Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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403. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the help and supports in place for school staff to recognise and support students with atypical ADHD; if there are any plans for training in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11508/23]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for the questions raised and advise the following:

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

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 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 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.

It is Department policy, in accordance with the principles of inclusive education, that pupils with additional learning needs are supported in mainstream classes along with their peers, with additional supports provided as necessary.

The Department has invested considerably in ensuring that all recognised mainstream schools have been allocated additional special education teaching (SET) resources to cater for children with special educational needs. Guidelines for schools on the organisation, deployment and use of their special education teachers have been published on the Department’s website, at gov.ie - Guidelines for Primary Schools Supporting Pupils with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools (www.gov.ie).

It is a matter for schools to monitor and utilise their allocation of additional teaching support to best support the needs of identified pupils, in accordance with the Department's guidance. In addition, there are specialist educational supports provided by the National Educational Psychological Services (NEPS) and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to help schools provide an appropriate education for pupils with special educational needs.

A process is available where schools can seek a review of their SET allocation by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), including the utilisation of their allocations. Detailed information on the NCSE review process is published on the NCSE website: ncse.ie/special-education-teachers

The functions of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) include planning and coordinating the provision of education and support services to children with special educational needs in conjunction with schools and the Health Service Executive (HSE).

The NCSE, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports as required. The NCSE is aware of emerging need from year to year and where special provision is required it is planned and established to meet that need.

The NCSE provides for support for teachers with additional training needs in the area of special education through the NCSE Support Service which manages, co-ordinates and develops a range of supports in response to identified teacher training needs.

The NCSE Support Service provides Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) support for teachers of pupils with special educational needs through an Inclusive Learning Resource Teachers course as well as an online resource facility and an online book borrowing facility. The Support Service continues to update current Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) courses for teachers and design new TPL courses in response to the needs of teachers.

Detailed information on the comprehensive programme of Teacher Professional Learning seminars on a variety of special educational needs topics is published on the NCSE website: ncse.ie/tpl