Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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595.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she agrees that a school (details supplied) has to expand its autism-special needs classes as it does not have enough to cater for children in the community. [30992/24]

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 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.

The NCSE has advised my department that the school referred to by the Deputy currently have one special class and plans to open a second class when a large building project is completed.

In October 2022, my department wrote to all post-primary schools requesting that they begin planning to provide for upto four special classes to meet the needs of children progressing from primary school. In May 2024, my department also wrote to all schools regarding forward planning for mainstream and special education placements. My department and NCSE will continue to have close engagement with schools and management bodies in relation to these classes for 2025 and beyond.

402 new special classes have been sanctioned by the NCSE for the 2024/25 school year, 284 at primary and 118 at post primary level, providing over 2,400 additional special education places in mainstream schools. This brings to over 3,300 the number of special classes nationwide.

The NCSE is confident that through the provision of the newly sanctioned classes and vacancies in existing classes there is sufficient places to meet the needs of all children known to them for September 2024.

I am determined to ensure that all children who require a placement can access this as quickly as possible. I meet with NCSE weekly to discuss progress and to ensure that every child has a school place for the coming term.

Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact the NCSE locally for planning purposes. Local special educational needs organisers (SENOs) are available to assist and advise parents and can provide details on schools with available special educational places. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available on the NCSE website.

Significant additional resources have been provided to the NCSE to allow for their expansion. We will have 120 local special educational needs organisers at a local level in September who are a pivotal point of contact for parents, guardians and schools. This together with the enhanced capacity of other services within the NCSE, will bolster the level of service and provide effective structures to relieve pressure on parents when seeking a special education placement.