by published research, including the Report of the Task Force on Autism, entitled An Evaluation of Educational Provision for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders 2006, and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, policy advice outlined in Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Schools. This policy ensures that the majority of children with SEN attend mainstream classes with their peers. Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes that may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions. These are delivered by fully qualified teachers, with the support of SNAs, special education teachers and the appropriate school curriculum.

Some students may find it difficult to manage full-time placement in a mainstream setting. For these students, placement in a special class or special school setting, where lower pupil-teacher ratios apply and other supports are available, may be appropriate.

The National Council for Special Education is responsible for planning and co-ordinating local education provision and school placements for children with SEN. The NCSE has advised that there are currently nine special classes that support students with autism in post-primary schools in County Clare. One of these classes is an additional one for the 2020-21 school year.

The NCSE recognises that there is a requirement for additional special class provision at post-primary level, as mentioned by the Senator, in Shannon and Ennis over the next few years. This is based on local information regarding projected demand for future specialist places for students with autism. It is open to any school to make an application to the NCSE to open a special class, which will be approved where it is considered that there is a sustainable demand into the future. The active collaboration of school communities is vital to the effective inclusion of students with special educational needs. Planning for the future takes into consideration the current availability of such places and focuses on those locations where additional provision is required.

The NCSE is currently consulting with local schools, patrons, other education partners and my Department in order to ensure that additional post-primary special classes can be established, which is what was alluded to by the Senator. Where a school is not in a position to expand its specialist provision within its existing accommodation, the school can submit an application to my Department for capital funding to reconfigure existing spaces to accommodate the expansion or construct additional accommodation. The NCSE, through its network of local special educational needs organiser, SENOs, will continue to engage with the local schools to support the establishment of additional classes as required.

I thank Senator Garvey for giving me the opportunity to address this issue. My Department will continue to support the NCSE and schools through the provision of the necessary funding, and capital investment, to ensure all children are successful in accessing an education.