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Special Educational Needs

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2020

Tuesday, 1 December 2020

Questions (63)

Cathal Crowe

Question:

63. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education the status of the provision of ASD units in secondary schools in County Clare. [39900/20]

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Written answers

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

Next year, over 20% of the total Education budget or €2bn will be invested in supporting children with special educational needs. As a result, the numbers of special education teachers, SNAs and special class and school places are at unprecedented levels.

197 new special classes have been established nationally for the 2020/21 school year. Of these, approximately 189 will be new ASD special classes with 64 of these in post-primary schools.

Budget 2021 provided for an additional 235 special class teachers in 2021. This investment will support the provision of over 1,200 additional special class places.

My Department’s policy is that all children with special educational needs, including those with autism, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network.

This policy has been informed by published research, including the Report of the Task Force on Autism (2001), the Evaluation of Educational Provision for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (2006) and National Council for Special Education (NCSE) policy advice on Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (2016).

This policy ensures that the majority of children with special educational needs attend mainstream classes with their peers.

Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions. These are delivered by fully qualified teachers, with the support of SNAs, Special Education Teachers and the appropriate school curriculum.

Some students may however find it difficult to manage full-time placement in a mainstream setting. For these students, placement in a special class or special school setting, where lower pupil/teacher ratios apply and there are other supports available may be appropriate.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible for planning and coordinating local education provision and school placements for children with special educational needs.

The NCSE has advised that there are currently 9 special classes supporting students with autism in post-primary schools in Clare. One of these classes is new for the 2020/21 school-year.

The NCSE also recognises that there is a requirement for additional special class provision at post primary level in Shannon and Ennis over the next few years. This is based on local information regarding projected demand for future specialist places for students with autism.

It is open to any school to make an application to the NCSE to open a special class and this will be approved where it is considered there is a sustainable demand into the future. The active collaboration of school communities is vital to the effective inclusion of students with special educational needs.

Planning for future needs takes into consideration the current availability of such places and focuses on those locations where additional provision is required.

The NCSE is currently consulting with local schools, patrons, other education partners and with my Department, in order to ensure that additional post primary special classes can be established.

Where a school is not in a position to expand its specialist provision within its existing accommodation, the school can submit an application to my Department for capital funding to re-configure existing spaces to accommodate the expansion or to construct additional accommodation.

The NCSE, through its network of local SENOs, will continue to engage with the local schools to support the establishment of additional classes as required.

My Department will continue to support the NCSE and schools through the provision of the necessary funding and capital investment to ensure all children are successful in accessing an education.

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