Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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352. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the provisions that are being made for children with special needs who require access to a generalised learning disability unit in a mainstream school but who do not have an ASD diagnosis; the number of generalised learning disability units nationwide per county; the plans to open more generalised learning disability units to provide for those who have learning disabilities or additional needs other than ASD; the reason that only those with an ASD diagnosis are able to avail of additional unit support in mainstream school in cases in which the provision of maximum SNA provision is not sufficient; the reason that children with other neurological diagnosis that present in a similar manner to ASD are not entitled to avail of ASD units without having the specific ASD diagnosis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47946/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:

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

For 2022, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs.

For 2023, this spend will be substantially increased by over 12%, meaning that for 2023 my Department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education.

This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the Department’s total allocation for 2023.

This includes additional teaching and care supports.  It also includes funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) for an additional 54 psychologists to provide services to special schools and special classes.

In 2022, funding for an additional 980 teachers and 1,165 special needs assistants was provided. For 2023, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 special needs assistants in our schools next year.

For the first time ever we will have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 Special needs assistants. Together we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.

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

Upcoming policy advice from the NCSE on the specialist education provision being provided will become available shortly.  In its progress report (2019), the Council advised that there is no conclusive evidence at present that any one type of special education place was better than another.  The advice will also address the State’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

Special classes are established to meet the needs of students with very complex needs arising from certain disabilities, and whose assessed educational needs are supported by professional reports, cannot be met in a mainstream setting.

The NCSE advise that over 98% of children with special educational needs are enrolled in mainstream settings and are supported, where appropriate, by special education teachers (SET) and special needs assistants (SNA).

Through its network of Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), the NCSE opens special classes in accordance with a range of identified Special Education needs. SENOs consult with other education entities (e.g. NEPS and the Inspectorate) when establishing any special class, and consider both the present and the future potential needs within a given area. The NCSE must be satisfied that the class is sustainable and appropriately located.

The NCSE is aware that sometimes, parents of children with special educational needs, including those presenting with conditions similar to ASD, can experience difficulties in accessing school places for their children because of their child’s special educational needs. Where there are children who would benefit from similar supports provided to those with ASD, the student’s parent should make contact with the local SENO so that their child’s needs can be taken into account. SENO contact details can be found at: ncse.ie/seno-support-service

School management are responsible for the deployment and review of SNA support to ensure those with the greatest level of need are supported, in accordance with the Department Circular 0035/2022. The NCSE recognise that the needs of students may change over time. Should the school perceive that an additional SNA allocation is required to support the care needs of their students, the school can apply to the NCSE for an exceptional review of their allocation through the NCSE School Support portal. An exceptional review of the SNA allocation may result in an increase, decrease, or for the allocation to be maintained at the current level. If a school are dissatisfied with the results of a review, an appeal process is available to them.

The NCSE offer further support and advice through a suite of Teacher Professional Learning seminars, as well as on-site training to build teacher capacity through our network of Advisors. Guidelines for schools, including information on how special classes are resourced are available on the NCSE website through: ncse.ie/special-class-guidelines

As of August 2022, there are 133 general learning disability special classes nationwide. These are separated into mild general learning disability special classes, moderate general learning disability special classes, and severe/profound general learning disability special classes. A breakdown of these special classes per county is provided in the below table.

I can reassure the Deputy that the local Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs) continue to be available to assist and advise both schools and the parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: ncse.ie/regional-servic

Information on the list of schools with special classes, the types and locations of these classes is published on the NCSE website and is available at www.ncse.ie.

General Learning Disability Special Classes