Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 July 2019
438. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools directed in June and July 2019 to provide special classes in September 2019; the number of such schools per county; the additional resources to be provided to the schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32013/19]
View answerEvery child must have the opportunity to avail of his or her right to education pursuant to their constitutional and legal rights and in accordance with their identified needs.
I am aware that there is a need for additional specialist education placements in a number of areas for next September.
In each of these areas, local Special Education Needs Officers are working with parents and schools to ensure that these placements become available.
The Government would prefer that schools provide the necessary places voluntarily.
The Minister has certain legal powers under 37A (2) of the Education Act 1998 (as inserted by Section 8 of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018) to direct schools to make new places available.
The Act outlines a number of steps that must be taken before a school can be directed to make additional places available including:
- The National Council for Special Education must first form the opinion that there is an insufficient number of places in an area and write to the Minister outlining the reasons and type of placements required.
- If the Ministers agrees, he then serves a statutory notice on the schools identified which then have the right to make representations to the Minister.
- Statutory notices issued under the Act together with the representations received from the schools are published on the Department’s website.
- The Minister considers the representations and following any consultations with the patrons involve, he may issue a further statutory notice to the schools
Last April, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) issued a report under the Act to the Minister outlining a shortfall in the number of specialist education places required in the Dublin 15 area.
It is the formal activation of section 37A. This allows for the capacity of schools in an area to be tested and ultimately it can allow the Minister to issue a direction that requires a school to provide additional special education places.
On 28th June, I served statutory notice under the Act on 18 schools in Dublin, and their patron bodies, requesting that they make additional places available.
The 18 schools and their Patron bodies had 14 days to make representations to me in respect of the notices.
I am currently considering these representations and I have the option to consult further with the schools and their Patron bodies before further action is taken.
There are extensive professional development and other supports available to schools who establish special classes.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) were requested to ensure provision is in place to support schools that establish new ASD special classes opening in Dublin 15 for 2019/20 school year. The NCSE and NEPS have committed to providing a high level of support to schools in the event that a new special class is established in the school.
A new special programme of professional support is being developed in collaboration with the Middletown Centre for Autism during the summer months which will be available in September.
This programme will provide a period of intensive upskilling, as well as ongoing mentoring, coaching and in-school support during the challenging start-up terms to teachers. The learning needs of SNAs will also be included in this process.
