Written answers

Wednesday, 22 January 2025

Department of Education and Skills

Special Educational Needs

Photo of Brian BrennanBrian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)
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618. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application for a special class (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1463/25]

Photo of Malcolm ByrneMalcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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631. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of plans for the development of an additional special educational needs class at a school (details supplied). [1704/25]

Photo of Brian BrennanBrian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)
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637. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application for a special class for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1731/25]

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 618, 631 and 637 together.

As you are aware enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for government. Thanks to considerable investment in special education in recent years 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 National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs. Almost 1,700 classes have been sanctioned by the NCSE in the last 5 years, 11 new special schools have been established and many more expanded. For this school year alone over 400 new special classes have been sanctioned bringing the total number of special classes nationwide to 3,336.

119 of these classes are in County Wexford , 16 are new for the 2024/25 school year, 13 at primary level and 3 at post-primary level. Budget 2025 provides funding for another 400 special classes and 300 special school places nationwide.

Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact the NCSE locally for planning purposes. Local 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.

The NCSE have recently recruited additional SENOs, advisors and team managers. 120 SENOs now operate nationwide, four of these are operating solely in County Wexford. SENOs play an important role in ensuring there is adequate special educational provision within local areas and are currently visiting schools nationwide to conduct planning meetings. Over 1,000 school planning visits have occurred in recent months. These planning visits have been key to the NCSE in determining what new provision can be provided and it is expected that the NCSE will sanction a number of new special classes in the coming weeks.

I commend schools that express and interest in opening a special class, however, it may not always be possible for the NCSE to open a new class in every school that expresses an interest. The NCSE will continue to keep the matter under review with regard to local level of need. The initial focus at primary level has been on medium to larger primary schools (Principal + 8 teachers) with no special class or just one class.

The NCSE continue to assess what additional provision is required in local areas and what schools have capacity to accommodate required provision. The NCSE will progress the sanctioning of new special classes over the coming weeks and will advise parents in turn on the location of new special classes for the 2025/26 school year.

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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619. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has plans for speech therapists to be returned to special schools full-time, not shared; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1499/25]

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The provision of clinical therapy supports to children, including Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy, is the responsibility of the HSE, through Primary Care or the Children’s Network Disability Teams (CDNT).

Through the Progressing Disability Services Oversight Group, the Department of Education is working with the Department of Health, DCEDIY and the HSE to develop and strengthen more coherent structures to enable children and young people to access therapeutic supports, including those who attend special schools.

As a result of this engagement, Phase 1 of the enhanced in-school therapy supports pilot commenced in September 2024, in six schools in the Cork and Dublin. An additional ten schools were announced as part of the pilot on 8th November 2024.

This integrated pilot programme will see the delivery of enhanced in-school therapy supports provided by the HSE’s Children’s Disability Network Teams and will be supported by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

The focus of this pilot is to provide the effective delivery of enhanced in-school therapy supports to children in selected special schools. This pilot will supplement existing services provided through Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs). Children with special needs will continue to have access to HSE/HSE funded children’s services for individualised interventions from clinicians, such as speech and language therapists as required and in line with the child and families’ goals.

A detailed evaluation of the pilot programme will inform the future development of policy in both education and health provision.

It is my ambition and intention, in time and taking into account the outcomes of the enhanced in-school therapy support pilot, to extend these supports, including speech and language therapists, to more special schools in other locations.

Separately, on the 20th of June 2024 Minister Foley and I announced the Educational Therapy Support Service (ETSS). The ETSS is designed to build the capacity of teachers (and other school personnel as relevant) to provide as effectively as possible for the needs of all students, including students attending special schools. Therapists will work in classrooms with teachers to provide therapeutic, evidenced informed interventions that will benefit all students.

The ETSS arose from the clearly identified need for wraparound support in schools in the areas of Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language therapy. Based on this need the provision of Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy supports in schools was prioritised initially.

The ETSS is delivered through the NCSE. The ETSS provides 2 strands of support. Strand I involves Regional Therapy Support and includes Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) seminars with in-school support. It is planned that these supports will be available nationally for the 2025/2026 school year. The second strand, Strand II provides Sustained In-School Therapy for a period of 24 months, in line with the School Inclusion Model (SIM).

The NCSE intends to deliver Strand II of the ETSS initially, in its Eastern and Western regions. Dublin is the base for the Eastern region and Limerick has been identified as the most suitable hub for the Western region. This includes Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. The ETSS is available to all schools in these regions, including primary, post-primary and special schools following an application process through the NCSE. A number of schools in the Eastern region are currently availing of this service.

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