Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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487. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 494 of 28 April 2021, the levels of learning disability that will be accepted in the schools specifically referred to (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24307/21]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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My Department's policy is that students with special educational needs should be included where possible and appropriate in mainstream placements with additional supports provided. In circumstances where children with special educational needs require more specialised interventions, special school or special class places are provided for.

As the Deputy is aware, Minister Foley and I recently announced a significant expansion of special school provision in Cork through the establishment of a new special school and increased capacity in an existing special school to meet the needs of children in the Cork area.

The new provision will see the establishment of a new special school in Carrigaline which will have the capacity to provide 48 school places. It will provide for the needs of children with autism and general learning disability up to eighteen years of age.

The provision will also provide for a change to the designation of St. Mary’s Special School, Rochestown to also cater for children with a dual diagnosis of learning disability and autism with 12 new school places becoming available for September 2021.

Priority will now be given to those children who currently do not have an offer of a school place for next September.

Special educational needs organisers (SENOs) are working closely with the families of the children concerned to assist them in accessing the new places now coming on stream.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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488. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will review the allocation of special education teaching hours at a school (details supplied); if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the allocation has remained unchanged for the past six years despite the growth in pupil numbers in the school; if she will discuss the allocation with the NCSE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24308/21]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the allocations for Special Education Teachers, for all primary and post primary schools were updated with effect from September 2019. Schools which were due to receive additional allocations, based on the profiled needs of schools, as set out in DES Circulars 007 and 008 2019, received additional allocations at that time.

Schools which had rapidly developing enrolments each years since that time also received some additonal allocations.

There are now over 13,600 Special Education Teachers allocated to mainstream primary and post primary schools.

This represents an increase of 40% in the total number of special education teachers allocated to schools since 2011, at which time 9740 teachers were allocated.

The allocations are based on the profiled needs of schools, and are designed to be updated, based on new school profile data, every 2-3 years.

For the coming school year, in order to minimise disruption and upheaval for schools as much as possible in light of Covid-19, and to provide for continuity of allocations, the existing Special Education Teacher Allocations for schools will be maintained for the 2021/22 school year, with re-profiled allocations now due to be made from September 2022.

This means that schools will not have to engage in an extensive redeployment of posts, or re-clustering, this year.

It also means that schools will have greater levels of certainty as to the staff that they will have in place for September.

It is important to note that no school will see a cut, or reduction, to their special education teaching support next year.

The allocations for 2021/22 which are being maintained comprise the allocations which were made for schools from September 2019 plus any additionality achieved since plus any developing hours for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 school years.

Importantly, additional allocations will also continue to be made for new schools, schools which achieve developing status, and for exceptional circumstances. Schools that qualify for additional mainstream developing school posts also qualify for additional special education teaching allocations to take account of this developing status.

In the event that schools consider that exceptional circumstances have arisen in their school which means that they cannot provide for the special educational teaching needs of pupils in their school due to very significant changes to the school profile occurring, school may seek a review of their allocations by the NCSE. Details of this process are available at .