Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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1015. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she can provide clarification on what happens to children whose parents do not notify the NCSE that their child is seeking a special class or special school place by 1 February 2025. [20643/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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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. 2,700 new places are being created in 2025 and these, together with the over 1,200 existing places which will become available due to children and young people moving on from primary schools and post primary schools, will mean that there is close to 4,000 places available for the coming school year. The NCSE advise that just under 3,300 verified notifications of children seeking a specialist placement for the coming school year were received by them by mid-February.

It is important to remember that the majority of children with special education needs attend mainstream classes with their peers and can access increasing levels of support from their class teacher, special education teachers and Special Needs Assistants.

In October 2024, to support forward planning work, my department issued a circular letter (0080/2024) to all schools setting out a number of new measures to support the work of the NCSE and schools in providing new special classes.

Among the new measures introduced was a request for parents of children seeking a special education placement, including children already attending mainstream classes, to notify the NCSE. This was to ensure that the NCSE had a clear picture of the children in mainstream who may have needed a special placement. The information this provided allowed the NCSE identify where provision was required and sanction classes more quickly than in previous years.

399 of the 400 new special classes places provided for in Budget 2025 have been sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year. Of these 287 are at primary and 112 at post primary level. The NCSE continues to engage with a small number of schools in order to ensure there is adequate provision for all children known to them for the 2025/26 school year.

My department has requested the NCSE to work closely with schools and families to ensure that children can access these places as quickly as possible. My department has also written to all schools opening new special classes asking them to commence their admission processes as soon as possible.

The NCSE is still receiving notifications from parents seeking special educational placement for the 2025/26 school year. I advise any parent who has not yet made contact with the NCSE to now do so. The NCSE will continue to support these families and can advise of where remaining vacancies exist and provide advice and support as required. Local special educational need organisers (SENOs) remain available and parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available on the NCSE website. Where NCSE are notified later and there are no available places remaining, they will work with a family and a school to support a child's placement in mainstream pending a special class placement becoming available.

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.