Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2024
274. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Education the assistance being offered to a school (details supplied); when will this school be provided with an update and funding for these reconfiguration works; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22341/24]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy, that the school in question has submitted an application for capital funding, under my department's Additional Schools' Accommodation (ASA) Scheme for extra accommodation to provide for one special education needs classroom.
The purpose of the Additional Schools' Accommodation scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation or at other schools in the area.
At primary level, this situation generally arises to cater for a school’s accommodation requirements where an additional teaching post has been sanctioned by Teacher Allocation Section, or the requirement for a new class for pupils with special education needs has been identified by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), and all available alternative accommodation within the school is already being used for classroom purposes. The capacity at other schools in the area is also considered as part of the assessment of any accommodation needs.
In general, demographics are falling at primary level and this trend is due to continue. Therefore the Department of Education in conjunction with the National Council for Special Education considers it prudent to maximise the use of existing spare accommodation capacity in National Schools within a general area in the first instance. This consideration is prior to the establishment of any additional special class that may require additional accommodation e.g. modular accommodation.
This approach can enable a special class to be established more quickly for the coming academic year as it is not bound by the provision of additional accommodation. This then means that the educational needs of children who require a specialist placement can be met at more easily. It may also allow for the earlier re-configuration of existing accommodation to occur in a more streamlined and efficient manner.
This overall approach is consistent with the Department’s commitment to supporting the educational needs of children who require specialist placements while at the same time meeting the requirements of the Government’s Infrastructure Guidelines.
Schools’ support for the establishment of special classes is most welcome. Where additional accommodation is indicated as being required, an analysis of both student demand and available accommodation in an area is required. In this regard, the Department is working very closely with the NCSE to ensure that this required analysis is thoroughly explored with a view to providing the most immediate and cost effective accommodation solutions for the establishment of new special classes for the 2024/25 school year.
Officials in my Department have been engaging with the school in recent weeks. A proposed brief letter was issued to the school and the Department has received confirmation of agreement to the proposed brief. Officials in my Department will continue to engage with the school in the coming weeks regarding the brief of accommodation.
