From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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Following the 9th August announcement of Government approval of the pilot for enhanced in-school therapy supports for 16 special schools, Minister O’Gorman, Minister Foley, Minister Rabbitte, Minister Naughton, senior HSE and NCSE officials have today welcomed the announcement of the six special schools included in the first phase of the pilot.
In the Cork area, the special schools included in the initial phase of the pilot are:
• Carrigaline Community Special School, Carrigaline
• Rochestown Community Special School, Rochestown
• St Paul's Special School, Montenotte
• Our Lady of Good Counsel Special School, Ballincollig
In Dublin, the special schools included in the initial phase of the pilot:
• An Cosán, Grangegorman, Dublin 7
• St. Michael's House Special School, Dublin 9
As part of the pilot, an additional ten special schools in the Cork and Dublin areas will come on board on a phased basis during the 2024/25 school year. Special schools not included in the initial phase of the pilot will be considered for selection as part of the next phase.
Key stakeholders including the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Education, the Health Service Executive, lead agencies, the National Council for Special Education and special schools will continue to collaborate to ensure the effective delivery of this pilot. The timing of the other 10 schools will be the subject of detailed discussioned between the relevant stakeholders. It is anticipated that the additional ten schools will be identified by the end of October 2024 with a view to commencing those in a position to progress in January 2025.
Welcoming the confirmation of the first 6 schools selected for the pilot, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman said:
“Today’s announcement follows detailed engagement between officials from my Department and their counterparts in the Department of Education, the HSE and the NCSE. We are seeking to ensure that this pilot takes a fully integrated approach to the provision of in-school therapies. It is good news for the children and families associated with these schools and we will be keen to develop the pilot, with an additional 10 special schools expected to be added to the pilot scheme during the course of the school year.
“I look forward to the increased services that the pilot will now provide to these children, as part of the overall Government effort to improve children’s disability services across the country under the Progressing Disability Services programme.”
Commenting on the announcement, Minister of State with responsibility for Disabilities, Anne Rabbitte stated:
“Today is an important day in the development of this pilot and I am eager to see progress with these first 6 schools. The confirmation of these 6 schools, is a further development towards fully reinstating the pre-existing on-site health and social care supports to special schools.
With another 10 schools to come on board during the school year, learnings from the first phase of schools in the pilot can be applied and there is no doubt that this will make a significant impact on the lives of children within special schools and their families. I particularly welcome the ongoing engagement by the Departments, state agencies and lead service agencies in implementing a cohesive plan to address family’s needs.
I look forward to engaging with the children and their families, principals and health & education staff as we begin to see the positive impacts that the pilot will undoubtedly have.”
Minister for Education, Norma Foley said:
“As Minister for Education I want every young person to have every available avenue to reach their full potential. I very much welcome that therapists will be allocated to work in special schools for the full duration of the school day and school year as part of this pilot programme.
This pilot provides an opportunity for my department and other key stakeholders to to provide wraparound support for children and young people with the greatest level of need in our schools.
I look forward to all parties continuing the collaborative work to date, and I am confident that these supports will be of benefit to many students and their teachers and families. This is just a first step in this pilot project and more schools will be added."
Government Chief Whip and Minister for State with responsibility for Special Education and Inclusion, Hildegarde Naughton said:
“As Minister of State for Special Education, I am focused on how students can be supported best to achieve their full potential. With this pilot, we have developed an integrated model of service, which will be informed by all relevant stakeholders. This model of service allows both the Health and Education Sectors work collaboratively and use their expertise for the benefit of the children attending special schools.
It will provide the benefits of a wrap-around service, which will bolster supports for children without disruption to their existing services. It will also provide a consistency in home/school approaches to supporting children, which will be of huge benefit to the children, families and teachers.”
HSE CEO Bernard Gloster said:
“The HSE welcomes this announcement and continues to engage with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Education, to improve integration between health and education supports for special schools. It is important we reflect on how this work progresses and that we learn from the experiences of children and families as we make every effort to improve our response to children with disabilities.”
NCSE CEO John Kearney commented:
“The NCSE are delighted to be involved in this pilot which will see therapists on-site during school hours. As noted in recent NCSE policy advicse student outcomes are enabled with a greater availability of therapeutic supports within schools. An NCSE co-ordinator is available to support the schools in their engagement with stakeholders and will also assist in the coordination of the pilot.”
ENDS