(Ireland) Co Kildare: Govt FORCING elem school to open SPED room; more to come

May 10, 2025, Extra.ie: School forced to open classroom for children with additional needs in ‘last resort’ measure 

https://extra.ie/2025/05/10/news/irish-news/school-classroom-additional-needs 

The Department of Education has exercised its legal powers to force a Co. Kildare school to open a special education classroom, Extra.ie has learned.

Government sources have said that a primary school in Celbridge will be forced to open a classroom for children with additional needs after being legally compelled by the State as the special education crisis worsens.

It marks the third time that the Government has used the statutory tool, which has been referred to as a ‘last resort’ measure, and the first occasion since emergency laws were passed in 2022.

A senior figure told Extra.ie that ‘substantially’ more schools may be compelled in a similar fashion in the future amid concerns for the future pipeline of special education classrooms.

Education Minister Helen McEntee brought plans to the Cabinet last month to sanction 400 additional special education classrooms in primary and secondary schools for the 2025/26 academic year.

The move came amid mounting pressure on the Government to tackle lengthy delays preventing families from accessing disability services and a shortage of designated school places for children with special needs.

Government sources have said that a primary school in Celbridge will be forced to open a classroom for children with additional needs after being legally compelled by the State as the special education crisis worsens. (File photo) Pic: Getty Images

Both Ms McEntee and Special Education Minister Michael Moynihan stated they would enforce Section 37A of the Education Act in order to achieve the 400 additional classes.

Ms McEntee told reporters on April 11 that 399 special classrooms had been sanctioned.

It is understood that Department of Education officials have been negotiating with the Co. Kildare school since then in the hope that it would agree voluntarily to open a special education class.

However, talks were abandoned earlier this week, with the department writing to the school on Thursday, compelling it to open a special needs class.

A senior source has said that it is unlikely more schools will receive similar letters before the end of this school year.

However, they indicated that there will be a ‘substantial’ increase in the use of the power in the coming years.

‘We are alright for 2025/2026, but if things stay as they are, substantially more schools will have to be compelled for the 2026/2027 academic year,’ the source said.

Following the passing of emergency legislation in 2022, schools compelled under 37A must open the classroom for between six and eight weeks.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Education said on Thursday that Section 37A has only been exercised on two previous occasions, in 2019 and 2020, with Josepha Madigan, the former special education minister, describing the power as a ‘last resort only to be used where all reasonable efforts have failed’.

The revelation comes as 126 children were without places in special education schools at the beginning of this school year, while hundreds more attend mainstream schools while they await assessments.

Figures released to the Labour Party show that 14,221 children were overdue an assessment of needs in December 2024, while nearly 13,000 children are waiting for initial contact with a Children’s Disability Network Team, ‘adding further pressure on schools and educators to support children with additional unmet needs’.

A recent Department of Education review also highlighted ‘concerning’ policies in schools which are preventing children with the greatest levels of need from accessing a place.

The survey, published on Wednesday, examined admission policies for special classes at 30 schools – 15 primary and 15 post-primary – between September and December 2024.

Inspectors found ‘almost all’ admission policies contained conditions which could limit access to appropriate education for autistic children.

The findings spurred Ms McEntee to write to all school patron bodies requesting them to review their schools’ admission policies to ensure they adhere to legal requirements.

‘There is a huge amount of work under way to create additional spaces in special education classes to support children who need this support. It is vital that spaces in these classes are available to those who need them,’ she said.