The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) continues to carry out our statutory role in relation to the Assessment of Need (AON) process. However, on foot of recent High Court proceedings the assessment of education needs process, as part of the Health Service Executive (HSE) AON process, has changed.

The NCSE has worked with the Department of Education (DE) and the HSE on reaching agreement on the revised process. The revised process has been subject to consultation with management bodies.

As a result, the NCSE Report of Education Needs and the Guidance Note for Schools have been updated.

The Department of Education Circular 0025/2024, in respect of the revised process was published on Monday 15 April 2024.

Please see Report of Education Needs for the Purpose of the Assessment of Need Disability Act 2005.

The closing date for schools to apply for a SET Allocation Review under Unique Circumstances was 22^nd March 2024.

The closing date has now passed.

Confirmation of receipt of applications received have been sent to schools who applied for a SET Allocation Review.

The NCSE is currently working through these applications. Developing and Rapidly Developing Schools have been prioritised in this process.

The NCSE intend to communicate to all schools who have applied for a SET Allocation Review over the next two weeks or shortly thereafter.

NCSE SET Review Guidelines and SET Review Application Forms are now available to download from the links below.

Please read carefully the NCSE SET Review Guidelines which detail the circumstances where a school can apply for a SET Review and which also outline the grounds for what does not constitute a SET Review.

• Schools must use the updated application forms which can be downloaded by clicking on the links below. The NCSE will only accept the below forms which are the most up to date for the SET Review Process 2024.

The window for accepting applications is from the 1^st March 2024- 22^nd March 2024.  Schools applying for a SET Review must log onto The NCSE portal from the 1^st – 22^nd March and upload their applications through the portal.

Any form received before this date will be sent back to schools.

Download the Primary Application Form

Download the Post Primary Application Form

Download the NCSE SET Review Guidelines 2024 (Primary and Post Primary)

Department of Education Primary and Post Primary Circulars have now issued to schools.

Post Primary: gov – Special Education Teacher (SET) allocation model and the calculation of the SET allocation for each school from the 2024/25 school year (www.gov.ie)

Primary: gov – Special Education Teacher (SET) allocation model and the calculation of the SET allocation for each school from the 2024/25 school year (www.gov.ie)

Schools will soon receive their SET Allocations for the school year 2024/25.

Whilst for many schools a revised annual allocation will represent the required allocation for students with additional needs, it is possible that there may be unique circumstances in a school that warrant a SET review.

Please refer to Appendix 1 of Circular 002/2024 & 003/2024 to clarify what constitutes unique circumstances and to gain further information on the SET Review process.

• Application forms for schools to apply for a SET Review will be available on our website ncse.ie the week commencing the 19^th February 2024
• The NCSE will begin accepting applications for SET Reviews on the 1^st March 2024
• The closing date for applications of SET Reviews will conclude at 5pm on the 22^nd March
• Schools must submit their completed application forms through the online portal on the NCSE website

Please continue to visit our website to keep up to date with all developments

Department of Education has confirmed that work is ongoing on teacher allocations for the 2024/2025 school year.

The NCSE have been informed that sample test files were uploaded onto the Department’s webpages last night.  Some test files were published inadvertently due to an error and have now been removed.

The Department has apologised for the confusion caused by this error.

Information on allocations for the 2024/2025 school year will be provided to schools and published online next week, following the Bank Holiday weekend.

Please visit the Research Conference home page for more information.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) proudly announces a unique partnership with AsIAm for their Autism Friendly Schools Project for the academic year 2023. The project, partly funded by the NCSE, aims to enhance the experience of autistic learners in National and Secondary schools across Ireland by promoting a more inclusive school environment.

For more information on this collaborative venture and how to express your interest, please read the attached PDF written by AsIAm detailing their project here. Be sure to express your interest before October 27th, 2023.

The NCSE is currently recruiting for the position of Assistant Principal Officer and Special Educational Needs Organiser.

Find more details on our Recruitment page