Changes to how school places are allocated are ‘a step forward’

A DONEGAL mother says changes to the timeframe for allocating places for children with additional needs starting primary school are a step forward.

Aoife Dorrian was among the parents at the centre of a controversy earlier this year when families were left in limbo over the allocation of places at the Little Angels special school in Letterkenny.

Back in March, nine families from Donegal were informed by the Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO) that despite being directed to send their children to Little Angels, the school could not accommodate them.

Their plight prompted a social media campaign, ‘Don’t Forget Our Little Angels for September 2025’, and weeks of lobbying to secure school places before the places were eventually allocated.

New changes introduced by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) now mean that parents whose child needs a special education place next year had to notify the NCSE by yesterday, October 1.

It’s a deadline that’s significantly earlier than previous years. It’s thought the Little Angels controversy helped prompt the change.

The earlier deadline is intended to ease the process for families, ensuring that all children needing a special school place or a special class in a mainstream school for September 2026 will know their placement before the end of this year.

Previously, parents had until the spring to notify the NCSE.

However, this meant work to allocate special school places did not get underway until late spring, often leaving families not knowing where or whether their children would have a place until the summer or even later.

Speaking to the Donegal News this week, Ms Dorrian, welcomed the earlier deadline, hoping it will take the stress out of the process for families.

“Knowing that you are either successful or unsuccessful in securing a space by the end of the year will be great,” Ms Dorrian said.

“It definitely is a step forward.”