Special school to finally move to full hours after Easter holidays

A newly established community special school at which students have yet to attend a full day is expected to move to full hours after the Easter holidays.

The school was established this school year under the patronage of Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board (ETB).

It’s understood there were concerns around the staffing allocations of special needs assistants (SNAs) granted to the school by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE). The school opened officially at the beginning of November.

Minister of state for disability Emer Higgins has now confirmed that the school will be allocated the “much-needed” additional SNAs it requested.

“This is welcome news for the students, their families and the incredible staff of Lucan Special School. After the Easter break, the school will move to full hours.” 

In February, Ms Higgins posted about a visit to the school on Facebook.

She said it was “fantastic to see this wonderful special school up and running, with 30 students already thriving in a supportive and nurturing environment”.

This prompted a strong response from parents at the school who pointed out that pupils had not yet attended a full day.

The school previously told the Irish Examiner its students were not on “reduced school days”. There are strict procedures in place that schools are obliged to follow when placing a pupil on a reduced timetable. 

Instead, the school said the pupils are following a “structured transition programme that gradually extends their time attending towards a full school day”.