Carol Nolan backs task force to speed special schools delivery
Carol Nolan spoke in support of a motion calling for a time-bound school building delivery task force to prioritise special schools and special classes. She criticised poor communication from the National Council of Special Education and demanded clarity on the National Therapy Programme and assessment waits.
She said she will support the motion and particularly its call to establish a time-bound school building delivery task force with a mandate to ensure the quick and priority delivery of special schools and special classes, an issue she has repeatedly raised.
She reported that school principals have told her they are instructed to open special classes but receive very little communication or preparation support from the National Council of Special Education, and she called for this communication to be improved.
She said she submitted a parliamentary question asking for the list of 45 special schools to be included in the National Therapy Programme but received no clarity. The Minister's response indicated the new education therapy service will commence in some special schools at a later stage in the 2025-2026 school year and that initial school selection will be informed by engagement with colleagues in the HSE and the National Council of Special Education.
She highlighted cases of children waiting long periods for assessments, citing one case where a parent was told it would take two years, and warned that many parents are forced to pay privately for assessments amid rising cost-of-living pressures.
Support for time-bound task force
She said she will support the motion and particularly its call to establish a time-bound school building delivery task force with a mandate to ensure the quick and priority delivery of special schools and special classes, an issue she has repeatedly raised.
Criticism of NCSE communication
She reported that school principals have told her they are instructed to open special classes but receive very little communication or preparation support from the National Council of Special Education, and she called for this communication to be improved.
Lack of clarity on National Therapy Programme
She said she submitted a parliamentary question asking for the list of 45 special schools to be included in the National Therapy Programme but received no clarity. The Minister's response indicated the new education therapy service will commence in some special schools at a later stage in the 2025-2026 school year and that initial school selection will be informed by engagement with colleagues in the HSE and the National Council of Special Education.
Concerns about assessment wait times and costs
She highlighted cases of children waiting long periods for assessments, citing one case where a parent was told it would take two years, and warned that many parents are forced to pay privately for assessments amid rising cost-of-living pressures.
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Transcript
Minister, I will be supporting this motion and in particularly its call to establish time-bound school building delivery task force with the mandate to ensure the quick and priority delivery of special schools and special classes. This is an aspect of the school accommodation crisis more generally that I have repeatedly focused on myself over the years and I have raised a number of times here. I have raised these issues of course with the Minister and with the Department of Education planning and building unit during sessions of the Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, but there is another issue as well Minister that is affecting lots of schools and that is the lack of communication from the National Council of Special Education with school principals. That was flagged to me by school principals that they are told to open a special class, but there is very, very little communication in terms of getting prepared for that and having the resources. I am calling tonight for it to be improved. In terms of the National Therapy Programme, I recently submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister to provide a list of the 45 special schools that are to be included in the National Therapy Programme and, astonishingly, I received no clarity or information. All I was told was that the new education therapy service will commence in some special schools at a later stage in 2025-2026 school year and that the schools selected for inclusion in the initial phase will be informed by engagement with colleagues in the HSE and the National Council of Special Education. The response went on to say that it is anticipated that school selection for the initial phase will be complete in the early 2025-2026 school year and that schools will have the opportunity to engage with the Education Therapy Service. Minister, just to say that this really is unacceptable. We have to ensure that special schools like Offaly School of Special Education that you visited recently and I know we are very grateful that you did visit and take the time to visit, but you can see first hand how the staff are doing their very best, we have excellent staff in that school, but they need to be part of the Education Therapy Support Service. So I hope that that will happen and that the schools will be given clarity as soon as possible. The other issue I want to end on is children waiting long periods of time for assessments. I have had a case recently on my desk where somebody was told it would take two years. Parents are forced to pay privately for these assessments and it is very difficult in the current climate where the cost of living is rising all of the time, so it is difficult for parents and anything that could be done there, Minister, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Thank you.