Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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433. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures she will implement in 2025 to ensure that there is appropriate access to therapies for children in special schools and in special classes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7845/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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It is my ambition, and as outlined in the Programme for Government in time to extend therapy supports within the Education system. The development of the Educational Therapy Support Service and the outcomes of the enhanced in-school therapy support pilot will inform the extension of these services.

The Educational Therapy Support Service (ETSS) was established in June 2024. The expansion of therapy services within the NCSE is expected to build on the achievements and impacts of this element of the School Inclusion Model (SIM) pilot programme, which provided support to 75 schools as part of the pilot.

The ETSS service is designed to build the capacity of teachers (and other school personnel as relevant) to provide as effectively as possible for the needs of students.

The ETSS will, initially, be comprised of 39 speech and language/occupational therapists embedded into the NCSE regional structure providing 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.

Pending recruitment of additional resources, supports through the ETSS will be available to all schools in these regions, including primary, post-primary and special schools following an application process through the NCSE. 22 schools in the Eastern region are currently availing of this service. It is planned that the Stand II will be available in the Western Region for the 2025/2026 school year.

While the provision of clinical therapy supports to children is the responsibility of the HSE, my department 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.

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 further inform the future development of policy in both education and health provision.