Choosing a School
Choosing a School
What are the different types of educational provision available for students with special educational needs?
There are three types of provision to meet the educational needs of students in the Irish Education System.
– Mainstream classes
– Special classes in a mainstream school
– Special school
A child’s placement should be kept under regular review as student’s needs change.
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Mainstream School
A mainstream class in a mainstream primary or post-primary school where the class or subject teacher has primary responsibility for the progress of all students in the class, including students with special educational needs.
Additional teaching support from a Special Education Teacher may be provided to a child based on their social, emotional, behavioural and learning needs. Every school have an allocation of Special Education Teacher hours which can be found under the allocation section.
Special needs assistants (SNAs) are allocated to schools to work with children who have care needs. They provide non-teaching care support.
For further information on the supports available to students with special educational needs in mainstream you can contact your SENO.
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Special class in a mainstream school
Special classes in mainstream schools offer a supportive learning environment for
students with complex needs outlined in a professional report with a recommendation for a special class.
Special classes have a lower student-teacher ratio specified according to category of disability. This means that classes have small numbers of students, for example, a special class for children with moderate general learning disabilities will have one teacher for every eight children, while a special class for children with autism will have one teacher for every six children.
Placement in a special class is reviewed on a yearly basis taking the students needs and progress into account. It is intended that special class provision provides the opportunity for children to be educated alongside mainstream peers by integrating throughout the day.
For further information on schools with special classes for your child you can contact your SENO.
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Special schools
Special schools support students with severe and complex special educational
needs.
In order to be placed in a special school a child must have a professional report stating that he/she has a special educational need and that this need is of such complexity that a special school placement is required.
Special schools have a lower student-teacher ratio specified according to category of disability. This means that classes have small numbers of students. A special school for students with a moderate general learning disability for example, has one teacher for every eight students.
Each special school have a specific designation. This means that a student must have a diagnosed disability in line with the schools specific designation. A professional report outlining the students complex needs and recommendation for a special school is required.
View our School Information Map on our SENO webpage to find a Special School in your area.
If you require advice to determine what educational supports may best suit your child, your local SENO can help.
School Information Map
Find a school in your area
The School Information Map offers detailed information on the location and contact details of special schools, mainstream schools with special classes, and schools with Early Intervention Autism Classes. Users can also find the contact information for their local Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO)
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SET Hours, Special Class Teachers and SNA Allocations
The SET Hours, Special Class Teachers and SNA Allocations webpage provides comprehensive data on how Special Education Teaching (SET) hours, Special Class Teachers and Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts are allocated to schools.
Find information on allocations for the current year and also previous years.
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List of Mainstream Schools with Special Classes
Each year, the NCSE publishes a list of Mainstream Primary and Post-Primary schools with Special Classes.