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 have been 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 Meath, Kildare, Wexford 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.

Of these 71 are in Dublin, 48 at primary and 23 at post-primary level. This brings to 534 the number of special classes in County Dublin, 408 at primary level and 126 at post-primary level. The vast majority of these class are autism classes and have a teacher/pupil ratio of 1:6.

The attached document lists the autism classes within County Dublin, including those sanctioned for the 2023/24 school year. Planning for special classes and special school places in County Dublin and nationwide is currently underway ahead of the 2024/25 school year.

Enrolments to individual schools are a matter for each board of management, my department do not hold records on enrolment applications.

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.

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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81. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of primary school children currently accessing school support plus services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10863/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Department has set out the Continuum of Support framework to assist schools in identifying and responding to pupils’ needs. This framework recognises that special educational needs occur along a continuum, ranging from mild to more significant, and from transient to long term, and that pupils require different levels of support depending on their identified educational needs. Using this framework helps to ensure that interventions are incremental, moving from whole school and class-based interventions to more intensive and individualised support, and that they are informed by careful monitoring of progress.

Identification of educational needs is central to the model for deploying special education teaching resources in schools. Using the Continuum of Support framework, schools can identify pupils’ educational needs, to include academic, social and emotional needs, as well as needs associated with physical, sensory, language and communication difficulties.

As special educational needs can vary from mild and/or transient to more significant and enduring, educational planning should reflect the level of need of the individual pupil. In this regard, the Student Support File is used to record a graduated response to the identification of need, planning, intervention and the monitoring of outcomes across the different levels of the Continuum: Classroom Support, School Support and School Support Plus. For pupils with significant, enduring and more complex needs, collaboration with external professionals, including multi-disciplinary teams, is advised (for example, occupational therapist, speech and language therapist and psychologist).

Decisions as to how additional teaching resources are deployed at the level of the school are a matter for the school’s leadership team in conjunction with the special education teacher(s). These additional resources are deployed taking account of the principle that children with the greatest level of need should receive the greatest level of support. Every school operates within its own context and the number of children who access the highest level of support will vary from school to school. Typically, however, the highest level of school support plus is provided for a small number of pupils, thereby facilitating the provision of intensive and individualised support to the pupil at this level.

Data in relation to individual pupils who receive support in line with the continuum of support is held at the individual school level.