Minister Cummins welcomes expansion of Education Therapy Service to three Waterford schools

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed the expansion of the Education Therapy Service (ETS) to three Waterford schools – St. Martin’s Special School, St. Joseph’s Special School and St. John’s Special School.

Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton TD today announced the expansion of the Education Therapy Service (ETS), with a further 19 special schools to benefit from the service.

The Education Therapy Service (ETS) is expanding to a further 19 special schools across nine counties including Waterford, marking the next significant phase in the Government’s commitment to strengthening therapy supports for children and young people with special educational needs.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister Cummins said: “This is fantastic news for special education in Waterford, and I know it will be widely welcomed by all at St. Martin’s, St. Joseph’s and St. John’s. Every child should have the opportunity to participate, learn and thrive at school. For many children and young people with special educational needs, having therapeutic professionals working alongside school staff can be an important part of making that possible. I would like to commend my Fine Gael colleague Minister Hildegarde Naughton TD and her predecessor, Minister Helen McEntee TD for helping to bring these supports into the school setting. This means children can receive the help they need in a familiar environment, while also allowing education and therapy professionals to work more closely together in supporting each child.”

The ETS is a standalone commitment under the Programme for Government and represents a major cross-departmental initiative to embed therapy supports within school communities. The service is being delivered by the National Council for Special Education. In line with available therapy resources, it is envisaged that these schools will have access to therapy supports by the end of the first school term of the 2026/27 academic year.

This expansion builds on the initial rollout of the ETS announced in February 2026, which saw 45 special schools across clusters included in the first phase of the service.

Minister Cummins said: “The development of this ETS service has required extensive collaboration from various stakeholders and the wider education and health sectors, and I want to thank everyone who has played a part in getting to this stage. What has been achieved so far is an important beginning, and our focus now is on expanding further. Further growth of the service is planned during 2027, enabling more children and young people in special schools to benefit from coordinated, high-quality therapeutic support during their time at school. Engagement with schools included in this expansion will take place in the coming weeks ahead of therapist assignment.”

The first cohort of therapists assigned to schools in the initial rollout were onboarded by the NCSE in May 2026, with further therapists continuing to join the ETS over the coming months to support the schools involved in the first phase.

The Department of Education and Youth and the NCSE continue to work together to progress delivery of the ETS, with further expansion to all special schools planned throughout 2027.

Announcing the expansion of the Education Therapy Service, Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton, said:

“This expansion means the service will now extend into every county with a special school. It reflects our ambition to build a more inclusive education system, where therapeutic expertise is an integral part of the supports available within school communities, rather than something that children and families must navigate separately.

“I want to acknowledge the work of the NCSE, schools, therapists, families and education partners in making this service a reality. We will continue to build on the progress made this year, with further expansion planned throughout 2027, so that children and young people attending special schools can access high-quality therapy supports as part of their educational journey.”

Further information, including FAQs, is available on the NCSE website and Gov.ie