Minister McEntee requests patron bodies to review admission policies for schools with special classes for autistic children and young people

Minister McEntee writes to patrons following the publication of a Department of Education Inspectorate review of the admission policies of primary and post-primary schools with special classes for autistic children and young people

Press Release: 7 May 2025

Minister for Education and Youth Helen McEntee TD has today written to all patron bodies requesting that they review the admissions policies to schools with special education classes. This comes following the publication of a review of admission policies of primary and post-primary schools with special classes for autistic children and young people by the Inspectorate of the Department of Education.

The report, Supporting all children and young people to access an appropriate education: A review of the admission policies of primary and post-primary schools with special classes for autistic children and young people, draws on findings from a review of the admissions policies of 30 schools — 15 primary and 15 post-primary — carried out between September and December 2024.

In devising admission policies, schools are required to adhere to legal requirements, to guidelines developed by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and to circulars issued by the Department of Education on provision for children and young people with special educational needs. These requirements and guidelines are designed to ensure that all children and young people can access an appropriate education. The review examined the extent to which schools’ admission policies conformed to published guidance and education and equality legislation.

It was found that almost all the post-primary policies and most of the primary policies had clauses that could, if implemented, prevent autistic children with the greatest level of need from accessing a place in a special class. The review also identified a number of other issues with the wording of admission policies that may limit access to appropriate education for autistic children. For instance, some schools offer a five-year programme for students in post-primary special classes, whereas their peers in mainstream classes are given the opportunity to complete a six-year programme.

The report emphasises the importance of schools fulfilling their legislative responsibilities in a way that ensures children with the greatest need have priority access to special class placements. It makes three recommendations to strengthen the governance and oversight of access to, and the use of, special class resources. This strengthening is required to ensure that children with the greatest levels of need can access an appropriate education.

Minister McEntee said:

Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion, Michael Moynihan TD, also welcomed the publication of the report, saying:

Chief Inspector, Yvonne Keating, said:

The full report is available at: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/publications/inspectorate-publications/#special-educational-needs

For further information please email Inspectorate@education.gov.ie

• The Department of Education, through the NCSE, provides a continuum of educational provision for all children and young people including those with special educational needs. The continuum ranges from full-time education in mainstream classes, with additional supports, as necessary, to full-time education in special schools.
• Special classes for autistic children are part of this continuum of provision. Special classes are sanctioned in mainstream schools for autistic children who are unable to access the curriculum in a mainstream class, even with appropriate support, for most or all the school day. These children have complex / severe special educational needs. The special class enables them to be educated in smaller groups within their local mainstream schools.
• The Department of Education provides significant resources to support all schools that provide a special class for autistic children. These resources include a special class start-up grant to cover the cost of resourcing the class and additional grants to cover a multi-sensory room, information and communication technology and additional furniture and equipment. Schools with special classes also receive enhanced capitation grants and minor works grants from the Department.
• Boards of management and principals have access to guidelines for setting up and organising special classes. These are available at: NCSE.ie.
• Decisions about the most appropriate educational setting for a child with special educational needs should be made in consultation with the child, their parents and relevant professionals, including psychologists and teachers. Decisions should also be informed by the principle that children should be educated in the most inclusive environment possible. Children with special educational needs should, where possible, be educated in mainstream classes along with their peers, with additional supports provided as necessary.
• Circular 23/2025 outlines the process of review of enrolment in a special class in primary and post-primary schools and requires schools to regularly review a child’s placement in a special class to ensure that the special class placement continues to be the most appropriate school placement.
• Special classes for autistic children are established in one of two ways: (a) a school may express an interest to the NCSE in opening a special class where they have identified a need for such a class; (b) the local special educational needs organiser (SENO) may approach a school directly where they are aware that a special class is, or may be, required in the area.
• The staffing allocation for post-primary schools is equivalent to one and a half teachers and two special needs assistants (SNAs). The allocation for primary schools is one teacher and two SNAs.
• Once a special class is established, the board of management of a school has responsibility to ensure that appropriate systems and procedures are in place for the management of the class, including for admission to the class. The board is therefore required to amend the school’s admission policy to allow for the enrolment to the special class, and to submit the policy to the school’s patron for approval. In devising admission policies, schools are required to adhere to legal requirements and to the guidelines developed by the NCSE.
• Legislation relevant to school admission and enrolment includes the:
  1. Education Act 1998, and amendments made to the Act in 2018 and 2022
  2. Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004
  3. Education (Welfare) Act 2000

• Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which Ireland ratified in 2018, is also relevant.
• To enrol in a special class, a child must have a diagnosis of autism from a relevant professional, or team of professionals, and a professional report that states the child has complex or severe learning needs that require the support of a special class or special school and the reasons why this is the case.
• Special classes are established for children ‘irrespective of cognitive ability.’ Schools cannot exclude a child from a special class for autistic children if their cognitive ability falls within the mild, moderate or severe and profound ranges.
• In the 2023/24 school year, there were 780 special classes for autistic students in post-primary schools and 1,698 special classes for autistic pupils in primary schools.
• Circular 80/2024 outlines measures to support the forward planning for special education provision.
• There are different perspectives in relation to terminology when describing autism. Some use person-first language (child with autism), as this recognises that the presentation of autism can vary from person to person. Others refer to autistic children, as this embraces the neurological difference of the person. The Inspectorate uses the neuroaffirmative language of autistic students in the report.