This government is fully committed to supporting students with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective.
In order to support the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and forward planning my department published Circular 0063/2026. This circular informs school management and patrons of measures introduced to support forward planning and reiterates the need for parents to inform the NCSE through the Parent Notify process that they are seeking a special educational placement for their child.
This notification process will provide the NCSE with critical information on children who continue to need a special class as they progress to post-primary level as well as details on students who require a place for the first time.
This year to facilitate earlier sanctioning of classes for the 2027/28 school year, an earlier date of 1 September was set for parents and to provide necessary documentation by 15th September 2026 or as soon as is reasonably practicable thereafter.
The NCSE will continue to engage with parents/guardians and schools on this, to ensure all of the relevant information is provided as quickly as possible to facilitate comprehensive forward planning.
My department and NCSE will have a targeted communication strategy to reach out to parents over the
summer to advise of the Parent Notify process.
Where schools are contacted by parents, we would ask them to advise parents to contact the NCSE directly, if they have not already done so. My department and the NCSE have met with key education stakeholders to inform them of the new Circular letter.
My department and the NCSE have met with the Special Education Consultative Forum to request special education advocacy groups and parent representative bodies to inform their members of the need to contact the NCSE by 1 September. The NCSE will highlight the timeline via their website, media and social media channels.
My department is engaging with the Department of Social Protection to issue a ‘push notification’ on the matter to families in receipt of child benefit. In recognition of the role of health professionals in writing reports, my department is also writing to inform the Health Service Executive and the Child Development Network Teams senior management of the continuation of the Parents Notify process.
My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to achieve their full potential.
