(Ireland) Waterford: 20 kids on waitlist for special school places; govt promises more special classes
- The end of childhood
- Feb 8
- 2 min read
Feb 7, 2025, Irish Examiner: Demand for places in Waterford special school leaves 20 children on waiting list
Some 20 children have been put on a waiting list for places in a special school in a Waterford town that saw its applications triple this year, prompting calls for a new greenfield site.
The students from West Waterford, Cork and South Tipperary are aged between four and 16 and have been put on the waiting list for places at St John’s Special School in Dungarvan.
The school operated a draw for the eight places it has available for this September, overseen by a local Garda Superintendent.
Rebecca Meehan, whose four-year-old son Jay is on the list and left without a school place, told the Irish Examiner the nearest special schools outside of Dungarvan are in Cork and Waterford, a daily commute of at least two hours.
Jay, who is autistic and pre-verbal, has been recommended to attend a special school as he has highly complex needs. “Even if I was willing to bus him off to Waterford or Cork, there are no places,” Ms Meehan said. . . .
Principal of St John’s Special School, Aoife O’Neill, said due to the school’s open designation there is far more demand for places.
“I am working with the NCSE and partners in Cork to see how capacity can be expanded down there to help our cause here and more importantly to help the parents [and] guardians who are crying out for an appropriate school place for their child.”
A spokesman for the Department of Education said the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is now sanctioning new classes for the 2025/26 school year. It is anticipated that new special classes in the Dungarvan area will be sanctioned in the coming weeks, he added.
“The NCSE and the department will continue to look at the overall need for special school places in the area as part of ongoing forward planning.”
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