Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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218. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the pilot scheme that provides additional speech and language therapy and occupational therapy supports, based on need, to children attending special schools; if the scheme will be extended to north Kildare in the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7089/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The pilot for enhanced in-school therapy support to special schools is an integrated pilot programme which sees 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, managed in a coherent and collaborative manner through the relevant stakeholders.

The enhanced in-school therapy supports pilot commenced in September 2024 in Cork and Dublin on a phased implementation basis for the six selected schools. An additional ten schools, in Cork, Dublin and Galway were announced as part of the pilot on 8th November 2024 with phased onboarding of schools to the pilot over the course of the 2024/2025 academic year.

The evaluation of the Special Schools Pilot for enhanced in-school therapy 2024/25 will be undertaken by the National Disability Authority, and this will inform the future development of policy in both education and health provision.