Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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112. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her Department’s plans to provide alternative models of learning for children who struggle with the larger conventional classroom model and prefer learning in smaller groups; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40163/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I want to thank the Deputy for raising this issue and understand that while it refers to all children in the school system, there are specific concerns here for children with special educational needs, particularly at post primary level, who might find a large classroom busy and noisy and prefer smaller settings.

Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an appropriate education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority for me, my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special class and special school places are provided.

My department provides for a range of placement options and supports for schools and students with special educational needs in order to ensure that wherever a child is enrolled, they will have access to an appropriate education.

By the end of the year there will be close to 21,000 special educational teachers and over 23,000 special needs assistants (SNAs) in our mainstream classes, special classes and special schools. This will mean we will have over 44,000 teachers and SNAs working in our education system committed to supporting and nurturing children with special educational needs, enabling them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.

As outlined in the recent published guidelines for Post Primary schools - 'Supporting Young People with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Classes' - schools have the autonomy to provide Interventions to support young people which may be delivered through in ­class support, e.g. team teaching, and may take the form of small group support. These supports can be delivered in a variety of settings, including in mainstream subject classrooms and such an approach is likely to be of use in the circumstances of concern to the Deputy.

My department also provides funding for assistive technologies for children where it is required. Information on these supports is available via the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

It is recognised that a proper acoustic environment is crucial for effective classroom teaching. Noise can be generated from outside the school site, arise in the school building generally, or arise within the classroom itself. Noise which arises within the school building may come from human activity or from ventilation systems, fans, plumbing etc. My department has guidance on acoustic treatment which is included in the technical guidance documents available on the gov.ie website - School Design Guide SDG-02-04 Primary & Post Primary School Specialist Accommodation for Pupils with Special Educational Needs.

Even with the measures outlined above to minimise noise and the resources which schools can use to provide small group support, concerns may remain for a child who still struggles in a school setting. The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) is available to students as required. It is open to parents who have concerns about how their child is coping in class to, in the first instance, discuss these concerns with the school principal to put in place supports which might alleviate the social and emotional demands of school life. This may include supports available within the school’s Continuum of Support Framework and to request a consultation with the NEPS psychologist assigned to the school, if deemed appropriate.

My department is 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.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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113. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will address concerns from parents and schools about suggestions by her Department that parents should no longer apply directly to schools geared towards mild disability, and that the decision on who attends should no longer be made by the board of management based on medical advice and the parents’ submissions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39850/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The government is committed to the provision of additional special school places for children with more complex educational needs. Over 300 new special school places are being provided for the coming 2025/2026 school year. Five new special schools are being established in addition to the eleven new special schools opened over the last few years. Special school capacity is also being expanded across a number of special schools.

It’s important to note that it is not the intention to exclude children who require a special school place from accessing certain special school settings, but rather allow children with complex educational needs apply to their local special school. Currently, there are instances whereby children with complex needs cannot apply for admission to their local special school simply because they don’t meet the narrow designation of that special school. In that regard, along with providing additional special school capacity, my department and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) consider that it is necessary to look at the profile of our existing special schools.

This is not a new departure. The NCSE report that over half of mild general learning disability (MGLD) special schools have diversified to allow children with more complex needs in their communities who require a special school setting enrol in their local special school. I wish to thank schools who have worked with us to broaden their designation and my department will continue to support schools in this endeavour so that more special schools can better support children with complex needs in their local community.

There are approximately 30 of our 129 special schools that were originally designated as schools for children with a MGLD. The establishment of these special schools predated the significant expansion in the range of supports offered in mainstream schools through additional special education teaching and special needs assistant resources and through the rapid expansion in special class provision.

It is noted that many of the children enrolling in MGLD special school do so around the transition point from primary to post-primary. The new senior cycle level 1 and level 2 programmes offers a new curriculum pathway for students with special educational needs at post-primary level now also.

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.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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114. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has plans to provide for specialised support for students with speech and sound disorders of a known origin, given that these children are currently excluded from enrolling in DLD/SSD special classes, and that no alternative supports are available to them, despite their needs being no less significant than those of children currently eligible to enrol. [40064/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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There are 63 special classes for pupils with significant speech issues in mainstream primary schools. They provide a time-limited, targeted intervention for children with severe impairments in their skills of understanding and expressing themselves through spoken language.

The Department’s Inspectorate published a report on the quality of provision for children attending these classes in 2021 which raised significant issues including the fact that enrolment criteria for entry to the classes did not align with the diagnostic definition used by speech and language therapists in Ireland and internationally since 2017.

Following a review, the Department published Circular 0024/2025 with revised criteria for enrolment in these classes including the removal of reference to IQ as one of the entry criteria for these classes.

The updates to circular 0038/2007 were informed by robust engagement with the Speech and Language Therapy service in the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT) and HSE Speech and Language Therapists. As advised by these specialist services, the revised entry criteria for these classes are intended to ensure that the children with the greatest level of difficulty can access them.

Guidelines, a decision-making matrix and additional support from the NCSE have been provided to schools to assist them in ensuring that the children with the greatest level of need are facilitated to enrol in the classes.

Department officials also engaged with education stakeholders, including representatives of schools who provide these classes, to consult on the terms of the circular. The feedback from the stakeholders has been incorporated into the revised circular. The circular will be subject to review and this will involve the full range of education and health stakeholders.

It is important to clarify that the criteria for access to the DLD/SSD class does not exclude children with any co-morbid conditions. The circular acknowledges that both the DLD and SSD of unknown origin diagnoses may have co-morbidities. A co-morbid condition is one that exists alongside another and is not causative. There may be children for whom their SSD is of unknown origin but there are co-morbid conditions or diagnoses and there are others where the SSD results from a particular medical or biomedical diagnosis.