Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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286. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will detail the procedures primary schools must follow if they seek to transition from being mainstream schools to special schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7922/23]

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 (SEN) to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government.

It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my Department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

For 2023, the spend by my Department on special education will be substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my Department will spend over €2.6 billion providing supports to children and young people with special educational needs and their schools.

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 funding to support children with SEN in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers and special needs assistants.

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

Over the last two to three years, my Department and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient mainstream, special class and special school places.

These initiatives are bearing fruit with over 600 new special classes sanctioned at primary level, almost 300 new special classes sanctioned at post-primary level and five new special schools established over the last three years.

My Department is engaging intensely with the NCSE in relation to the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places for the next school year 2023/2024. This work involves a detailed review of statistical data in relation to forecasting demand for special class and special school places, consideration of improved data sharing arrangements and a particular focus on the provision of special classes at post-primary level.

At local level, the NCSE is continuing to engage with schools regarding which children can be supported to attend a mainstream class and with regard to the establishment of additional special classes for the next school year 2023/2024. Every support will be made available to schools to progress the opening of special classes in the shortest possible timeframe.

Special schools were originally established under a particular designation of student need, but have diversified and respond to a broader range of students’ needs from within their respective catchment areas.

Special schools provide education to children and young people from age 4 to 18. They are designated as primary schools and operate according to a primary school calendar and school day. Special schools are resourced by NCSE on the basis of an annual review of their enrolment and the profile of the children and young people enrolled in them. Most special schools have both primary and post-primary students on roll.

To meet the need for additional special school places, additional capacity can be provided in existing special schools or a new special school can be established. It is important to consider the level of need in an area before any consideration of expanding special school provision. In establishing a new special school, the NCSE and my Department consider the level of need in an area, the planning and building considerations, the potential scale of the new school and the ability of the school to expand and increase enrolments over time. Another important consideration is the opportunity for integration of students from the special school with local primary and post-primary schools.

The transition of a school from a mainstream school to a special school would be a matter in the first instance for the school patron to consider in line with any rules set in in the Governance Manual for Primary Schools 2019 – 2023.