Five new special education schools are to be established next year to help cater for increasing numbers of pupils with additional needs.
Two of the new schools will be based in Dublin, while others will be established in Cork, Monaghan and Tipperary.
Despite significant increases in special education provision over recent years, many children with more complex conditions have struggled to get school places which meet their assessed needs.
The new schools will cater for children with complex special education needs up to 18 years of age and are scheduled to admit pupils from September 2025.
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Officials say it is envisaged that existing buildings will be repurposed to facilitate the opening of the new special schools in time for the start of the 2025/26 school year. Details such as the location of the new schools will be confirmed in “due course”.
Minister of State with responsibility for special education, Hildegarde Naughton, said she was “committed to ensuring that every child has a school place appropriate for their needs”.
“This additional provision will make a real difference to families and children with additional needs and give them clarity as early as possible for the next school year,” she said.
While the needs of most children with additional needs are met in mainstream classes, there is still significant demand for special classes or special school places.
In the 2023/24 school year, it is estimated that about 2.7 per cent of the overall student population was in a special class or special school. This is projected to rise to 3 per cent this year and 5 per cent by the end of the decade.
The growth reflects the increased prevalence rate of autism and rising numbers applying for an assessment of need.
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While about 1,700 special classes have been established over the last five yeas, one area where education authorities have struggled to find places for children is the Dublin 15 area.
Ms Naughton said she has established a taskforce on special education planning in the area which will focus on ensuring all children get a school place.
The group, which meets for the first time next week, has also been tasked with progressing a combined applications system which would allow a parent to make a single application for a school place instead of having to apply to lots of different schools.
The Minister said there was scope to roll this out across the country to ease the burden on parents.
“Parents should only have to apply once,” she said. “At the moment, they’re applying to 20, 30 schools trying to find a place for their children next September. They lead very stressful lives, they’ve a lot going on ... a common applications process would help ensure that in January, February or March, a parent will know where their child is going in September 2025.”
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