Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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104. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will issue section 37 (A) of the Education Act 1998 in post-primary schools in Tallaght to increase the capacity of ASD classes (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26652/22]

Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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105. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will make it a requirement for primary and post-primary to have ASD classes through section 37A; if her Department will provide the staffing and funding needed to increase such capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26653/22]

Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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106. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to a school (details supplied) in which the junior school has an ASD class but the senior school does not; and if she will ensure through section 37A that the necessary supports are given to the senior school to provide an ASD class. [26654/22]

Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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107. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the fact that there is only one pre-school for ASD children in Dublin 24; if her Department has plans to support more pre-schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26655/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 104, 105, 106 and 107 together.

Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government.

This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs nationwide.

It is open to any school to make an application to the NCSE for the establishment of a specialised provision and where sanctioned, a range of supports, including capital funding, is made available to the school.

Notwithstanding the extent of this investment, there are some parts of the country where increases in population and other issues have led to concerns regarding a shortage of school places.

The Minister has powers under Section 37A of the Education Act to direct a school to provide additional places but this power is only used as a last resort and where all reasonable efforts have failed.

This legal power to compel schools to open new special classes is only used where the following criteria apply:

- there is established need for additional places in an area

- it is considered that the schools involved in the Section 37 process have capacity to open the additional classes and

- all reasonable efforts have been made to support these schools in making the required provision.

The legislation has been used twice to date; initially in the Dublin 15 area in 2019 and more recently in the South Dublin area in 2020 in respect of primary school provision only. Significant progress has been made in these areas on foot of action taken under Section 37.

The Section 37 process is one of the tools available to the Department to ensure that adequate suitable education provision is made for children with special needs and it is not a substitute for advance planning.

All parties would prefer to see schools volunteer to provide more places rather than places being secured on the back of an order or a direction from the Minister. The evidence available this school-year is that schools are willing to work collaboratively with the Department and NCSE on the provision of new school places for children with special educational needs and I am grateful to all concerned for their ongoing work in this regard.

I can also reassure the Deputy that the local SENOs continue to be available to assist and advise parents of children with special educational needs.

Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact NCSE locally so that their needs can be taken into account for planning purposes.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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108. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when, the way and the reason that the National Council for Special Education’s new rule regarding professional reports advising on a suite of options for children with special needs in relation to their education will now no longer meet the criteria for enrolment in an ASD class; the consultation that took place in advance of this decision; if parents were consulted and advised of this change; if referring psychologists were consulted and made aware of the change; if her attention has been drawn to the pressure on existing services; the way that therapists will now find the time to amend already completed reports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26708/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) have advised that there have been no changes to the requirements for professional reports regarding special class or special school placements. The Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004 at Section (2) states that, “A child with special educational needs shall be educated in an inclusive environment with children who do not have such needs unless the nature or degree of those needs of the child is such that to do so would be inconsistent with (a) the best interests of the child as determined in accordance with any assessment carried out under this Act, or (b) the effective provision of education for children with whom the child is to be educated”.

In line with the legislation, and in order to access a special class, a student must have a report from a relevant professional or team of professionals (for example, psychologist, speech and language therapist, psychiatrist) stating that:

1. S/he has a disability (in line with the designation of the special class in question) and

2. S/he has complex or severe learning needs that require the support of a special class setting and the reasons why this is the case. The professional report must meet Department of Education requirements for the particular disability in question.

The NCSE has published Guidelines for Setting up and Organising Special Classes. The guidelines set out clearly how schools can set up and organise special classes, as part of a continuum of educational provision, for students with special educational needs, they can be viewed at: ncse.ie/special-class-guidelines

A guidance note for HSE clinicians sets out the requirements for professional reports to recommend a specific type of school placement – for example, mainstream, mainstream with supports, special class or special school placement. This guidance was last updated in 2021 following engagement with NCSE, NEPS and HSE personnel. The updating of this guidance note commenced in 2019 and was delayed due to the impact of COVID-19.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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109. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 103 of 27 April 2022, the persons that will be taking on this pupil’s case load; the format that it will take; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26722/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Visiting teachers for children who are deaf/hard of hearing or blind/visually impaired provide additional supports for such children, their families, and schools. Details of the services which are provided to schools and families by the visiting teacher service are available at ncse.ie/visiting-teachers.

Each visiting teacher (VT) is responsible for a particular region and is allocated a caseload of students. The VT supports children/young people, parents, guardians, teachers and other professionals involved with the child. The frequency and nature of support takes into account a range of factors based on the individual’s needs.

Since 2017 the NCSE has responsibility for the management of the Visiting Teachers service which is currently made up of permanent teachers and teachers on secondment. Seconded teachers are generally limited to a period of five years. The NCSE will also be recruiting directly to ensure that all Visiting Teacher posts are filled by September 2022.

The student in question is currently availing of the visiting teacher service and the NCSE visiting teacher service will continue to support this student in September 2022. The NCSE actively works to ensure no break in the support service occurs should any visiting teacher vacancy arise.