Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 July 2025
335. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth what recourse is available for a parent where their child has additional needs child and is not receiving the agreed weekly hours with a special education teacher in school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35286/25]
View answerEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an appropriate education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority for me, my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
The special education teaching (SET) allocation for mainstream schools provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on the educational needs profile of each school.
Schools are frontloaded with ring-fenced SET resources for the purpose of supporting students with an identified special education learning need. The allocation allows schools to provide additional teaching support for students who require such support. Schools then deploy SET resources to meet the needs identified in Student Support Plans, based on the continuum of support framework.
It is open for parents to discuss the content of Student Support Plans with schools. Parents can also contact their local special educational needs organiser (SENO) in the NCSE to discuss the supports available for their child with special educational needs. The contact details for local SENOs is available on the NCSE's website.
For the 2025/26 school year close to 15,000 special education teachers have been allocated to schools to support children and young people. The 2025/26 school year will see almost 86% of schools either increase their allocation of hours or retain their previous allocation. Of schools who will see a reduction this is driven by demographic change in the geographic area and a reduction of enrolments in the school. The vast majority of these schools will see a reduction of under five hours.
Any school who has any concerns on their allocation can engage with the NCSE. The NCSE will provide support to schools as required and will examine if the allocation is sufficient to meet the identified needs of all children and young people enrolled.
Where the NCSE identifies the need for additional resources, my department will immediately approve the identified increase so that it is available to the school ahead of the 2025/26 school year.
