Mattie McGrath criticises NCSE decision to cut three ASD classes

It is an issue received and I want to thank the Councillor for giving me the opportunity to raise this issue here today. It is a very serious one, Minister. It is regarding the fact that ASD units were approved. Three secondary schools in South Tipperary, three principals and their staffs and board management, and indeed parents with children with special needs, were waiting for places and they expected, in fact the Senors asked them to generate space and accommodation and all the resources to deal with an extra class this year. But now because they have got shocking news from the department a couple of days ago which is stating that the classes would not go ahead because the number of special schools in the national tally has been rolled out. Three hundred and ninety nine classes. So this is a shocking indictment to think that some civil servants or some, a person in the SCE, has decided that we met a target, job done, box ticked. This is a body blow to the parents, to the children with special and additional needs, and indeed to the principals in these schools. And one of them is Gloucester, they have permission from the principal there to mention the name. They have worked with the CNO, they have worked with the department, and the needs are there. They already have pupils in their classes, at the present who have additional needs, being catered for in mainstream classes. And it was real energy and synergy, indeed, from the whole body of the school to have the extra room and have the extra six pupils catered for. And now those people have been, you know, had the clear distinction that they were, impression that they were being enrolled in a place and they were really thoroughly delighted. So arrangements were made. This is a body blow. So I'm asking you, Minister, or the Minister for Education, obviously with special disabilities, Mr Mine is not here, to go back to the NCSE and literally instruct them to not renege on the commitment that they made to these children, not to the building, not to the board of managers, not to the principal, Mr Peter Creedon, in care. It's to the families and to special children. Are we going to allow the situation now that, because we've reached the second quarter, that the needs of the child and the needs of the person with additional needs is just a box ticked that the quarter has made for this year 400 schools, in fact 299 special classes, sorry, tough. It's supposed to be about the people and the person to hold it under the Constitution. Every child is entitled to an equal education and every opportunity in life. And to think that we could even send out that kind of an email, a bland email, that we've met the quarter now. It's tough. We're not going ahead with those three classes in those three schools in South Tipperary, and there are probably many more around the country, I don't know. But in this case, the groundwork has been already done and proud, and a lot of arrangements are made. The parents are exhausted from trying to get a place, and we're probably definitely very, very pleased to have the knowledge heading into the end of season, the end of school year, that they would have a place next year. And it's just not acceptable that a system, a bureaucratic system, can make a cold, I don't want to say calculated, but a cold, you know, a bland statement like this, we've reached the quarter. It's about people, human beings, especially children we're talking about, and there must be some, and I believe the Minister himself is committed, so he needs to go back and talk to the NCSC and see if that body fit for purpose, and have them change their decision in this case. Thank you. Minister. Thank you very much. At the outset, I want to stress that enabling students with special educational needs to receive appropriate education is an absolute priority for this Government. It's the Government's priority to ensure that all children have appropriate school placement and that necessary supports are provided to our schools to allow children with special educational needs to flourish and prosper. There continues to be an increasing need to provide additional special school and special class places to support children with complex needs. To meet this need, 16 new special schools have been established in recent years, and capacity has been extended in a number of others. As you are aware, five of these special schools have been established for the 2055-2026 school year in counties Cork, Dublin too, Monaghan and Leenagh County Tipperary. As the Deputy is aware, the Minister Monaghan visited a number of schools in Tipperary in recent weeks, so he knows firsthand the wonderful work being done in schools in the county, as well as the need to bolster provision. Of the 400 new special class places being provided for in Budget 25, 399 of these classes have been sanctioned for the 25-26 school year. These new classes have been confirmed earlier than previous years. 