(Ireland) More SPED students put on reduced school day

Mar 26, 2025, Irish Examiner: Number of school children on reduced timetables rises by a fifth

More than 1,200 students were placed on shorter school days last year, with students who have additional needs making up almost two-thirds of that number.

New figures for the 2023/24 school year, the most recent to be collated and published, show 1,275 children were placed on reduced timetables that year. It marks a 20% increase on the prior school year, when almost 1,050 students were placed on reduced school days.

Of the total, 821 students had special educational needs, representing almost two-thirds of the overall figure for the year. Most of these students were attending primary or post-primary schools, while 97 were attending special schools. 

Guidelines on reduced timetables were first issued by the Department of Education in 2022, and schools are now required to inform the department when such an arrangement has been approved.

It followed concerns that students with additional needs and students from a Traveller or Roma background were disproportionately impacted by the inappropriate use of reduced timetables.

The figures show that 97 students from a Traveller or Roma background were placed on a reduced timetable during the 2023/24 school year. 

The figures were released via parliamentary question to Sinn Féin’s education spokesman Darren O’Rourke. While the Department of Education linked the increase in reduced timetables to an increase in reporting, Mr O’Rourke said he believes it could also be linked to a lack of supports.

"I would suspect that at least some of that increase would be related to managing children who are inappropriately placed.” 

To be placed on a reduced timetable, there must be agreement from the school, the parents and Tusla, he added.

“It can be tough on all concerned. Parents sometimes feel like they have no choice in the matter. They are being told by school leaders that it’s not an appropriate setting for them.

“I think there’s another dimension to this that the minister needs to take into account," he added. 

Minister of State for special education Michael Moynihan said reduced school days should be applied proportionately and "should last only as long as is necessary to facilitate a return to school on a full-time basis".