REPRESENTATIVES from a Cork national school will meet with officials from the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) this week to discuss the proposed closure of their preschool early intervention unit.

It was announced recently that Kilbrittain NS had been ordered to close its preschool early intervention unit by the NCSE at the end of this academic year, despite the school having enough children enrolled for next year.

Principal of Kilbrittain National School, Karen O’Donovan, will meet this week with officials from the NCSE to discuss the matter.

Fine Gael Senator Tim Lombard told The Echo that he is pleased with the latest developments.

“Following a meeting I had with Minister Josepha Madigan, I'm pleased to hear that the NCSE will meet with principal Karen O Donovan and Kilbrittain NS next week to discuss the Early Intervention Class,” he said.

“This meeting will consider the demand for early intervention places [and] the capacity of the school to facilitate both an early intervention class and school-age class to meet the needs of students who require special education placements at the school,” he added.

“This engagement will conclude in time for offers to be made to parents in early March, as previously planned by the school.”

The Cork senator said he hopes that this engagement will result in “a positive solution for the school, parents, and children” impacted by the recent news.

Kilbrittain NS currently has two special classes for children with autism and an early intervention preschool for children with autism. The early intervention class feeds into the mainstream classes.

The school has, however, agreed to a request from the NCSE to open another special class to accommodate the children currently in the early intervention class.