All new school buildings to include classrooms and facilities for children with special needs

New school projects from 2021, and all school building projects currently sanctioned by the Department of Education, will fall under the new policy. File Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

All new school buildings will include special education classrooms and dedicated facilities for special classes from next year onwards.

New school projects from 2021, and all school building projects currently sanctioned by the Department of Education, will fall under the new policy.

Josepha Madigan, the Minister of State for Inclusion, made the commitment ahead of the National Council for Special Education’s (NCSE) annual research conference on Monday.

Students with special educational needs face significant shortages of school places around the country. 

At the beginning of the month, 25 schools in Dublin were directed by Ms Madigan to open classes for children with special needs due to a shortage of school places. 

Children in Cork with special educational needs are also facing difficulty when it comes to accessing school places, an Oireachtas education committee heard last week. 

Speaking ahead of the NCSE conference, Ms Madigan said the allocated funding for new and improved school buildings in this year's budget will support the development of new special classes across the country.

"We are also investing in new posts, better training, and more supports for the special education sector," she said. 

“While the closure of school buildings was an unfortunate feature of the early days of the pandemic, we cannot deny the difficulties it created for many students with special educational needs.

"Students need to be in their classroom with their teachers for effective learning. While online teaching and learning can and does work, it does not work for everyone." 

Last year, the NCSE recommended to Joe McHugh, who was minister for education at that time, to move towards a "total-inclusion'" model of education, meaning all children are placed in mainstream schools together, regardless of their level of disability. 

Some proposed measures included stopping schools from asking parents if their child has a disability during enrollment. 

However, it also recommended that considerable change would be needed in order to begin moving towards such a model of education. 

"A fundamental change of school culture and mindset would be required whereby teachers and parents reimagined school as a place where every child in the community is educated, irrespective of need or ability."