Written answers

Wednesday, 27 January 2021

Department of Education and Skills

Special Educational Needs

Photo of Neale RichmondNeale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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476. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the additional supports that will be provided to children in special schools to ensure they are supported through school closures, given that the plan for reopening on 21 January 2021 has been halted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4300/21]

Photo of Josepha MadiganJosepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I am very disappointed that it was not possible to have in school teaching and learning for children with significant additional needs which was planned to commence this week until schools reopened fully. We know that many of these children find online learning very challenging. Over the past year, we have all seen how vital in-person education is for children with complex needs.

Recent weeks have seen intense and regular engagement with partners and family representative groups to seek a solution to our shared objective to support children with complex needs return to in-school learning, could be reached.

My Department sought to agree an approach balancing the need to support our most vulnerable children while addressing the issues raised by trade unions and school management bodies.

These included requests for clear messaging around public health to be given directly to their members by Public Health specialists, temporary arrangements during the current phase of reopening for high risk staff and for those experiencing childcare difficulties.

We continue to work with the primary teacher and SNA trade unions, INTO and FORSA and school management to see if there is a way to return to in school teaching and learning for these pupils as soon as possible.

I will continue to pursue every avenue to ensure that children with complex needs can return to in-person learning as immediately as possible and I will continue to engage with stakeholders on the issue.

In the interim I am confident that schools will continue to make significant efforts to provide effective remote learning experiences for these children.

Updated Guidance on Continuity of Schooling: Supporting Pupils with Special Educational Needs (for mainstream primary and special schools and for post-primary schools) has been made available by my Department. This guidance is available at:

This revised guidance advises on how schools and teachers can support continuity in the learning of pupils with special educational needs during the school closures associated with COVID-19. The guidance builds on the key messages in a range of guidance materials which were issued to schools and centres for education as they were published. Specific guidance had previously been published by the Department to support schools in the context of remote teaching and learning in a Covid-19 context:

Guidance on Remote Learning in a COVID-19 Context: September – December 2020; (Published October 2020)

This has been complemented by the Department of Education Circular Letter 0074/2020 in relation to the establishment of Digital Communication, Teaching and Learning Platforms:

This guidance is intended to assist mainstream and special schools as they endeavour to support teaching and learning for pupils with special educational needs through remote teaching approaches. Key themes of the guidance include:

- The role of schools and teachers in engaging with pupils with SEN

- Teachers and school leaders working to support pupils with SEN

- Keeping in touch with parents and guardians

- Keeping pupils with SEN safe in the distance learning environment

- Resources for teachers

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is also communicating directly with schools on the range of supports available to special schools and schools with special classes, this includes a dedicated phone line which has been established for parents to get advice and support from SENOs. The SENO will provide support and advice to parents and where relevant provide specific resources e.g. behaviour strategies, NEPS well-being resources. If necessary, parents can book a subsequent appointment with the SENO assigned to their child’s school. This new phone number is 01 603 3456.

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