Admission Policies to Special Classes and Special Schools

Admission to special classes and special schools  

The Department of Education and Youth has released a series of circulars and guidance  notes as part of their measures to support the forward planning for special education  provision. In this series of blog posts, we will be breaking down what this means for  parents of children with special needs and the law in this area. 

Information note – admission to special classes and special schools (002) 

The above four-page information note has been published to supplement the Department’s Circular Letter 0039/2025. It specifically covers admissions policies to  special classes and special schools.  

Children with special needs will be deemed eligible for enrolment in a special class or  special school when the following is provided in support of their application: 

• NCSE Eligibility Letter: From the 2026/27 school year onward, all applicants to  special classes or special schools must have a letter from the National Council  for Special Education (NCSE) confirming:
  • The child is known to NCSE, and
  • The child has the required diagnosis and a recommendation for  placement in a special class or special school.

Parents are required to let the NCSE know that they are seeking a special class or  special school place for their child. The NCSE has further information on their  website on their Parents Notify page. There is an online Consent Form that must  be filled out by parents, and the eligibility of the child will then be reviewed by the  NCSE.  

This process must be completed by October 1st 2025 for school year starting  September 2026. 

If you already have an eligibility letter there is no need to complete this form, but  parents are asked to contact their SENO for an updated eligibility letter.  

• Professional Report(s): Parents must provide a professional report (e.g.,  psychologist, psychiatrist, multi-disciplinary report) that confirms a diagnosis of  special educational needs and contains a clear professional recommendation  as to what educational placement would be best to meet the child’s needs. 
• No Additional Criteria Allowed: Schools cannot introduce any extra eligibility  requirements beyond those outlined by the Department and NCSE.  

Schools must remove any clauses in their admission policies that unfairly  restrict access. Examples include: 

• Reference to a category of learning disability as a criterion for enrolment (e.g., “applicant’s cognitive functioning must be in the moderate to average range”).
• Statements that a child must be able to participate in mainstream  classes meaningfully in order to be considered for a special class.
• Admission refusals due to a child’s behaviour posing a threat.
• Requiring documents beyond professional reports and NCSE confirmation.
• Admission to the special class being contingent on resources.
• At post primary level, restricting special-class students from certain  programmes (e.g., Transition Year) compared to mainstream peers.

Admission and Oversubscription 

• If there are available places and the child meets the eligibility criteria, the child  must be admitted. 
• In cases of oversubscription, schools must have clear, fair, non-discriminatory  selection criteria published in their admissions policy (e.g., siblings, catchment  area etc.)

We have been contacted by a number of parents who have not been in a position to complete the process of receiving the NCSE Eligibility Letter. If you are in a similar position, you can contact Gareth Noble in KOD Lyons LLP and we will work to secure  this for you.