Sorca Clarke
Question:248. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the number of students with additional educational needs that were not provided with transport for the 2022-2023 school year. [18931/23]
View answerTuesday, 25 April 2023
Questions (248)
Written answers
The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 147,900 children, including over 18,300 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
In addition, school transport scheme services are being provided in the current school year for over 4,500 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
The purpose of the School Transport Scheme for children with Special Educational Needs is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children with special educational needs arising from a diagnosed disability.
The National Council for Special Education acts in an advisory role to the Department of Education on the suitability of placements for children with special educational needs. Under the terms of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, the Department will consider the report of the Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO). School transport is provided to children with special educational needs who are attending the nearest school to their place of residence that is or can be resourced to meet their educational needs, as identified by the SENO.
To date over 5,000 new SEN applications have been received for the 2022/23 school year and over 4,800 have been facilitated on services this year. It should be noted that of the new applications still being processed for the current school year, the majority of these applications have been received in recent months.
Any remaining applications will be catered for through a mix of new services (some being individual), children being accommodated on existing services where capacity exists, extensions of existing routes and grants to families.
Bus Éireann engage with families where transport has been sanctioned but where there are delays in sourcing a service. A Special Transport Interim Grant has been offered to families of children with special educational needs who, following the application process, are eligible under the terms of the school transport scheme and are awaiting a School Transport service to be put in place.
The interim grant is offered from the date of application to assist with the cost of private transport arrangements the family had put in place until a transport service is ready to commence.
Applications for SEN transport are received on a year round basis. Where a new service is sanctioned, this means a procurement / vetting process is required, while in many instances the school is also sanctioned to employ a transport escort and this necessarily takes time to put in place. By accepting applications year round, the Department can ensure that children with special educational needs receive the transport they require.
To ensure the efficient delivery of services for children on Special Educations Needs school transport, Bus Éireann assesses each application to identify the options available. Where children can be facilitated on an existing service, applications are processed immediately and arrangements put in place with families involved.
Where a new service has to be established there is a lead in period for this process that includes issues such as:
• route design and procurement including contract award.
• in many instances a School Bus Escort is required for the child’s safe transport to school and it can take time for the school to source a suitable person which can impact the start date.
While the closing date for receipt of applications for school transport in general is the last Friday in April in any given year for the following school year, the Department accepts applications all year round for the SEN transport scheme.