Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 May 2022
427. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education the specific funding that will follow to schools that are subject to section 37A of the Education Act 1998 (details supplied); and the number of schools that her Department has identified to be served with such notice by county in tabular form. [26212/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government.
This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs.
As the deputy will be aware I have met with the National Council for Special Education to discuss measures to further increase the number of special school and special class places for children with special educational needs.
There has been extensive work and collaboration between the Department of Education and the NCSE to increase the provision of new school places for children with additional needs.
I intend to utilise all options available to me to ensure that we increase the number of special school and special class places for the children who need them. I will be working closely with the Department and the NCSE to provide solutions for children with special educational needs and their families.
The preferred solution is that schools proactively open special classes.
If the NCSE has not been able to secure the necessary placements in an area, it can activate a statutory provision contained in Section 37A of the Education Act 1998. Under this provision, and after a period of engagement the Minister can direct a school to open a special class. These provisions have already been used twice in the Dublin area to good effect.
All parties prefer that schools volunteer to open a special class; where all reasonable efforts fail, the Minister has power under Section 37A of the Education Act 1998 to compel a school to provide additional places.
The legislation was used for the first time in 2019 in respect of the Dublin 15 area and was activated for a second time following a report by the NCSE which identified a shortage of special school and special class places across South Dublin.
The section 37A process is currently being reviewed within the overall context of the review of the EPSEN Act 2004 review to establish if the process can be better streamlined to ensure sufficient specialist places can be made available in an efficient manner.
The NCSE through its local network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs) provide assistance to schools in planning for new special classes, particularly in terms of the accommodation needs for these new classes. Where building or refurbishment works are required, SENOs provide assistance to the schools in preparing their application to the Department, and follow up on their progress. This is an important part of ensuring that the new class can open in time.
A programme of professional support for schools with newly established special classes has been developed by the NCSE. This programme is available to schools as soon as is practicable upon completion of their recruitment process.
This is in addition to the extensive programme of Professional Teacher Learning available at ncse.ie/teacher-professional-learning and the In School Support Service available at ncse.ie/school-support.
Funding for the fit out of newly established special classes is also provided for by means of a special class start-up grant, furniture grant, specialised furniture/equipment and ICT grants.
