Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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534. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the expansion of special class provision in primary and post-primary schools for the 2025-2026 school year; the way in which her Department is ensuring that children with additional needs are accommodated in their local communities. [48596/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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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.

This is in keeping with policy on an inclusive education, which promotes that children will be supported to receive an education in the most inclusive setting possible.

My department and the NCSE engage on a weekly basis in relation to the forward planning of special class and special school provision to meet the present, and future need, of children with special educational needs.

For this school year 2025/2026, 407 new special classes are opening, with new special classes in each and every county. This brings to 3,741 special classes across the country providing over 22,000 special class places. A new parents notification process was introduced by the NCSE ahead of this school year. This allows the NCSE to have greater clarity on the level of need for special class places and the location of children seeking places. This allows improved coherence in the sanctioning of new special classes in schools that are best placed to meet local needs.

It is expected that a similar number of special class and special school places may need to be provided over each of the next few years, that was provided in recent years. As more and more special classes open in primary schools and as the overall level of enrolments at primary level reduce, it is expected that over time the normal annual progression of students from primary special classes to post-primary will provide a significant number of places each year for younger children seeking a special class placement. At post-primary level, my department has already written to all schools asking them to prepare to provide on average four special classes each.

In order to support the NCSE and forward planning my department published Circular 0039/2025. This circular informs school management and patrons of measures introduced to support forward planning going forward and reiterates the need for parents to inform the NCSE that they are seeking a special educational placement for their child. An earlier date of 1 October has been set in which parents must do so. This notification will provide the NCSE with valuable information as to which children will continue to require a special class as they progress to post-primary level and details on students who require a place for the first time. The NCSE is actively communicating this requirement nationally also.

The earlier date will allow for earlier sanctioning of classes for the 2026/27 school year, and it is the aim of the NCSE to sanction the majority of new special classes by 31 December 2025.

For the 2026/2027 school year, the NCSE will continue to prioritise new special classes in medium to larger primary schools with none or just 1 special class and post-primary schools with none or just 1 special class.

Parents can make initial contact, submit reports and provide consent forms directly via the NCSE’s website: ncse.ie/notify-ncse-special-class-special-school, emailing parentsnotify@ncse.ie, or calling 01 603 3346.

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.

Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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535. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the rollout of the new education therapy service announced in Education Plan 2025; and the way therapists will be allocated to special schools to support children with complex needs. [48597/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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As you may be aware the provision of clinical therapy services is within the remit of the HSE and HSE funded agencies. However, as you mentioned the Education Plan 2025, confirms government commitment to and approval of the establishment of the Education Therapy Service (ETS).

It is anticipated that the ETS will commence in 45 special schools at a later stage in the 2025/26 school year. Further roll out of the service will occur on a phased basis with a wider roll-out to further special schools commencing in the 2026/27 school year. In time, it is intended that this service will be available to schools with special classes and mainstream schools. This is not to replace HSE services but rather to compliment existing supports recognising that special schools support children with complex needs.

It is anticipated that school selection for the initial phase will be complete early in the 2025/2026 school year to ensure that selected schools have the opportunity to engage with the ETS prior to therapist assignment.

The development and delivery of this service will be informed by detailed engagement, which is on-going, with our colleagues in the HSE and stakeholders and will build on the National Council for Special Educations’ (NCSE) work previously completed through the Educational Therapy Support Service (ETSS) and the School Inclusion Model.

In addition to the ETS, the NCSE have been developing an education -based therapy support service known as the ETSS. This service currently provides two strands of support to schools, Regional Therapy and Sustained In-School Therapy to both mainstream and special schools.

Sustained in-school support (SIT) is provided to schools for a defined period of 18-24 months in line with the School Inclusion Model. 22 schools in the Eastern region are currently availing of this service and 28 schools in the Western region will receive support under SIT from September 25.

Regional therapy support provides Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) with follow on/implementation support by NCSE therapists. The focus of this support is to build the capacity of schools and to embed the learning from TPL into their teaching practice, through In-school coaching and co-facilitation of interventions, strategies and resources, with a focus on whole school (Tier 1) and targeted/school support levels (Tier 2) of a multi-tiered system of support. Regional Therapy seminars will be available nationally for the 2025/2026 school year.

My Department and the National Council for Special Education (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.