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.

Over the last number of years, my department and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient special class and special school places.

These initiatives are bearing fruit with almost 1,300 new special classes sanctioned and seven new special schools established over the last four years.

My department engage intensely with the NCSE in relation to the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places. This forward planning work is well underway ahead of the 2024/25 school year. This work involves a detailed review of statistical data in relation to forecasting demand for special class places, an analysis of available school accommodation, consideration of improved data sharing arrangements and a particular focus on the provision of special classes at post-primary level.

As a result of this forward planning, two new special schools are being established for this current school year in Cork and Dublin, with further capacity being expanded in 11 other special schools.

In December 2023, I was also very happy to announce with my colleague Minister Foley, the establishment of a further four new special schools for the 2024/25 school year in Enfield, South Kildare, Gorey and Limerick. This will bring to 11 the number of new special schools established in recent years.

Along with the two new special schools opening this school year, 390 new special classes – 254 at primary and 136 at post-primary level – have been sanctioned by the NCSE for opening this current school year.

As demand for new special classes at post-primary level is expected to increase significantly over the next few years, due to increasing demographics and increasing prevalence rates, my department and the NCSE have engaged with post-primary stakeholders in relation to the provision of special classes.

My department has communicated to all post-primary schools of the need to begin planning to provide additional special classes. It is envisaged that all post-primary schools will be required to provide special classes over the next 2 to 4 years, with an approximate average of 4 special classes in each school.

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.

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.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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.

Over the last number of years, my department and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient special class and special school places.

These initiatives are bearing fruit with almost 1,300 new special classes sanctioned and seven new special schools established over the last four years.

My department engage intensely with the NCSE in relation to the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places. This forward planning work is well underway ahead of the 2024/25 school year. This work involves a detailed review of statistical data in relation to forecasting demand for special class places, an analysis of available school accommodation, consideration of improved data sharing arrangements and a particular focus on the provision of special classes at post-primary level.

As a result of this forward planning, two new special schools are being established for this current school year in Cork and Dublin, with further capacity being expanded in 11 other special schools.

In December 2023, I was also very happy to announce with my colleague Minister Foley, the establishment of a further four new special schools for the 2024/25 school year in Enfield, South Kildare, Gorey and Limerick. This will bring to 11 the number of new special schools established in recent years.

In addition to the establishment of four new schools for the 2024/25 school year, a significant number of school building projects relating to special schools is currently in progress. This includes the provision of three additional classrooms in one special school in Maynooth.

The department is actively exploring the accommodation options available to facilitate the establishment of the new special school in the South Kildare area. This is being advanced as quickly as possible to facilitate the delivery of accommodation for the new school in the 2024/25 school year. Once this process has been completed, the department will then be in a position to advise the relevant stakeholders.

It is also expected that the new special school to be established in Enfield, Co. Meath will help meet the needs of some students from the North Kildare region and other local areas.

Both schools will cater for young people with autism and complex learning needs up to 18 years of age.

These schools have been sanctioned as early as possible as part of advanced planning to meet the needs of students with special educational needs due to start school next September.

This was after analysis by the NSCE and the department found that the level of need in these particular areas could not be catered for by expanding places in existing special schools. This analysis also considered the distances being travelled by students to access a special school place.

A dedicated working group comprised of department officials, Education and Training Board (ETB) staff and NCSE local staff has been set up to support the establishment of the new special school in the South Kildare area. This group has met on a number of occasions and is working to progress a range of issues relating to the development of an admission policy, staff recruitment and training.

The new schools are also the first in recent years to be established in the regions, following the establishment of 7 special schools in Dublin and Cork over the past four years.

These additions to the country’s existing network of 130 special schools is part of the expanded package in Budget 2024 for special needs education, which includes

• Up to 2,700 new places for children with special educational needs, which includes up to 400 new special classes and 300 additional special school places.
• The recruitment of 744 extra special needs teachers, and 1,216 extra special needs assistants to cater for the increased number of students.
• 100 new teaching posts in existing and new special schools, plus an Administrative Deputy Principal, from September 2024, to benefit almost 9,000 children in these schools.

Along with the two new special schools opening this school year, 390 new special classes – 254 at primary and 136 at post-primary level – have been sanctioned by the NCSE for opening this current school year. Of these, 12 are in County Kildare (7 in primary and 5 in post-primary settings). This brings the total of special class in Kildare to 116 (85 at primary and 31 at post-primary level).

Of these 12 are in Kildare, 7 at primary and 5 at post-primary level. This brings to 116 the number of special classes in County Kildare, 85 at primary level and 31 at post-primary level.

The attached document provides a breakdown of primary and post-primary schools with special classes within the Kildare area for the current school year. Planning for special classes and places in Kildare and nationwide is currently underway ahead of the 2024/25 school year.

As demand for new special classes at post-primary level is expected to increase significantly over the next few years, due to increasing demographics and increasing prevalence rates, my department and the NCSE have engaged with post-primary stakeholders in relation to the provision of special classes.

My department has communicated to all post-primary schools of the need to begin planning to provide additional special classes. It is envisaged that all post-primary schools will be required to provide special classes over the next 2 to 4 years, with an approximate average of 4 special classes in each school.

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.

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.