Autism school to teach 60 children

UP TO 60 children are to be taught in what is believed to be the country’s first large special school dedicated to pupils with autism.

Education Minister Mary Hanafin has allowed the Rehab Group to act as patron to a primary school for the first time, with a number of other organisations also seeking Department of Education approval to set up autism-specific primary schools.

Rehab plans to offer six pre-school and 18 primary school places at the facility in Patrickswell, Co Limerick, in September. It will operate from temporary accommodation on a five-acre site, where it is planned to provide a purpose-built school alongside the group’s existing services.