An official government report suggests almost 800 special class places nationwide were not taken up this September, 10% of which were in Kerry.
That’s according to an assessment by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), the statutory body which plans and coordinates the Department of Education’s special education policy for children.
The department is responsible for policy development.
84 of the 782 vacancies recorded in special classes, attached to mainstream schools, were in Kerry: 54 in primary schools and 30 in secondary schools.
The only county with more reported open special school places is Cork, with 104 reported vacancies.
These figures appear to contradict the anecdotal reports of families struggling to secure a special school place.
In a statement, Fuss Ireland, or Families Unite for Services and Support, claimed the NCSE’s figures reveal a widening gap between official figures and the lived reality of families seeking appropriate education for their children.
The statement continued that hundreds of children are left without a school place every year, with parents forced into legal action, emergency appeals, and public protest.
The group says this doesn’t fit with the NCSE’s picture of widespread surplus capacity, unless something is fundamentally wrong with how these places are being counted.
The parents association is calling on the NCSE and the department to publish detailed information about operational places instead of theoretical ones.
In response, a Department of Education and Youth spokesperson told Radio Kerry:
“The majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers, through the provision of resources such as Special Education Teachers and Special Needs Assistants.
“This is an estimated 25% of the total student population, or 240,000 children and young people with special educational needs that are supported in mainstream classes.
“Over 30,500 students with more complex needs are enrolled in special classes and special schools – an increase of 67% since 2020.
“The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) completed an exercise at the start of this school year that showed that there were 782 vacant places in special class places across the country.
“These are the confirmed number of available special class places as at the start of this school year as reported by schools to the NCSE.
“Please note that children and young people may take up some of these places on an ongoing basis through this school year 2025/2026.
“It is accepted that these available places may not always be in an area that some children and young people wish to apply to for the upcoming school year”.
They added that “Budget 2026 recently provided funding for a further 3,000 special class and special school places to be provided for the 2026/2027 school year.
To improve future planning for the next school year 2026/2027, families were encouraged to engage with the NCSE by 1 October 2025 for the 2026/27 school year – four months earlier than in previous years. The NCSE is reviewing and collating all of the information received by it in terms of the level of need for new special class and special school places.
The NCSE aim to sanction the majority of new special classes for the 2026/2027 school year by the end of the 2025 calendar year, thereby providing parents with clarity at an earlier stage on new special class and special school provision.
It should be noted that in the last 5 years in County Kerry, the number of special classes has increased by 87%, the number of SNAs overall has increased by 27% and the number of special education teachers in mainstream has increased by 4%.
If any parent needs support their local Special Educational Needs Organiser, or SENO, is there to help. Contact the NCSE head office at 01-6033346″.
