Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

125. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if, given concerns from educational bodies about the adequacy of resources for inclusive education, she will commit to conducting a policy review on resource allocation in schools to ensure that adequate classroom space, flexible learning environments, and assistive technology are provided under the universal design for learning framework; if she will provide a timeline for this review and outline the process for consulting with relevant stakeholders, including schools, parents, and disability advocacy groups, to reduce reliance on segregation-based supports and ensure all students can access inclusive education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16178/25]

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

On 16 January 2024, The National Council for Special Education published its policy advice paper on special schools and classes entitled “An Inclusive education for an Inclusive society”. This follows a request in October 2018, by the then Minister for Education and Skills to advise on the educational provision for students in special schools and classes and to make recommendations on the future provision required to enable them to achieve better outcomes.

There is a strong base from which to develop an inclusive education system in Ireland with investment in special education amounting to €2.9 billion in 2025, This figure builds on previous years and represents over a quarter of the education budget. While the amount expended each year is a budgetary issue, the adoption of a more inclusive education system doesn’t mean there needs to be significant additional spending. We have 20,000 teachers working in specialist settings at the moment. We’ve a similar number of SNAs. The challenge is to ensure that model of inclusion it develops for our system is one which builds on existing good practice and existing resources.

Further research, engagement with stakeholders and other government departments and agencies, piloting, trialing, and evaluation will comprise key components of the department’s response to the policy advice over the coming years.

However, it is important to note that several actions being undertaken or planned for the near future by the department address aspects of the NCSE recommendations. Many of these actions are at an early stage of development and will take considerable time to deliver. However, cumulatively, they address the identified need for the adoption of a more inclusive education system and could be viewed as key enablers of such a system.

Providing inclusive education to children with special educational needs is a fundamental principle of the education system. This principle is observed through Department policies, Teaching Council requirements for initial teacher education, curriculum provision and the range of supports provided to schools by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and Oide.

Teachers undertake professional learning in a range of pedagogical, curricular and educational areas. Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) provided for teachers supports the inclusion of students with Special Education Needs in mainstream classrooms.

Funded by the Department, Oide works with teachers and school leaders to provide ongoing support and professional development, which promote inclusive practices. Oide is currently supporting the implementation of new and revised curricula at both primary and post primary. We recognize that learners are diverse and through the provision of a range of supports, each of which are designed and underpinned with the fundamental principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in mind, invite teachers to examine and alter teaching and learning approaches that meet the needs of all learners. Oide also provides bespoke school-based support which allows teachers and school leaders to explore inclusive practices and, as a result, to respond directly to the needs of learners in their own context.

Furthermore, the NCSE provides supports to teachers and schools in a way that builds capacity, supports the inclusion of all children, including students with special educational needs, at a whole school level.

In the case of new primary school developments and major projects at primary schools, multi-purpose rooms and special education tuition rooms are included in the accommodation briefs. Additionally, therapies such as Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy are delivered for the most part within the inclusive environment of the classroom or other areas such as the PE hall. This ensures all children in the classroom benefit from the strategies or interventions provided. In the case of a smaller more targeted group or individual therapy, therapists have access to special education tuition rooms, or sensory spaces when available.

Similarly, new post primary school developments and major projects at post primary schools, pastoral offices and special education tuition rooms are included in the accommodation briefs. School authorities in the primary and post primary sector have the flexibility to utilise this accommodation for various purposes including mental health supports and therapeutic counselling services.

In addition, and in the case of major building projects in special schools, dedicated spaces are provided for the delivery of therapy and clinical services.

The Assistive Technology Scheme is provided by my department to supplement the overall approach to providing funding to schools for digital technology and equipment to support children for education purposes. All equipment provided under this scheme supports children who require essential specialist equipment in order to access the school curriculum. Assistive technology can be seen as a critical enabler for those with special educational needs to gain the maximum benefit from a modern technologically focused education system.

The Assistive Technology Grant Scheme, which is currently set out in my department’s circular 0010/2013, is undergoing a review. It is expected that the scheme will transition from a diagnosed-based system to a needs-based child-centric system, aligning with department policy. The review is expected to be completed this year with another key goal of this review being to streamline the application process.

The Department endeavours to ensure that policies, resources and supports for schools are underpinned by extensive reviews of research and evidence. Further, the policy-making process is informed by the outcomes of consultations with relevant stakeholders and professionals, including cross sectoral engagements with Health Service Executive (HSE), Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS), Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and Department of Health (DoH).

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

126. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will address the challenge faced by teachers in both mainstream and special schools who are expected to provide differentiated learning but are not allocated sufficient time to plan, gather resources, and adapt materials due to restrictive special education teaching hours; if she will consider introducing dedicated planning time or additional supports for teachers to ensure high-quality inclusive education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16179/25]

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

127. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills acknowledging concerns from educators regarding the limited time available for planning and delivering differentiated instruction due to restrictive special education teaching hour allocations, and recognising that effective differentiation is crucial for inclusive education, if she will initiate a policy review to explore mechanisms for providing teachers with sufficient planning time and resources (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16180/25]

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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 126 and 127 together.

The primary responsibility for the education of all children, including those with special education need in our education system is the class or subject teacher. The Special Education Teacher allocations provide additional teaching support for students with special educational needs enrolled in mainstream classes in primary and post primary schools.

