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. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.

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.

Special education teachers provide additional teaching support for students with special educational needs enrolled in mainstream classes in primary and post primary schools.

The special education teaching (SET) allocation model provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile.

The SET model has been in place since 2017. It was recommended by the NCSE and is designed to distribute the total available number of special education teachers across primary and post primary schools based on the relative need of each school, as evidenced by a number of key indicators.

The SET model is a fairer and more transparent way of allocating teaching resources to schools and represents a significant shift in the way that students with special education needs are supported in mainstream classes.

Previously, students needing additional teaching support required a diagnosis in order to access support which caused delays in providing the support and also imposed a burden on both schools and parents. The change in policy was welcomed by both schools and parents as the model is based on the principle that those students with the greatest need receive the most support.

The model encourages schools to support students with special educational needs in mainstream classes alongside their peers. In fact most students with special educational needs are enrolled in these classes. This approach is also consistent with the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act (2004).

When the SET model was introduced it was designed to be updated on a regular basis so as to distribute the total available resources across the school system based on profile of need. As the level of student need may change in a school over time, some schools will gain under this distribution, with these gains balanced by equivalent reductions in schools where the model indicates reduced need.

Re-profiling is the means of ensuring that new or increasing need in schools is met by transfer/redistribution of teaching resources from other schools whose need has reduced as shown by the model.

The SET resources provided to schools is based on special education needs of the pupils enrolled in the school and the resources must be utilised to ensure that students with special education needs are supported so that they can achieve the best possible educational outcome.

In general schools are front-loaded with resources, based on each school’s profile. The allocations to schools include provision to support all pupils in the schools, including where a child receives a diagnosis after the allocation is received by a school, or where there are newly enrolling pupils to the school.

The model, including the data and indicators used to inform the distribution of special education teacher resources, is currently being reviewed in advance of the 2024/25 school year, to ensure that these valuable resources are allocated fairly and transparently across our primary and post-primary schools.

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.