Ministers Foley and Madigan announce four new special schools to provide more places for students with special educational needs

Minister for Education Norma Foley and Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion Josepha Madigan have today (6 December) announced the establishment of four new special schools next year to cater for the increasing number of students with Special Educational Needs (SEN).

The schools will cater for young people with autism and complex learning needs up to 18 years of age.

They are being sanctioned as early as possible as part of advanced planning to meet the needs of students with special educational needs due to start school next September.

As part of this forward planning, four additional new special schools are being planned as part of a regional solution to benefit pupils and students in growing areas with special educational needs. The four new special schools will be established for the 2024/25 school year in Limerick City; Enfield, Co. Meath; Gorey, Co. Wexford; and in the South Kildare area. The new schools are being established under the patronage of the local Education and Training Boards – Limerick and Clare ETB, Louth and Meath ETB, Waterford and Wexford ETB and Kildare and Wicklow ETB. These are the first special schools being established under these ETBs. This was after analysis by the National Council for Special Education (NSCE) and the department found that the level of need in these particular areas could not be catered for by expanding places in existing special schools.

The new schools are also the first in recent years to be established in the regions, following the establishment of 7 special schools in Dublin and Cork over the past four years.

These additions to the country’s existing network of 130 special schools is part of the expanded package in Budget 2024 for special needs education, which includes:

• up to 2,700 new places for children with special educational needs
• the recruitment of 744 extra special needs teachers, and 1,216 extra special needs assistants to cater for the increased number of students
• up to 400 additional special classes for the 2024/25 school year
• the expansion of capacity in existing special schools around the country
• 100 new teaching posts in existing and new special schools, plus an Administrative Deputy Principal, from September 2024, to benefit almost 9,000 children in these schools

Furthermore in Budget 2023, additional funding of €13 million to the NCSE, has provided for, amongst a series of other measures, an increase in the number of special educational needs organisers across the country. This significant expansion of front-line staff in the NCSE, up to 116 in total, will ensure a high quality, responsive service for children, parents and schools.

Minister Foley said:

Minister Madigan said:

Four new special schools, one in counties Kildare, Limerick, Meath and Wexford, will be established for the 2024/25 school year. It is anticipated that these schools will initially enroll around 120 students in total next September and gradually increase numbers over the coming years.

Today’s advance announcement of the new schools is an important milestone because it allows more time for the planning of school admissions, recruitment of staff, staff training and completion of any necessary building works.

The precise locations of the schools is not being revealed presently as some final agreements have to be agreed with stakeholders. The schools will be established by renovating existing school buildings which are no longer used to modern standards, or by repurposing school buildings on school campuses with spare capacity. This use of the existing school building stock is key to the accelerated delivery of the four new special schools by next September.

Over the last 4 years, 7 special schools have been established in Dublin and Cork. As part of forward planning undertaken by the department and the NCSE, additional new special schools are now being planned as part of a regional solution in the four counties of Kildare, Limerick, Meath and Wexford. This forward planning included an assessment of information and data in relation to existing capacity, demand, waiting lists, student enrolment projections, and the number of children travelling outside of their local area to access a special school placement.

Details in relation to the location of the new special schools, the admission process and the number of places to be offered for 2024/25 school year in each new special school will be confirmed very shortly.

The NCSE will work closely with the families of the children and young people concerned to assist them in accessing the new places which will become available for the 2024/25 school year.

Planning for the establishment and opening of the new special schools will begin immediately. This will include a determination of the size of the school required so that the necessary staff recruitment, school policy development and related arrangements can be put in train. This will also include ongoing communication with the families concerned.

In addition to the establishment of four new schools for the 2024/25 school year, a significant number of school building projects relating to special schools are currently in progress.

In the interim, some modular accommodation projects and reconfiguration works currently being planned or underway at special schools include:

Information on special schools and the list of mainstream schools with special classes, including new classes for the current 2023/24 school year, the coming 2024/25 school year, and the types and locations of these classes is published on the NCSE website and is available at www.ncse.ie The NCSE will continue to update the list as more classes are sanctioned ahead of the 2024/25 school year.

7 new special schools have been established over the last four years. These are:

Five of the seven newly established schools are in operation and the remaining two new special schools are scheduled to open during this school year – East Cork Community Special School in Cork and An Cosán Community Special School in Dublin. This means that there will be 134 special schools by the end of the 2024/25 school year.

The department, together with the NCSE, is monitoring the availability of places for students with special educational needs throughout the country as a priority issue and will continue to work with relevant stakeholders.

The department works closely with the NCSE which has responsibility for working with families and schools and for the provision and coordination of an adequate number of specialist educational places to meet local need throughout the country.

The Department of Education and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient special class and special school places. These initiatives are bearing fruit with almost 1,300 new special classes sanctioned and seven new special schools established over the last four years.

