Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her questions. Teacher training is an issue of huge interest to me.

I know that since September 2022, inclusive education has been a mandatory component in all initial teacher training programmes, aligning with the Céim standards for initial teacher education. I have been engaging with my colleague the Minister for higher education, Deputy O'Donovan, on teacher training colleges, and as part of all teacher training, I would like everyone to be assessed for teaching in a special class or special school. That should be common practice in order that teachers will feel equipped. There is also continuing professional development whereby teachers have access to that training within schools, which is really important. The 44 therapists I talked about will help with capacity building of teachers in rolling out therapies in schools. There are also 338 postgraduate funded places every year. We would like to do more in that space and, as part of the budgetary process, I want to ramp that up because I know that teachers feeling confident and that they have the skill set is a key part of this.

The Deputy highlighted that schools consider the SET hours onerous. I think the review process for SET hours used to be onerous, but in the latest reviews, 83% of schools proceeded to a full review and got additional resources, totalling 1,200 hours. To answer the Deputy's question, the process was significantly streamlined and has been made less onerous. Some schools may not be aware of it because in the older process, more paperwork may have been involved, but it is now easier for schools to engage in a review of their SET hours, which is a good message to get out there.

I referred earlier to the summer programme, for which there is €40 million. The numbers taking it up have increased, from 1,400 schools to 1,700. We reached out to schools and teachers and asked them what the barriers were, given that when parents wanted their local school to open a summer programme, many schools were not doing it. One of the key barriers was the pay rates for teachers and SNAs, so we increased them and, as a result, the numbers of schools have increased. The focus was on special schools and that capitation rate is €60, while the rate for special classes in mainstream schools is €45. The numbers have increased. There are limited resources and it is going to remain under review, but there has been an increase from 13,000 children participating in the summer programme to 50,000. I am going to constantly review the programme to try to make sure more schools take it up.

Early intervention, EL, classes are available in mainstream and special school settings for children aged between three and five years with a diagnosis of autism, and a small number are also available for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. These classes are intended to provide support to children before they start school and can aid their transition to junior infants. For the 2023-24 school year, there were 157 EL classes nationwide, while seven new classes have been sanctioned for the 2024-25 school year. A child's attendance in an early intervention class does not mean they will require a placement in a special class during their primary education, and many students enrol in mainstream classes thereafter. Part of that transition will involve the role of the NCSE and the SENOs on the ground, which will help greatly in the transition into primary school.