Ministers Naughton and Moynihan launch recruitment campaign for new Education Therapy Service (ETS)
- Published on: 28 November 2025
- Last updated on: 28 November 2025
Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton T.D, and Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion, Michael Moynihan T.D., have today launched a recruitment campaign for therapists to the new Education Therapy Service (ETS).
The recruitment campaign run by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) will see 90 occupational and speech and language therapists join the new service.
The new ETS, which will be delivered by the NCSE, will see therapy supports provided in special schools on a phased basis, starting in 45 special schools in the 2025/2026 school year. The service will use a multi-tiered approach to provide support to children with the greatest needs.
The ETS will continue to provide supports to mainstream schools availing of sustained in- school therapy and to teachers through the NCSE’s national teacher training programme. Importantly, the ETS will complement existing services rather than replace them, working collaboratively with educators to strengthen overall provision.
Minister Naughton said:
“I am very pleased to formally launch this recruitment campaign for 90 therapists across the country. Having secured the funding during my time as Minister for Special Education to bring therapists into the NCSE to support teachers and schools on a pilot basis, I want to see the ETS rolled out as quickly as possible. I am confident that the NCSE will progress the recruitment campaign to ensure there are no delays and that the therapists are employed quickly.
“Children are at the core of this initiative and our ambition is to see therapists recruited and working on the ground as early as February next year. The recruitment of therapists within the NCSE represents a significant move towards the full roll-out of the education therapy service in special schools, and in special classes in mainstream schools. I am committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person is valued and actively supported to reach their full potential.”
Minister Moynihan said:
“Establishing the Education Therapy Service has been my number one priority as Minister, so I am delighted we have, in a matter of months, gotten to the stage of recruitment to turn this commitment into real world delivery. This will be a game changer on multiple fronts. Providing therapies in the school setting increases children’s access to support while also reducing the need for parents to take them out of class, leading to enhanced participation and engagement in school life. Teachers and SNAs will also be empowered by having therapists on hand to help inform the ways they can support children in the classroom.
“Over the coming years, we will be working to expand the service into all special schools, as well as special classes and mainstream schools. This really will be transformative for children, families and schools across the country. I am hopeful that we will continue at pace to ensure the ETS is rolled out as quickly as possible.”
John Kearney CEO of the NCSE added,
“The NCSE warmly welcomes the development of the Education Therapy Service. This service will build on the great work and learnings that our current therapy service has delivered to date. The NCSE will continue to ensure therapy services are delivered to children in their school, while supporting the further development of an inclusive education system. The expansion of our therapy team, through this recruitment campaign will bolster the level of support we provide. Therapists in the NCSE will work closely with other NCSE and education services, such as Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), Visiting Teacher, Advisory and National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) to provide school communities with an integrated holistic service. Inclusive education requires a shared social commitment across all sectors of society, the NCSE is looking forward to working closely with our colleagues in health to provide an integrated and aligned service for children and families with an aim to ensure all children have an opportunity to fully reach their potential.”
The new Education Therapy Service will initially focus on Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy. Therapists will work under NCSE governance, with clinical oversight. This will ensure proper supervision and assist therapists in providing evidence-informed practices, agreed scopes of work, and the maintenance of professional standards.
The NCSE will continue to engage with stakeholders—health and education professionals, advocacy groups, and parents—to make sure the service aligns with existing children’s services. Having therapists embedded in schools will help build strong relationships with teachers, encourage joint problem-solving, and ensure consistency. It will also allow regular collaboration with parents and existing services like Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs) and Primary Care. The ETS will not replace existing services; it will work alongside them.
Planning for the selection of schools to be included in the first roll-out is still at an early stage. The service is expected to start in some special schools later in the 2025/26 school year, with a phased roll-out continuing into 2026/27 so that all special schools have access. School selection for the first phase should be completed in the coming weeks.
The positions will be advertised on Friday 28th November 2025 with a closing date of Friday 16 January 2026. Details of the campaign can be found here (https://orangerecruitment.ie/register-ncse) Salaries are in line with the HSE consolidated pay scales (October 2024) for therapy grades.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITOR
- The development of the Education Therapy Service is a commitment in the Programme for Government and is a cross-department initiative. It will ensure that a coordinated approach will be employed to increase college places for health and social care professionals.
- Evaluation and ongoing continuous quality improvement will be a key component of the ETS. The service will build on the learnings from the HSE Enhanced Schools Pilot and on previous work completed in schools by HSE services and the NCSE.
- It is acknowledged there is a shortage of therapists in Ireland at this time. In terms of managing the recruitment and retention of therapists and following on from the Programme for Government’s commitment to increase training places for crucial disciplines, my Department is engaging with colleagues in the Department of Health, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science alongside the Department for Children, Disability and Equality and the HSE to ensure an increase in training places for key disciplines such as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists as a matter of priority.
- The development of a therapy service within the education sector will provide further opportunity for the increase in college places and practice education places.
- The NCSE plans to offer 20 practise placements initially to work alongside the 39 therapists in the Education Therapy Support Service (ETSS) and this could be substantially increased as the number of therapists increases in the NCSE.
- Further details on the ETS can be found here
https://ncse.ie/an-introduction-to-the-education-therapy-service-ets