The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the statutory body responsible for the provision of special education and allocating supports for students with special educational needs.
My Department and the NCSE continue to work closely with school patron bodies, school management bodies and schools to confirm new special classes for the next school year 2026/2027. NCSE have begun sanctioning new special classes this month, which is several months ahead of last year. 263 have been sanctioned to date and many more new special classes will be confirmed in the coming weeks. The earlier sanctioning of new classes provides clarity for parents and allows schools more time for the planning and establishment of new special classes.
The vast majority of new special classes being announced are being provided in available school accommodation which is being reconfigured as a special class. Each special class at primary level is allocated 1 teacher and 2 Special needs assistants (SNAs) and at post-primary level, schools receive 1.5 teachers and 2 SNAs. Details of the new special classes are available on the NCSE website.
Schools seeking to establish new special classes should continue to engage with the NCSE at local level. In sanctioning new special classes, the NCSE have due regard to the level of need in an area and the existing provision, including how many places are expected to be available through the normal movement of students from primary to post-primary or finishing school. Budget 2026 provides funding for over 400 new special classes.
As your query refers to an individual placement, I will arrange to have it referred to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply.
The school to which the Deputy refers has been granted capital funding for the provision of two Special Educational Needs Classrooms (SEN), under my department’s SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme.
This programme involves the use of project management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and help ease the administrative workload for school authorities in relation to the management and delivery of projects.
KSN have been appointed, from my Department’s Framework, to design and tender this schools project. This is a collaborative process between the project manager, school authority and the department. The project is currently at planning stage and the school authorities will be updated in this regard. My department is fully aware of the urgency in respect of this accommodation and will be working closely with the project managers and school authority to keep it updated on overall project delivery.
