Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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73. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if specific continuous personal development training is available on a specific area (details supplied); if her Department has plans to introduce such training; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6833/26]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Enabling students with special educational needs to receive an education that meets their needs 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 students with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where students 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 students will be supported to receive an education in the most inclusive setting possible.

A range of options are available to teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) in regard to training opportunities in special education. These are provided within initial teacher education (ITE) programmes for student teachers and teacher professional learning (TPL) programmes for established teachers. Other options include short, flexible on-line opportunities and funding for placement on graduate and post-graduate programmes.

The importance of having special education training in ITE programmes was compounded when my colleague Minister McEntee requested that special education placements become mandatory for student teachers and appropriate modules have been added to programmes support this measure.

Central to TPL is Oide, a Department of Education and Youth funded TPL service. All Oide TPL programmes are designed and underpinned with the fundamental principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework that facilitates the inclusion of all learners to access the school curriculum in a meaningful way.

In addition, the NCSE offer full school support to all staff and provide support for teachers with training needs in special education, through the NCSE support service. This service manages, co-ordinates and develops a range of supports in response to identified training need. Any school who feels it has a training need can contact their local special education needs organiser to arrange training.

The NCSE continues to update current TPL courses and design new courses in response to the needs of teachers. Detailed information on the comprehensive programme of TPL seminars on a variety of special educational needs topics is published on the NCSE website: www.ncse.ie/tpl.

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.