Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:

Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this government.   

For 2023, the spend by my Department on special education will be substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education.

This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the Department’s total allocation for 2023.

This includes additional teaching and care supports.  It also includes funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) for an additional 54 psychologists to provide services to special schools and special classes.

In 2023 the number of teaching and special needs assistants (SNA) posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 SNAs in our schools next year.

For the first time ever we will have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 SNAs. Together we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.

It is Department policy, in accordance with the principles of inclusive education, that pupils with additional learning needs are supported in mainstream classes along with their peers, with additional supports provided as necessary.

My Department has invested considerably in ensuring that all recognised mainstream schools have been allocated additional special education teaching resources to cater for children with special educational needs, including pupils with a Specific Learning Disability (SLD). 

Guidelines for schools on the organisation, deployment and use of their special education teachers have been published and are available at gov.ie - Guidelines for Primary Schools Supporting Pupils with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools (www.gov.ie)

It is a matter for schools to monitor and utilise their allocation of additional teaching support to best support the needs of identified pupils in accordance with my department's guidance. 

In addition, there are specialist educational supports provided by the NEPS and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to help schools provide an appropriate education for pupils with special educational needs including reading difficulties. 

My Department provides for a range of placement options and supports for schools, which have enrolled pupils with special educational needs, including pupils with a SLD, to ensure that wherever a child is enrolled, s/he will have access to an appropriate education.  These placement options include; attending their local school with additional teaching supports,  attending a special class attached to a mainstream school, or attending a special school. 

Funding is also made available to schools for the purchase of specialised equipment such as computers and/or software to assist children with special educational needs, including children with SLDs, where relevant professionals recommend the equipment as being essential for the provision of education.  Schools apply to the NCSE, through their local Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO) for such support.  SENOs make recommendations to my Department where assistive technology is required, in accordance with the criteria set out in my department's Circular 0010/2013. 

A continuum of education provision is in place covering the full range of need spanning placement in mainstream classes with supports through to more specialist placements either in a special class or a special school depending on the level of complexity of need. 

It is important to note though, that the majority of students with significant literacy difficulties currently receive additional teaching support from a special education teacher in a mainstream class. This is provided on the basis of the individual pupil’s learning needs, identified in schools, as opposed to being based on a requirement for a child to have a diagnosis, or an assessment, of a particular disability.

As the Deputy may be aware, I have requested my Department to arrange for a review of the policy on reading classes and schools.  The Department’s inspectorate is currently working to finalise its report on the outcomes of a series of special educational needs inspections in schools with special classes for children with specific learning disabilities.  It is envisaged that this report will be finalised in the coming weeks.   When completed, this report will also be considered in the context of overall policy on special education.