Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to assure the Deputy, that the provision of appropriate accommodation for pupils with special education needs is an absolute priority. I also wish to acknowledge the invaluable work being done by school principals and wider school authorities in expanding the educational provision for pupils with special educational needs, including the required physical infrastructure. I would like to assure the Deputy that the supports for school principals and communities who are supporting children with special education needs is kept under constant review.

The Department is working actively with the NCSE and other key stakeholders including School Patrons and Management Bodies to provide additional special classes and special school places for the 2024/25 school year.

My Department has close engagement with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) which has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide. When the NCSE sanction a special class in a school, the school can apply to my Department for capital funding to re-configure existing spaces within the school building to accommodate the class or to construct additional accommodation. The purpose of my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.

I can assure the Deputy that my Department is working to ensure that there is appropriate school accommodation in place to meet the school place needs of all children. In the first instance, this is focused on ensuring that the use of existing school accommodation capacity is fully optimised. Where additional capacity is required this can be provided by means of modular accommodation where accelerated delivery is required, or by means of traditional construction projects.

I can confirm that officials in my Department are liaising with the NCSE and the school in question regarding the opening of special classes and its accommodation requirements for September 2024.