Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, 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 my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

The provision of health-related therapy services to children with special educational needs is a matter for the Health Service Executive (HSE) and queries in relation to those services should be directed to the HSE or to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Matters in relation to the HSE’s Children's Disability Network Teams, primary care service and adult day services should also be directed to the HSE.

For 2024, €2.7 billion is being spent on special education, an increase of €113 million, and this is 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).

The NEPS service provides access for all schools to:

• Psychological support in the event of a critical incident
• A casework service for individual children where there is a need for intensive consultation and assessment via a NEPS psychologist or through the Scheme for the Commissioning of Psychological Assessments (SCPA).
• A school staff Support and Development Service, to build school capability to provide a comprehensive continuum of support in schools and
• Ongoing access to advice and support for schools.

My department has initiated a range of measures to help support the care needs of children in primary, post-primary and specialist school settings, in both mainstream and specialist education settings.

For example, my department established a working group to develop guidelines for schools on the prevention and management of behaviour that challenges, where such behaviour poses imminent danger of serious physical harm to self or others within the school environment.

The guidelines place a strong focus on prevention and early intervention strategies for the management of crisis situations. Development of the guidelines has been informed by evidence showing that whole school positive behavioural approaches and early and ongoing engagement with the school community, including parents/guardians, are necessary for the development of effective school policy and practice. In developing the guidelines, the expert working group reviewed national and international legislative requirements, school governance structures and duty of care considerations directly related to supporting the wellbeing and safety of students and staff.

The guidelines have been developed in the context of the department’s Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice (2018, revised 2019), which acknowledges the role of schools in the promotion of wellbeing.

The guidelines focus on creating inclusive environments which can respond to need and build on good practice including prevention and de-escalation. A range of training options will be available to schools once the guidelines are published, including procured training on understanding behaviours of concern and responding to crisis situations. It is expected the guidelines will be finalised and published before the new school year.

These guidelines will support existing guidance available to schools in relation to behaviour, such as The Department of Education’s Autism guidance, Tusla's Educational Welfare Service guidelines for schools on Codes of Behaviour and NEPS' ‘Guidelines for Supporting Pupils with Behavioural, Emotional, and Social Difficulties’.

At a ground level, the government provided an additional €13 million in budget 2023, in order to expand the services within the NCSE. Special educational needs officers (SENO) play a crucial function within the framework of special education to ensure that students with special educational needs receive individualised support and services.

Part of the NCSE expansion will include a substantial increase – from 73 to 120 – in the number of SENOs operating nationwide. This increase in posts paired with a new model of distribution of SENOs on a county basis will reduce a SENO’s caseload considerably and will allow for an integrated community-based service which is conducive to the development of key relationships between NCSE staff, parents and schools in the provision of services to students.

I want to assure the deputy that 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.