Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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288. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to create a dedicated national therapy service in education, beginning with special schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4330/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his correspondence.

It is my ambition, and as outlined in the Programme for Government, to extend therapy supports within the Education system, over time. Currently, the Department is involved in a number of initiatives in this area.

In June 2024 Minister Foley and Minister Naughton 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 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.

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).

Separately, 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.