17 of these are in County Tipperary, which will provide just over 100 new special class places. These will be added to the 3,335 classes already in operation across the country, of which 138 are in Tipperary. The NCSE is engaging with another school to open two more classes, which will bring the number of new classes to 401. For the coming school year, there will therefore be a total of 155 special classes across County Tipperary, supporting over 900 children. The location of these classes has been decided based on known local demand and schools that have the capacity to expand and have been approached in the first instance to accommodate the classes. The NCSE actively encourages expressions of interest from schools to open special classes, and the efforts taken by boards of management in expressing their interest is to be commended. However, it is not always possible to open a special class in every school that expresses an interest. When assessing the needs in the local area, the NCSE identifies schools in the neighbouring vicinity with available special class vacancies or capacity, and assesses their capability with consideration of demographic and statistical data. At a local level, in County Tipperary and indeed nationwide, the NCSE examined which schools had the capacity to expand and focused on medium and larger primary schools with available accommodation and no existing special classes to open a new special class for the 2025-2026 school year. This consideration will continue to be a factor in planning for the 26-27 school year also. This will ensure that classes can open quickly, as existing accommodation can be reconfigured in a more streamlined and efficient manner. It also, by the way, ensures that provision is established in as many schools as possible. This not only provides parents more options when deciding which schools to apply to, but ensures that provision continues to grow in a diverse number of schools right across regions. However, as in other years where schools have no available accommodation, particularly at post-primary level, and there is a known demand in the local area, the Department will continue to provide additional classroom accommodation to provide the necessary places. I know that both Minister McEntee and Minister Moynihan, in keeping with their commitment in the new programme for Government, will be working to secure further funding in the upcoming budget to provide further special classes and special school places in 2026, not only in County Tipperary, but right across the country. Thank you. Minister Luke, I appreciate it. It is not your reply, you are reading it out, but it is not about quotas and it is not about deadlines and it is not about, you know, health systems like that, it is about ordinary children with needs. It is not fair on the schools who are fully expected to open these classes to now have to wait to see if the decision will be reversed. By your account there, I do not think it will be. We are approaching the end of the school term and principals have already been including this expected, you know, an education into their numbers. One of such schools, I said, is Closetionese Geek in care, which was approached by the SENO, remember this, Minister, they were approached by the SENO, to consider accepting, in addition, ASD satellite tasks. I want to commend the principal, Mr Peter Creedon and Ms Fiona Green, a coordinator in the school and the work they have done to ensure that the school needs of all students are met, but this is increasingly difficult. Currently they have a number of students within the SEN diagnosis who are in mainstream classes with no supports and a number of children who have complex needs who do not have a place in the special class. Many principals, like Peter Creedon, have taken time engaging with the NCSE over the last few months and making plans for these new classes, but they are told that they cannot now proceed, not because of a lack of need, but because the government have fulfilled their target, regardless of the need. So crude, Minister, do you realise it? I mean, this is human beings we are talking about. I have schools right across the constituency who are impacted by this and if they have to wait another year to open these classes, that is creating an even greater backlog, as we will have even more students joining the list next year and we will have students taking up a place in the school without the support that they need. That is the important thing, the support they need. This is a reticorist step. Don't get me wrong, it is hugely welcome that the patent have now opened 399 new classes this year, but the demand exists for more and we need to provide those places, especially where there are commitments and expectations created. Thank you. Thank you again, Deputy. Just to restate that there are now over 28,000 children being supported in special schools and classes. The number of special classes is increasing by 100% since 2020. It is the statutory responsibility of the NCSE to work with schools to provide sufficient special education provision each year. As I already outlined, Budget 2025 provides funding for 400 new special classes, up to 300 additional special school places. The NCSE has announced the location of 399 of these, as I said, in April much earlier, so as to give information at an earlier period of the year, and this has provided much needed clarity to parents as a result. Any schools not sanctioned this year will remain as potential options for future years when demand required classes to be established. The Department and the NCSE are looking to the 26-27 school year and will continue to monitor the need for additional special school provision based on demand. If the Deputy has any particular query in relation to the specific school or children, my colleague Minister Moynihan will be more than happy to follow up directly with you.