There will be close to 15,000 special education teachers supporting mainstream classes in the 2025/26 school year, which is an increase of over 1,200 since the end of the 2021 school year. This is the highest number of SET teachers ever in our schools.

The allocation of Special Education teaching hours to schools has always envisage that a portion of these hours would be used to ensure proper planning and review for the provision of support to children and young people with special educational needs.In December 2024 a revised and updated Guidelines and Indicators of Effective practise were issued by the department to aid schools to support children and young people in mainstream classes with Special Educational Needs. The Guidelines incorporate existing good practices evident in schools along with feedback provided, during their development, from our educational partners. The Indicators of Effective Practice are provided for schools to help the school identify areas of current effective practice, build on these effective practices and prioritise areas for development.The guidelines outline that schools must use the Continuum of Support framework to identify learning needs, plan, implement and review intervention for all children. This is consistent with a unified and coordinated approach to planning.Identifying children and young people’s strengths, interests, and priority learning needs are essential, to inform the planning, implementation, assessment and regular review of intervention for each child and young person at each level of the Continuum of SupportThe profile of need in each school is unique and hence the number of hours required for planning will vary based on the individual need in the school. This was subject of discussion with our education partners as part of the development of the updated guidelines. The updated guidelines give autonomy to the principal/leadership team in that they can allow time for the special education teacher(s)/ Special Education team for information­ gathering and assessment, reviewing, monitoring and co­ordinating provision for children with special educational needs from within their allocation of hours. This time allocated must be recorded as part of the school’s provision plan and should be used appropriately to ensure that there is minimal impact on the provision of targeted and high-quality special education teaching support for children with special educational needs, who have been identified in a schools Provision Plan for Children with Special Educational Needs.As we acknowledge the growing number of children with special educational needs transitioning to post primary over the coming years, there will also be additional resources provided to every post primary school in 2025 to assist them in the effective planning and support of these children. Post primary schools require significant time for special needs coordination, planning, tracking, consultation, communication, and reporting and this time is likely to increase as more children with special educational needs transition from primary to post primary settings.These resources to post primary schools will be in the form additional hours to schools and my officials will work with our education partners as to how this will be best implemented for the next school year.The Department will be continuously reviewing this area with our education partners (management bodies and staff representatives) to ensure that it is operating effectively and in the best interests of all children and young people with identified special education needs.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

128. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills given her Department’s recent decision to reduce the criteria for allocating special education teaching hours from five to three for the upcoming academic year, thereby excluding factors such as student gender and the complexity of individual needs, if she will conduct an immediate policy review to assess the impact of these changes on the adequacy and fairness of resource distribution; if she will provide a timeline for this review and detail how her Department plans to engage with stakeholders, including teachers' unions and special education experts, to ensure that the allocation model remains equitable and responsive to the actual needs of students with disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16182/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I would like to thank the Deputy for the question.

The primary responsibility for the education of all children, including those with special education need in our education system is the class or subject teacher. The Special Education Teacher allocations provide additional teaching support for students with special educational needs enrolled in mainstream classes in primary and post primary schools.

There will be close to 15,000 special education teachers supporting mainstream classes in the 2025/26 school year, which is an increase of over 1,200 since the end of the 2021 school year. This is the highest number of SET teachers ever in our schools.

The Special Education Teacher allocation model had been in place since 2017. The Department commenced a review of the model in late 2022 to ensure that it was meeting the changing needs in special education. During this review the department sought and listened to the views, concerns and issues raised by our education partners and schools around the existing model through a series of consultations.

In relation to gender the evidence since 2017 is that girls also have significant Special educational need but these tend to present later and in different ways in the education system. The model now ensures that the inequality whereby the needs of girls in mainstream were not fully supported has now been rectified.

Complex needs provided by the HSE since 2017 has been inconsistent, increasingly so in recent years. The data on complex needs was sourced from the HSE, which had developed criteria to determine eligibility for access to (CDNTs).

This meant that schools for whom no data was returned (even where there was significant need) would lose resources to those small number of schools for whom there was a return, creating a serious inequity in the distribution of resources.

This would also not include the considerable number of children who are waiting a first appointment with CDNT in the HSE, therefore creating even more inequities in the system.

This input has now been replaced by verifiable and accurate data provided by each school which ensures a consistent and fair allocation based on each schools profile of need.

The changes implemented were welcomed by school leadership representative bodies and the National Parents council given that the revised allocations model is now underpinned by more accurate data provided by schools,

The Department acknowledges that every school is different, and that schools can experience unique circumstances that may be difficult to reflect in any standardised method. This is always a challenge when making allocations in respect of 4,000 schools.

It is for this reason the Department, working with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) streamlined the review process for special education teaching hours.

The NCSE opened their portal for review application from schools in February. All reviews will be completed by NCSE before the end of this school year so that any additional resources required in a school will be in place ahead of the new school year.

The department, along with stakeholders, are cognisant that the model needs to continue to evolve so that the SET allocations process takes into account new or improved data sources and other changes within the school system.

The department is very much aware that additional data is available in individual schools which may not be available consistently across all schools and a key focus of the roadmap is to develop an accurate and verifiable system to capture such data. In further phases, it is intended that the department, in consultation with education partners, will examine an ongoing continuous improvement process that can give schools more input into identifying the need in their school in the most efficient way possible.