Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, 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.

Below is a table outlining the funding sourced through successive budgets.

Special Education Budget 2020 - 2024
Year	Budget €	% of DOE Budget
2020	1.9bn	22%
2021	2.2bn	25%
2022	2.3bn	24%
2023	2.6bn	27%
2024	2.7bn	26%

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 special education teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase by 744 and 1,216 respectively 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 these children.

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 include but are not limited to;

• Enhanced arrangements in place, for planning and coordination of special educational needs provision requirements involving the Department of Education, the NCSE and key stakeholders such as patron and management bodies. This utilises the department’s Geographic Information System (GIS) to support a strategic and coordinated approach to planning and delivery of special educational needs provision. This includes “real-time” data on capacity across the school system.
• Updated technical guidance for building projects involving special educational needs provision including guidance on reconfiguration of existing accommodation
• Future proofing at post-primary level with the incorporation of four special classes in all new 1,000 student post-primary schools and other large-scale projects and pro-rata for medium to smaller schools.
• Strategic engagement with Spiritan Education Trust in relation to special educational needs provision at its school sites including its post-primary schools in the fee-charging sector.
• Modular Accommodation Framework put in place by my department in early 2021,
• Expansion of existing planning exemptions for provision of additional accommodation at existing school sites.
• Providing expanded project management support to schools to assist with the accelerated delivery of special educational needs provision by means of reconfiguration of existing space or modular accommodation and
• Introducing a much-simplified application process for reconfiguration works for special educational needs provision has also been rolled out.

These initiatives are bearing fruit with almost 1,700 new special classes sanctioned and eleven new special schools established in recent years. In addition, many special schools have been expanded.

In addition to ensuring there is sufficient provision in place, my department has and continues to review existing policies and bring new initiatives on board to support children with special educational needs.

For example;

For the Summer Programme, additional funding was secured in Budget 2024 to run the programme to match the investment in previous years, bringing the total funding available to €40m. My department has focused on attracting school participation by ensuring schools are supported to deliver the programme by introducing a new pilot initiative for special schools and appointing a National Co-ordinator. These initiatives have seen a huge increase in the number of children who have participated in the school-based Summer Programme and my department is working to further progress this programme into the future.

In 2022, the commencement of the first phase of the implementation of an enhanced scheme of Irish Sign Language (ISL) provision was announced. This new scheme is in addition to the existing provision that is in place, in which the enhanced scheme includes the implementation of two new roles to the education system. As part of the expansion of the NCSE that was announced in Budget 2023, 40 dedicated new staff are being allocated for the two new role under the ISL scheme.

Also in 2022, my department created a new unit within its Special Education Section dedicated to SNAs in order to ensure that sufficient time and attention is given to examination of the SNA role and any reform or development required. This action is the first step in the department’s plan to develop a ‘vision’ for the future of SNAs to be informed by the SNAs themselves, teachers and the wider sector.

In addition, a number of new initiatives are currently in train;

Under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy (CES) for People with Disabilities, the department is leading on the implementation of a number of actions supporting transitions and progression in education from early childhood through to further education and training and higher education.

A Transitions Programme Steering Group, which includes representation from my department, is working to oversee development of a transition programme that aims to provide access to all school leavers requiring specialist supports to an appropriate transition programme.

The overarching objective of the programme is to support students with complex educational needs to transition to the post-school option which suits them best; including further or higher education options, workplace settings or adult disability services.

The second pilot programme – Dormant Accounts Funded Transitions programme is a collaboration between the department and Walkinstown Association for People with an Intellectual Disability (WALK), an experienced non-government organisation working in the area of disability services and is working with 10 schools – mostly special schools – to deliver their existing Peer Ability programme.

Separately, the National Nursing Programme Pilot for children with complex healthcare needs is a nationwide pilot scheme run in partnership between the HSE and the NCSE. This pilot is to be evaluated and the outcome will inform the provision of nursing support for students with complex healthcare needs into the future.

The pilot nursing scheme will, for eligible students, extend the Paediatric Home Care Package (PHCP) from their home into the school setting. This will allow an agency nurse attend school with the student for an agreed number of hours per week, and travel to and from school with them, if necessary.

This is just a sample of the initiatives taken by my department in recent times.

In addition, to ensure that the NCSE is fully resourced and equipped to continue to meet the current and future needs of the special education sector, the annual budget for the NCSE has been increased by 55%. This increase will allow for the provision of an additional 161 staff. The majority of these new staff will be in front-line special educational needs organiser (SENO) and advisor roles. This will ensure that parents, children and schools can be adequately supported into the future.

2024 will also see a significant milestone reached for special education as a comprehensive report on the review of the Education of Person with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) act (2004) is expected. This significant review is intended to be concluded in the second quarter of 2024.

This review will no doubt have an impact on our education system as we currently know as it and will provide recommendations as to how we can continue to support and ensure children with special educational needs receive a high quality education.

I wish to assure the Deputy 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.