(Ireland) D of Ed issues report on inclusive education for autistic students; "need to significantly improve"

 Nov 5, 2025, School Days: New Actions to Increase Inclusive Education for Autistic Pupils 

https://schooldays.ie/articles/article/new-actions-to-increase-inclusive-education-for-autistic-pupils

The Department of Education has published a significant report from the Inspectorate concerning the educational provision for autistic pupils across Irish schools. Simultaneously, the Minister for Education has announced a series of actions aimed at strengthening and ensuring a truly inclusive education system. This initiative is particularly important for parents of secondary school students, as it sets a clear vision for how all pupils will be supported to feel valued and achieve their full potential.

The Minister reaffirmed her commitment to building an education system where every child, including those with special or additional needs, is supported to reach their full potential. The Inspectorate report provides the evidence base for these new measures, highlighting areas of success while pointing directly to key areas where provision must be enhanced.

The Inspectorate’s Findings: Good Practice and Areas for Enhancement

The report provides valuable insight into the current state of special education provision, based on extensive inspection findings across primary and post-primary settings.

Identified Strengths Inspectors found that many schools are already functioning as genuinely inclusive learning environments where children and young people feel welcome and valued. Specifically, the report acknowledged:

Positive Culture: Inspectors observed very positive relationships between young people and their teachers and peers in many post-primary schools.

Quality Provision: The quality of provision for autistic pupils in some special classes was noted as being very good.

Key Areas Requiring Improvement

However, the report was explicit in detailing critical gaps that need to be addressed in approximately half of the schools inspected. These findings are vital for parents to understand, as they point to systemic issues that can affect a student’s progress:

Learning with Peers: There is a need to significantly improve the opportunities for autistic pupils to learn with their peers. This finding directly questions the extent of authentic inclusion within the school environment.

Curriculum Balance: Inspectors highlighted a need to provide a broader and more balanced curriculum. This suggests that in some settings, the curriculum may be narrowly focused, potentially limiting the student’s holistic development and range of academic choices.

Assessment Practices: There were scope for improvement in assessment practices in almost two-thirds of primary schools, and significant weaknesses were noted in assessment practices across post-primary schools.

Support Timetabling: The report noted weaknesses in the way schools timetable support for young people with special educational needs, suggesting that supports may be delivered in a disjointed or fragmented manner, rather than consistently integrated into the school day.

Monitoring and Review: There is a clear need to strengthen how pupil progress is monitored and reviewed by school leaders.

New Actions and the Vision for System-Wide Change

In response to the Inspectorate’s findings, the Minister announced that the Department will progress a series of actions aimed at creating a cohesive, high-quality system that moves toward true inclusion.

A Clear, Whole-of-System Vision

The Department will work on the implementation plan arising from the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs review. This work will be informed by the Inspectorate’s emphasis on implementing a clear, whole-of-system vision for the education of autistic pupils.

Commitment to Professional Learning

To ensure teachers are fully equipped to deliver on this inclusive vision, the Department will:

Implement a comprehensive approach to initial teacher education and ongoing teacher professional learning in autism education.

Confirm that funding is available for Post-Graduate Certificate and Diploma courses in autism (Circular 0024/2024). This focus on expertise is critical to ensuring students are taught by confident, qualified professionals.

Consistency in Information and Review

Crucially, the Department is working with the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (EASNIE) through the EU’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI) process to address consistency for families.

This process aims to:

Consolidate all advice and guidance currently available on the supports and services for autistic children and young people.

Develop robust communication strategies to ensure this information is disseminated to all parents in a cohesive way across the country.

Ensure that parents experience a consistency of service, support, and therapies, irrespective of where they live. . . .