John Lahart
Question:263. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education if she will centralise the school place application model for students with additional needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12168/23]
View answerThursday, 9 March 2023
Questions (263)
Written answers
I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:
Enabling children with special educational needs (SEN) to receive an education appropriate to meet their needs is a priority for this Government.
It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my Department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
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 providing supports to children and young people with special educational needs and their schools.
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 funding to support children with SEN in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers and special needs assistants.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs nationwide. Decisions on the admission of children to school, including children with additional needs, is a matter for each school in accordance with their published Admission Policy.
Last summer, a new piece of legislation, the Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Act 2022 was enacted. The new legislation places additional duties on schools, patrons and boards of management to co-operate with the NCSE in relation to making additional provision for children with special educational needs. This is aimed at ensuring that all schools take a child centred approach and are open to accommodating children with special educational needed.
The new legislation also provides for a potential additional function for the NCSE to manage and co-ordinate admission to school for children with special educational needs in co-operation with parents and schools where necessary.
This new function could be used to support parents and schools in a specific location where there is a high demand for special class places. The NCSE could engage with schools and parents to agree a process for managing the admission process.
The new function could potentially reduce the need for schools to have to consider a large number of applications for a small number of available special class places and it could assist parents who presently may apply to a large number of schools seeking a special class place for a child with special educational needs.
However, the implementation of this new function will take time and could involve the NCSE establishing an advisory committee to review applications and support a number of schools to work together through the admission process for their special class or classes. The matter remains under review at present.
Additionally, in December 2021, I announced a review of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act, 2004, which provides for the education of children aged under 18 years with SEN.
A number of steps have been taken by my Department in relation to this important review of legislation. Establishment of a Steering Group, Working Group and Advisory Group have been completed and all the groups have had multiple engagements.
An online public consultation phase was launched by my Department on the 30th November 2022. As of 7th March, over 18,000 replies have been received. The survey remains open until the 24th of March 2023. Focus groups will be organised at the conclusion of the public survey to explore key themes that arise as a result of the survey analysis. The review is due to be completed by Q3 2023.
The purpose of the review is to provide assurance that the law that governs the provision of education for children with special educational needs is adequate. This is important, in order to protect the interests of the children concerned and their families, and to ensure that the State can make plans to provide appropriate education for children with special educational needs.