John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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414. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a primary school (details supplied) has not had a whole school evaluation since 2012; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36175/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Inspectorate conducts an annual inspection programme that consists of a variety of inspection and advisory models. These range from short, one-day, unannounced inspections (incidental inspections) to longer announced inspections including curriculum evaluations (CE) and whole-school evaluations (WSE). Curriculum evaluations and whole-school evaluations, among others, lead to a published report, while advisory visits and incidental inspections do not. In scheduling its inspection programme, the Inspectorate adopts a risk-based approach to inspection planning, which is based on a range of criteria relating to early learning and care settings and schools.

Since 2016, St. Kieran’s School for the Travelling Community, Bray, Co. Wicklow has had three incidental inspections, two advisory sessions during the pandemic, and most recently in November 2024, a curriculum evaluation. While a whole-school evaluation has not taken place in the school since 2012, there has been regular and consistent engagement with the school during the intervening period. The table below documents the engagements with the school since 2016.

Reports arising from school inspections are published on www.gov.ie/DEInspectorate.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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415. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills under what grounds a school is classified as a special school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36176/25]

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.

Special schools support children and young people aged between 4 and 18 years of age with the most complex special educational needs and ensure positive links are established and fostered between the home, school and other agencies for these children.

Many special schools originally established under a particular designation of student need, including those providing education for students with a mild general learning disability have, and continue to diversify. These schools now respond to a broader range of students’ needs from within their respective catchment areas. This is in keeping with my department’s policy on an inclusive education and facilitates students with more complex needs to be educated in their local special school. My department will continue to support special schools in this endeavour.

Each new special school is established after significant planning and analysis by my Department and the National Council for Special Education and a patron body is approved by the Minister. The Minister also sets the designation of the new special school.

As more special classes are provided, particularly at post-primary level, this provides more options for children with complex special educational needs to attend local schools. It is essential that special schools work to support children with the most complex needs and that children are not required to pass one or more special schools to access a special school place, because of the narrow designation of some special schools. It is essential that we work to ensure more children requiring a special school place can access their nearest special school.

My department and the National Council for Special Education are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements remain available for children with special educational needs and will continue to review and monitor the situation nationwide as to where new special schools are required.