Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

60. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the plans to increase the number of special education teachers, special needs assistants, and special classes to ensure that every child with special or additional needs receives appropriate supports in their preferred school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8426/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

It is important to recall that the majority of children with special educational needs are supported by mainstream class teachers, special education teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children have more complex needs, special classes are provided and for children with the most complex needs, special school places are provided.

Budget 2025 provides for an additional 768 special education teachers and 1,600 SNAs to support children with special educational needs across mainstream, special classes and special schools. These additional teaching and SNA posts will support both children with special educational needs attending mainstream classes and children taking up an additional 2,700 specialist places, made up of 400 new special classes, for an average 6 children each and 300 additional special school places.

By the end of the year there will be over 20,800 special educational teachers and 23,400 SNAs in our mainstream classes, special classes and special schools. This will mean we will have over 44,200 teachers and SNAs working in our education system committed to supporting and nurturing children with special educational needs, enabling them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.

209 special classes have already been sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year. It is expected that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) will sanction the remainder of new special classes for the 2025/26 school year in the coming weeks. Five new special schools are being established and capacity is being expanded in other special schools. Allocations of special education teaching posts for the next school year have recently been provided to schools and SNA allocations will be confirmed by the NCSE to schools in quarter two this year.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

61. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her Department’s plans to improve occupational therapy services in Youghal and the wider east Cork area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8514/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The provision of clinical therapy supports to children is the responsibility of the HSE. Matters in relation to the provision of therapy services and the deployment of HSE staff should be directed to the HSE or to the Department of Children, Disability, and Equality.

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 across both health and education. 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. All therapy staff will be recruited through the HSE and HSE funded services.

This integrated pilot programme will see the delivery of enhanced in-school therapy supports provided by the HSE’s Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNT) 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 CDNTs. A detailed evaluation of the pilot programme will inform the future development of policy in both education and health provision.

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 SIM 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 all students.

It is my ambition, and as outlined in the Programme for Government, to extend therapy supports within the Education system, over time.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

62. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the school inclusion model; to outline future plans for the delivery of holistic therapies in schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6002/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

It is my ambition, and as outlined in the Programme for Government, to extend therapy supports within the Education system, over time.

This ambition is reflected in the establishment of the Educational Therapy Support Service (ETSS) within the NCSE in June 2024. This expansion of NCSE therapy services is expected to build on the achievements and impacts of the School Inclusion Model (SIM) pilot programme.

The ETSS, initially, will comprise 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 for both Occupational and Speech and Language Therapy, with in-school support. 111 teachers have been supported through a mixture of Teacher Professional Learning Seminars and in-school support visits in 93 schools in the Eastern region. 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. 22 schools in the Eastern region are currently availing of this service.

It is anticipated that schools in the Western Region will be invited to apply to the NCSE for Strand II sustained supports for the 2025/26 school year.

My department’s approach to supporting wellbeing is set out in its Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice. Furthermore, the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot sees direct counselling supports being provided to selected primary schools and also, a number of Education Wellbeing Practitioners working under the direction and supervision of lead NEPS psychologists in schools.