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. 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).

The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. A diagnosis or professional report is not required to access supports in mainstream such as Special Education Teaching supports or Special Needs Assistant support. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.

For 2023, the spend by my department on special education has been 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 funding to support children with special educational needs in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers, special needs assistants (SNAs) and funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).

In 2023, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 SNAs.

For the first time ever there will be over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 SNAs. 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 NCSE has the responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs.

It is the department’s policy that all children with special educational needs should access an education, where appropriate, in mainstream classrooms together with their peers. It is the case that most students with special educational needs are educated in this setting, an approach consistent with the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act (2004).

It should be noted that supports within a mainstream setting such as special educational teachers are distributed based on a profile of need and not on a diagnosis. This principle ensures that those students with the greatest level of need receive the most support with no unnecessary delay.

My department recognises that for a small cohort of children and young people who experience significant education and holistic needs, access or participation in mainstream education may present a significant challenge to the extent that mainstream placements becomes a barrier to their participation.

My department has provided for a continuum of placement options outside of the mainstream supports which include enrolment in a special class or special school.

Special classes and school places are available in cases where parents/professionals consider that mainstream education is not the most appropriate option for the student.

The NCSE advise that 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. The student has a disability (in line with the designation of the special class in question) and

2. The student 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 the Department of Education's requirements for the particular special educational need in question.

Special schools support students with more severe and/or complex special educational needs in cases where a full-time mainstream or special class placement would not be in the student’s best interest. These students may find the demands of mainstream schools very difficult.

In order to be placed in a special school a child must have a professional report stating that they have a special educational need and that this need is of such complexity that a special school placement could be considered.

My department is currently reviewing special class placements guidelines for schools to ensure that the provision of placement options is working as effectively as possible for children with special educational needs and that the resources are allocated appropriately to allow over time for a move from a diagnosis based system to a needs based systems.

My department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring every child is allocated a suitable school placement appropriate to their need. Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact the NCSE locally so that their needs can be taken into account for planning purposes. Local special educational needs organisers (SENOs) remain available to assist and advise the parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list

My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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My Department’s Home Tuition Grant Schemes provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school. By its nature, these schemes are intended to be a short term intervention.

My Department operates 3 categories of home tuition:

• special educational needs and medical grounds
• reasons other than special educational needs and medical grounds
• maternity-related absences

Each of the Home Tuition Grant Schemes are governed by annual circulars which sets out the purpose, eligibility criteria and details of the scheme. For instance, circular 0024/2023 provides information on the 2023/2024 Home Tuition Grant Scheme for children with special educational needs and medical grounds. It can be accessed by clicking on the following link: gov.ie/en/circular/67f37-home-tuition-grant-scheme-20232024-special-education-component/

Under the special educational needs and medical grounds category, funding can be provided towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for:

(a) Early educational intervention for children with autism who meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria

(b) Students with special educational needs seeking an educational placement in a recognised school

(c) Students, enrolled in schools, with a significant medical condition, or school phobia and/or associated depression/anxiety, which has caused, and is likely to continue to cause, major disruption to their attendance at school

The allocation of hours under each strand is as set out below:

• Early Intervention for Children with ASD

The maximum home tuition grant for children with ASD up to 3 years of age is based on 10 hours tuition per week subject to the primary school calendar.

• Children with Special Educational Needs seeking a school placement.

The maximum home tuition grant for children awaiting a placement is based on 20 hours tuition per week subject to the appropriate school calendar year. Where a child is attending an early intervention or private pre-school setting the home tuition hours allocated will be the difference between the hours approved in the pre-school or early intervention setting and the maximum home tuition hours for which the child would normally be eligible under the terms of this scheme.

• Students enrolled in schools with a significant medical condition, or school phobia and/or associated depression/anxiety.

Generally, grant aid based on a range of between 2 and 10 hours tuition may be approved with the allocation reflecting the level of attendance in the previous school year (i.e. 2022/23 school year), and whether the attendance was at primary or post primary level. As a general guide, up to 5 hours may be granted to children at primary level while students at post primary level may be granted between 2 and 7 hours, and students sitting their Leaving Certificate Examinations may be granted between 2 and 10 hours. To date, my Department has approved 521 applications under the 2023/24 Home Tuition Scheme for children in the special educational needs and medical conditions category. A breakdown of the current level of tuition hours per week is as follows:

Strand of Scheme	Applications Sanctioned	Aggregate hours per week
Early Intervention for children with ASD	376	6767
SEN children with no educational placement	44	900
Students with significant medical/mental health conditions	101	726
Total	521	8393