Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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554. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of ASD special classes in primary and secondary schools by county for the period 1 Jan 2016 to 30 June 2020, inclusive, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19153/20]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The list of special classes for the years referred to by the Deputy, including special classes for children with autism, is available on the NCSE website at https://ncse.ie/. 

Ensuring that every child has a suitable school placement is a key objective of my Department.  Significant resources are allocated each year to ensure that appropriate supports are available for children with special educational needs.

Since 2011, the number of special classes in mainstream schools has increased almost threefold, from 548 to 1,618 for the 2019/2020 school year; with 1,353 of these catering for children with autism.

Budget 2020 provided for an additional 265 special class teachers in 2020, which will allow for the opening of additional classes where required.

The National Council for Special Education has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide; has well established structures in place for engaging with schools and parents; and seeks to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all children who have been identified as needing special class placements. 

The NCSE is planning a further expansion of special class and school places national to meet identified need for next year. 

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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555. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on providing ASD special class-specific inspectors tasked solely with the inspection of said classes. [19154/20]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Given the very significant State investment in special education and in the increased provision of Autism (ASD) special classes, it is important to ensure that practice in those classes is quality assured.  ASD classes are inspected at both primary and post-primary levels as part of the Special Educational Needs (SEN) evaluation model. 

Findings from SEN evaluations are used in the compilation of composite reports; including a recently-published report on the quality of provision for children in ASD classes attached to mainstream primary and post-primary schools.  SEN evaluations are carried out by a team of inspectors with specific expertise and experience in SEN and all team members have been fully trained on the operation of the SEN evaluation model.