Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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57. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to tackle the chronic shortage of post primary ASD special classes nationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24672/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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This Government is committed to ensuring that all children with Special Educational Needs, including those with autism, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network.

Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions, delivered by fully qualified professional teachers, with the support of Special Needs Assistants and the appropriate school curriculum.

This policy has been informed by published research, including the Report of the Task Force on Autism (2001), the Evaluation of Educational Provision for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (2006) and the NCSE’s policy advice on Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (2016).

Almost 18,000 students in schools have been diagnosed with autism. The Department of Education and Skills invests over €300m annually in providing additional resources specifically to support students with autism in schools enabling:

- 63% of students to attend mainstream schools

- 26% to attend special classes in mainstream primary and post-primary schools, and

- 11% to attend special schools.

My Department considers it essential that in assessing the need for special class placements the individual needs of children should be properly assessed to determine the appropriateness of special class provision for them.

Some students, although academically able to access the curriculum in mainstream, may find it too difficult to manage full-time placement there. This can be due to significant difficulties in areas such as behaviour or sensory needs which have not been ameliorated, even with appropriate intervention, in mainstream.

Enrolment in an ASD special class should only be considered where it has been demonstrated that a student requires the support of a special class because he/she is unable to learn effectively in a mainstream class for most or all of the school day even with appropriate supports.

Students enrolling in ASD Special Classes must have a report from a relevant professional or team of professionals (for example, psychologist, speech and language therapist, psychiatrist) stating that:

- S/he has ASD

- S/he has significant learning needs that require the support of a special class setting and the reasons why this is the case.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), in consultation with the relevant education partners, is responsible for the establishment of special classes in various geographical areas where there is an identified need.

Since 2011 the NCSE has increased the number of such classes by over 100% from 548 in 2011 to 1153 at present. The NCSE has informed my Department that it intends to establish an additional 181 Special Classes for the 2017/18 school year which will bring the total number of Special Classes available across the country to 1334.

This will include 143 ASD early intervention classes, 626 primary ASD classes and 281 post-primary ASD classes. 

The number of Post Primary ASD special classes available for the 2017/18 school year will be more than double that available in 2013/14, increasing from 124 in 2013/14 to 281 in 2017/18. This is a natural consequence of the earlier growth in primary ASD special class numbers.

However, it should not be assumed that the same levels of growth in post primary class numbers should apply. This is because, for children with Autism, transferring from a special class in a primary school to a special class in a post primary school may not always be the optimal choice. Many children can progress to mainstream post primary with support of SNA and Resource Teaching hours, while more may transfer from primary to a special school depending on their presentation and needs.

It should also be noted that there is a proportionally larger enrolment at Primary level due to the higher number of standard years.

The NCSE continues to establish additional special classes to support children with Special Educational Needs including Autism as required.

Parents/guardians who may need advice or are experiencing difficulties in locating a school placement should contact their local Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) who can assist in identifying an appropriate educational placement for their child. Contact details are available on www.ncse.ie.

Where there is no educational placement available, my Department will consider applications under the Home Tuition Grant Scheme, where a student can receive 20 hours home tuition per week as an interim measure until a placement becomes available.