Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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255. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has sought legal advice from the Attorney General or from any other quarter as to whether denying pupils with moderate, severe and profound intellectual disabilities enrolled in special schools from receiving the same number of years of State education in senior cycle is against equality legislation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10236/25]

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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256. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if rule 64(1) is a barrier to children with severe, profound and moderate intellectual disabilities from receiving a transition-type year in their senior cycle in special schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10237/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 256 and 255 together.

This government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs.

Special schools support children and young people aged between 4 and 18 years of age with the most complex special educational needs and are designated as primary schools for administrative purposes. My department is actively engaging with the representative managerial bodies, particularly the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education (NABMSE), to address the issues this designation brings and indeed the other unique challenges special schools face.

A number of new measures to support special schools with a particular focus on post-primary provision have recently been introduced.

All special schools now benefit from the appointment of administrative deputy principals. These posts are making a real difference in schools in terms of assisting with leadership and management functions and supporting learning, parental and community engagement.

An additional allocation of 100 post-primary teaching posts has also been provided to special schools.These posts allow schools to deliver a greater range of the national curriculum subjects and to improve student progression and transition.

In addition to these budgetary measures, my department is also working closely with the NCSE to further support special schools in relation to a range of issues relating to administration, curriculum and training.

The 2015 Junior Cycle Framework incorporates a modernised curriculum across all subjects and a balanced range of assessment modes, that more appropriately addresses the needs of students. It provides students with learning opportunities that strike a better balance between learning knowledge and developing a wide range of skills and thinking abilities.

During the three years of junior cycle, the majority of students will learn through a number of subjects or a combination of subjects and short courses that are broadly aligned with level 3 of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). For a small number of students with significant special educational needs Priority Learning Units (PLUs) that are broadly aligned with level 2 or level 1 of the NFQ will form the majority or entirety of their junior cycle.

As part of senior cycle redevelopment, a senior cycle level 1 and 2 programme statement, curriculum areas and modules have been published. These provide, for the first time, a senior cycle programme designed for students with specific special educational needs.

My department will continue to expand and build on developments such as these to ensure that students in our special school are actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.