There is a total of 2,915 special classes nationwide, 2,045 at primary level and 870 at post-primary level. It is necessary to continue this level of progress to ensure that there are sufficient places in special classes in mainstream schools for children who need them.

The NCSE announced a new campaign on 16 October 2023 to recruit additional Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs). This recruitment process is well under way, which will see a substantial increase in the number of SENOs working to help schools and families early in 2024.

Additional new Special Class provision

A range of measures are in place to support the timely provision of special class placements, including the automatic inclusion of special class provision in all new school builds, automatic administrative status for any primary principal with 2 or more special classes, and stronger use of the geographic information system (GIS) and other forward planning systems to identify needs.

The department and NCSE are undertaking significant work with schools to ensure that additional SEN provision is sanctioned as early as possible ahead of the new school year. This forward planning work is well underway ahead of the 2024/2025 school year. This work involves a detailed review of statistical data in relation to forecasting demand for special class places, an analysis of available school accommodation, consideration of improved data sharing arrangements and a particular focus on the provision of special classes at post-primary level.

These initiatives are bearing fruit with almost 1,300 new special classes sanctioned and seven new special schools established over the last four years. Intensive planning and work with schools to sanction up to 400 additional special classes for the 2024/25 school year is well underway.

As demand for new special classes at post-primary level is expected to increase significantly over the next few years, due to increasing demographics and increasing prevalence rates, the department and the NCSE have engaged with post-primary stakeholders in relation to the provision of special classes. The department wrote to all post-primary schools in October 2022 to advise them of the need to begin planning to provide additional special classes. It is envisaged that all post-primary schools will be required to provide special classes, with an approximate average of 4 special classes in each school.

Information on special schools and the list of mainstream schools with special classes, including new classes for the current school year 2023/24, the coming school year 2024/2025, and the types and locations of these classes is published on the NCSE website and is available at www.ncse.ie.

The NCSE will continue to update the list as more classes are sanctioned ahead of the 2024/25 school year.

Support for schools

A range of supports are provided to schools opening new special classes or extending special school places.

The department’s Planning and Building Unit provides supports for schools including:

• strategic engagement with a school patron in relation to SEN provision at its school sites
• Modular Accommodation Framework put in place by the department in early 2021
• expansion of existing planning exemptions for provision of additional accommodation at existing school sites
• expanded Project Management support to schools for accelerated delivery
• a simplified application process for reconfiguration works for SEN

In relation to staffing resources, Primary schools are allocated an additional teacher and 2 additional SNAs for each special class in general. This increases to 1.5 teachers at post-primary.

The NCSE provide a range of supports to schools who open new special classes including:

• seminar for Principals
• 4 day intensive training course for teachers
• 2 day training course for new teachers
• whole staff CPD
• the school is linked with an NCSE Advisor

It is not necessary for schools to have accessed all of the training and support in advance of opening a special class as the NCSE will continue to support the staff and the school when the classes are open, building on the experience and expertise of the existing school community.

Enhanced capitation rate:

Primary schools receive the mainstream capitation rate - currently €183 per student, and an enhanced capitation grant for each student enrolled in special classes, in accordance with specific disability. For example, the enhanced rate of capitation for a student in a special class for autism is €720 per student in addition to the mainstream rate of €183, giving a total per student of €903. The standard of rate of capitation per student in primary schools will increase to €200 as part of Budget 2024.

The current post primary standard rate of capitation grant is €316 per student for voluntary secondary schools. The standard capitation rates are different for Community and Comprehensive schools as well as those in the ETB sector as these schools are funded via budgets. The standard of rate of capitation per student in post primary schools will increase to €345 as part of Budget 2024. A special class grant of €201 is also provided for students that have a mild or moderate general learning disability and are participating in NCSE approved special classes.

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Funding for fit out of classroom:

• special class start-up grant: A grant of €6,500 is available to cover the cost of equipment
• furniture: A grant of €2,500 is available for standard classroom furniture
• specialised furniture/equipment grant: Available for individual students who require specialised furniture/equipment. Applications for specialist furniture/equipment can be emailed to furnitureequipment@education.gov.ie and should include an OT report and one quote
• ICT grant: a grant of €6,700 is available per new primary and post-primary classroom in an existing building

Other supports which may be available to support children enrolling in the special class include:

• assistive technology – see DES Circular No 0010/2013
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The following guidelines can also be referenced to assist schools opening a special class:

• link to NCSE Guidelines for Setting Up and Organising Special Classes
• link to Autism Good Practice Guidance for Schools - Supporting Children and Young People
• link to NCSE document for students transitioning from mainstream to special settings
• link to Middletown Teacher Professional Learning (TPL)
• link to NCSE TPL calendar