Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

377. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total number of school places required for special schools in Dublin and Cork for September 2025, and the projected number of places that will be available, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15095/25]

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

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.

Through the accelerated provision of additional special class and special school places over recent years, there are now just over 28,000 students enrolled in special classes and special schools. Budget 2025 provides for an additional 2,700 specialist places, made up of 400 new special class and 300 additional special school places. On top of this, there will be over 1,000 places available through the normal annual movement of students progressing from primary to post-primary and students graduating from post-primary or special schools. There also remains special class vacancies in some areas of the country.

There are 40 special schools in County Dublin and 16 in County Cork educating children and young people with the greatest of needs. Three of the five new special schools for the 2025/26 school year will open in Lucan and Belmayne in Dublin and the North City area of Cork also. These schools are presently advertising for their principal posts. This role is critical to the special schools advancing their enrolment policies and procedures as agreed with the school patron, which in each case is the local Education and Training Board (ETB). My department understand that each of the new special schools being established in Dublin and Cork will admit between 24 and 30 students. My department and the local ETBs will continue to review and assess the accommodation options available to allow the new special schools grow and expand over the next few years.

Capacity is also being increased at a number of other special schools across Cork and Dublin. The NCSE will keep parents informed of these additional places and admissions timelines.

The NCSE continue to engage intensely with schools and school patron bodies to confirm further provision. As the NCSE progress sanctioning they will inform parents.

My department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements remain available for children with special educational needs.

Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

378. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress made to date to ensure the NCSE has sufficient therapists available to all special schools for September 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15096/25]

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

The development of the National Therapy Support Service is a standalone commitment in the programme for government and is a cross-department initiative. It will ensure that a coordinated approach will be employed to increase college places for health and social care professionals.

While the provision of clinical therapy supports to children is the responsibility of the HSE, it is this government’s ambition, and as outlined in the Programme for Government, to extend therapy supports within the education system, over time.

To this end and in line with the commitment mentioned above, my Department is working with the Department of Health, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and the HSE to develop and strengthen more coherent structures to enable children and young people to access therapeutic supports.

Work in regard to this important service has already been rolled out in some special schools, through enhanced in-school therapy supports pilot. 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 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.

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. This pilot will seek to provide an integrated model of service ensuring that all stakeholders, including special schools staff, children and families have access to high quality integrated therapeutic supports in alignment with supports provided through health and social care services.

The outcomes of this pilot will inform and assist in the development of a National Therapy Service.

In addition, 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 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 22 schools in this region are currently availing of this service. Limerick has been identified as the most suitable hub for the Western region. This includes Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. It is planned that the Stand II will be available in the Western Region for the 2025/2026 school year.

Regional Therapy Support and Sustained In-School Therapy will be available to all schools in these regions, including special schools, following an application process through the NCSE.

Further recruitment within the NCSE to achieve the full complement of 39 therapists, which is currently ongoing, will assist the NCSE in the delivery and expansion of the services provided above.

The introduction of the Educational Therapy Support Service in schools is a major step forward towards the development of a National Therapy Support Service for schools.

The Department of Education and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.

Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

379. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress made in the development of a central applications system for parents seeking special class or school places for 2026, as was committed to in the Programme for Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15097/25]

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

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.

As you are aware a new taskforce to support the forward planning of special education provision in the Dublin 15 area has been established. The Dublin 15 area has experienced significant increases in population growth in recent years, with high levels of migration into the area and includes areas with social disadvantage.

The area covers 5 local school planning areas (LSPAs) in which there are 47 schools - 32 mainstream primary schools, 13 post primary schools and 2 special schools. There are 11 different patrons of the 47 schools in these 5 LSPAs. Therefore, it is an ideal area to trial and pilot best approaches towards better forward planning and information sharing regarding special education provision.

Instrumentally, the taskforce will consider the development of a common application system for admission to primary special classes. Thirteen primary schools in the local area are being supported by the NCSE in trialling a common application system. The voice of parents will be a key component throughout all elements of the taskforce. Parent representation on the taskforce includes representatives from the Autism School Dublin 15 (ASD15) group, the National Parents Council and parents from the local area.

The taskforce is committed to communicating its findings to both Minister McEntee and I no later than quarter two this year. Once it has done so we can examine its viability and try to progress the development of a common application system for a larger cohort.

My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.