Ministers Foley and Naughton announce the establishment of an Educational Therapy Support Service (ETSS)

Minister for Education Norma Foley TD and Minister for Special Education and Inclusion Hildegarde NaughtonTD have today announced the establishment of an Educational Therapy Support Service (ETSS).

The Educational Therapy Support Service (ETSS) will see the appointment, on a permanent basis, of occupational and speech and language therapists, as well as behaviour practitioners to the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

Therapists will work with teachers in classrooms to collaboratively design and deliver educationally-relevant interventions for students with a range of needs. This will allow, for example, a teacher and an occupational therapist to explore opportunities to integrate more movement into learning to support regulation or for a speech and language therapist to model evidence-based vocabulary strategies in the classroom.

Speech and language and occupational therapists will be embedded across the NCSE’s regional team structure. They will also work in partnership with school communities, NCSE colleagues and, where appropriate, National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) and HSE professionals.

The ETSS will enable the NCSE to work in a complementary manner with health services, such as primary care and disability teams, with a view to addressing systemic issues in the provision of therapeutic supports to children and young people.

Minister Foley said:

“As Minister for Education, I was pleased to secure €2.5 million in funding through the budget process for the recruitment of 39 therapists and 5 behaviour practitioners. I welcome the fact that these posts will now be offered as permanent positions as part of the new Educational Therapy Support Service. It will ensure that schools can access the right educational supports at the right time and is in line with recent NCSE policy advice “Inclusive Education for an Inclusive Society'."

Minister Naughton said:

“Since my appointment as Minister for Special Education and Inclusion, I have been working closely my colleague Minister Paschal Donohoe to deliver 39 therapist and 5 behaviour practitioner positions on a permanent basis. Feedback from the school community suggested that the temporary nature of these positions was proving a significant challenge in filling therapist vacancies across our schools. Now that sanction has been secured students will be better supported best to achieve their full potential, at every stage of their educational journey."

In additional to the extensive range of NCSE support services already in place, the Educational Therapy Support Services will provide the NCSE with the opportunity to build on the achievements and impacts of the School Inclusion Model pilot programme.

This SIM model is designed to promote the participation and inclusion of all students in primary and post-primary settings – particularly those with special education needs – with a multi-tiered system of support, providing individualised or intensive educational support for students with the greatest level of need.

The establishment of the ETSS will allow this work to be progressed on a national basis.

The NCSE intends to be operationally ready to deliver therapy services, initially, in its Eastern and Western regions for the commencement of the school year in September. Limerick has been identified as the most suitable hub for the Western region which includes Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. Dublin will be the hub for the Eastern region and includes the greater Dublin area.

Schools will apply for access to therapy services to the NCSE, through an application process in development.

The educational supports offered by NCSE therapists will include:

• Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) with follow on/implementation support by NCSE therapists to build the capacity of schools to embed the learning from TPL into their teaching practice. This will be achieved through delivery of seminars and dissemination of resources that is aligned with focused learning pathways for teachers.

• In-school coaching and co-facilitation of interventions, strategies, and resources, with a focus on whole school (Tier 1) and targeted/school support levels (Tier 2) of a multi-tiered system of support. This involves NCSE therapists working in partnership with teachers and SNAs in classrooms to adapt learning activities and school environments to better support the needs of all students including those identified with additional educational needs.

• Sustained in-school therapy support, to work intensively with teachers in identified schools over an 18-24 month ‘cycle of support’ period.

At the end of the cycle of support period, it is anticipated schools will be able to sustain this support and meet the needs of students in the absence of the therapist.

The next steps in this expansion process will include a robust recruitment process within the NCSE to attract persons with the relevant skills and qualifications.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITOR

• The Educational Therapy Support Service (ETSS) will see the appointment, on a permanent basis, of 19.5 Occupational Therapists and 19.5 Speech and Language Therapists in the NCSE. These therapists will be embedded across the NCSE’s regional team structure and will be a first step in making therapy services available to schools nationally. Additionally, sanction has been given to the permanent appointment of five behaviour practitioners in the NCSE.

• The NCSE intends to be operationally ready to deliver therapy services in the Eastern and Western regions for the commencement of the school year in September, moving to full implementation of all posts by October 2024 within the NCSE regional structure.

• The delivery of the ETSS is in line with recent NCSE policy advice ‘Inclusive Education for an Inclusive Society’. The policy advice recommends ‘The School Inclusion Model (SIM) should be expanded nationally to ensure that all schools in the country have access to therapeutic supports’.

• The therapy services provided through the SIM programme worked to develop the capacity of teachers. The new ETSS will see teachers and therapists collaborating in identifying and delivering the most appropriate supports for children and young people including those with special educational needs.

• The overarching purpose of the ETSS will be to improve learning outcomes for students, ensure teachers are better equipped to support all students and reduce the demand for additional resources in schools including applications for additional SNAs.

• They will also work in partnership with school communities, NCSE colleagues and where appropriate NEPS and HSE professionals to promote the participation and inclusion of all students, particularly those with special education needs, across all levels of a multi-tiered system of support, providing individualised/intensive educational support to students with the greatest level of need.