Oct 25, 2023, Irish Examiner: Over 50 children with special educational needs still have no school place https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41255389.html
Some 55 children with special educational needs remain without a school place almost two months on from schools reopening.
The figures provided to the Irish Examiner by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) show 44 of these children are primary school age, while the remaining 11 are secondary school age.
However, these figures only account for those known to the NCSE.
Some 42 children impacted are living in Dublin while the remaining 13 are spread out across the country.
Despite this, a spokesperson for the NCSE said nationally, there are 1,031 special class places available at primary level and 717 at post-primary level.
“Local school issues, individual student circumstances and parental preference can account for some of the reasons students continue to seek placement,” they said.
The NCSE said some students may not possess the required paperwork for admission to certain special classes, such as those for autism, which require reports from a diagnosing professional….
'Deeply concerned'
The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) said it was “deeply concerned” about the figures….
A spokesperson said local NCSE regional teams were actively involved in the cases of students known to NCSE seeking placement with a view to a complete resolution of their placement challenges.
"The NCSE encourages any parent experiencing difficulty with placement to engage with our special education needs organisers with the aim of securing the most appropriate placement for their child," they said.
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