Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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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, my department spent over €2.6 billion on special education and further progress will be made this year as an additional €113 million will be dedicated to providing supports for children with special educational needs.

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 2024, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 744 teachers and 1,216 SNAs added to deliver up to 2,700 new places for children with special educational needs. This will mean we will have over 41,500 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.

There are a range of supports provided to schools when opening a special class. For example, my department’s Planning and Building Unit can arrange technical site visits to schools, as appropriate, to confirm the suitability of the classroom/s to support the establishment of special classes. Additional accommodation can also be provided where required.

In addition, primary schools are generally allocated an additional teacher and 2 additional SNAs for each special class established. This increases to 1.5 teachers for post-primary schools.

The NCSE provide a range of supports to schools who open new special classes including:

Seminars for Principals;4 day intensive training courses for teachers;2 day training course for new teachers;Whole staff Continuous Professional development (CPD);

The school is linked with an NCSE Advisor;

It is not necessary for schools to have accessed all of the training and support in advance of opening a special class as the NCSE will continue to support the staff and the school when the classes are open, building on the experience and expertise of the existing school community.

Where a school is making the arrangements for the opening of a special class, it is open to the school authorities, while progressing the recruitment of the additional staff sanctioned for the class, to reassign an existing mainstream class teacher who has experience and/or interest in special education provision as the special class teacher. This may present a more practical arrangement for the school and facilitate the opening of the special class in a timely manner.

My department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements will be available for children for the coming school years. It is of course open to any school to engage with the NCSE to establish a special class.

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. The local special educational needs organisers (SENOs) remain available to assist and advise parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: www.ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list.

Information on the list of schools with special classes, the types and locations of these classes is published on the NCSE website and is available at: www.ncse.ie/special-classes.

I want to assure you also that my department will continue to support the NCSE and schools through the provision of the necessary funding and capital investment to ensure all children are successful in accessing an education.