When her son was diagnosed with dyslexia four years ago, sports presenter Marie Crowe found herself navigating a system she knew little about.
That experience led her to discover Ireland's small network of specialist reading schools, which offer intensive literacy support to children with significant dyslexia.
For her family, accessing a place transformed her son’s confidence and ability to learn — but it also raised a wider question.
She asks, if the impact can be so profound, why are families struggling to access places?
For my own son Billy, attending a reading school has been life changing. He was diagnosed with dyslexia aged seven.
After two years at St Rose’s National School in Tallaght, Co Dublin, he progressed from being unable to read simple three-letter words or distinguish "the" from "they" to becoming a confident, independent reader.
Most significantly, his confidence and self-esteem have been rebuilt. The two-hour battles over homework are gone, and he now wants to go to school and learn alongside his friends.
But for every child whose life is changed by a place in a reading school, there are others left waiting.
Reading schools are full-time national schools specifically designed for children with significant dyslexia. Run and funded by the Department of Education, they operate within the primary system and are free to attend.
The regular school curriculum is followed, with the exception of Irish, and there is a strong focus on literacy attainment. Typically, students attend a reading school for two years, between the ages of eight and 12 then return to their regular schools or move on to secondary.
They open the door to a new way of learning, a different method of teaching and give children a chance to reach their academic potential.
Access to places
Currently, there are four dedicated reading schools in Ireland - three located in Dublin, including St Rose’s, and one in Cork. These schools have comparatively small class sizes, with a pupil-teacher ratio of 9:1, compared to the 23:1 ratio typically found in mainstream schools.
This allows teachers to give more individualised support and adapt lessons to each child's specific literacy needs.
As well as the four reading schools, there are 14 reading classes attached to primary schools around the country.
However, not all children with significant dyslexia qualify for admission. According to Anne Marie Kealy, principal at St Rose’s, the schools are heavily oversubscribed and currently only accept children whose literacy skills fall within the first percentile or below.
This means a child is only likely to get a place if they are performing as low as, or lower than, about 99% of children their age in basic word-reading skills.
"We can accommodate 63 children in our school. The same in the other school in Monkstown, 63 children. Then there's another school in Baggot Street. They can take 99 children," Ms Kealy said.
Across the three Dublin reading schools, 332 applications were made for the 2025/26 school year. Only 116 resulted in places — around 35% of the total applicants.
"[To be accepted] students have to have a psychological report stating that their IQ is in the average or above-average range ability and then very low reading scores," Ms Kealy added.
A psychological report is an educational assessment that includes a standardised test of a child’s reading ability.
If your child can read more than simple four-letter words like "this" or "that", they’re unlikely to qualify, because their scores would place them above the very lowest percentiles.
Only those with the most significant difficulties are offered places, leaving many families facing tough choices and long waiting lists.
In a statement, newly appointed Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton said the education system needs to better reflect the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including ensuring that children can attend their local school with their peers.
"I am mindful of the context that applied when reading schools were first established, where the reality of supports for children with additional needs was in stark contrast to the inclusive system we have today. We now provide education based on a foundation of 15,000 special education teachers working alongside classroom and subject teachers in our mainstream schools," she said.
Long commutes
Jennifer Nolan’s son Nathan travels daily from Wicklow Town to St Rose’s in Tallaght, a commute that can take as long as an hour and a half each way.
She noticed he was having issues with reading from the age of six and says that since attending the reading school she has seen "huge" improvements.
"He has just grown so much in confidence," Ms Nolan said.
"Two years ago, he was nowhere near confident in reading. [Now] even my phone, he takes it out and he tries to read my messages, which obviously no one wants, but I'm delighted because I just see he's come on so much," she added.
Among those who know the value of early, specialised support is Leinster, Ireland and Lions rugby player Jack Conan, who attended St Oliver Plunkett’s reading school in Monkstown, Co Dublin alongside his twin sister Emily.
"Looking back, it just gave me a lot of confidence," Mr Conan said.
"You get better understanding yourself as well, even at that young age, better understanding of how to improve and to upskill a little bit, especially with reading," he added.
"If I was reading, 'he hit his hand off the table,’ I would have said, ‘he hit his head off the table.’ Or added an extra letter into a word when I was reading. Emily probably had a more difficult understanding of the English language and was struggling to read and comprehend at that stage."
Mr Conan says the impact of attending a reading school stayed with him long after he left.
"I think it made a world of difference to me and my sister. More than anything else, just confidence, because I would have been a bit anxious to speak publicly or to read in front of the class. I would have struggled to do a lot of homework and needed extra help and time with a teacher in class," Mr Conan said.
For those who are not diagnosed early or taught the specialist reading techniques espoused in reading schools, handling the challenge of dyslexia can be a struggle.
Kerry Gaelic football legend Kieran Donaghy recalls how difficult school could be because of dyslexia. The four-time All-Ireland winner didn’t attend a reading school, but he says sport provided the release that helped him navigate those years.
"If it wasn't for getting out on break time or PE, I think it would have probably gone insane," Mr Donaghy said.
"I can't actually imagine what it would be like for someone just not interested in sport. I remember being completely lost in class. I obviously wasn't the guy who put my hands up for reading, but I remember looking at the words and going, ‘Is that how that word sounds?"
Limited supports
The challenges they describe are common. Dyslexia affects around one-in-ten children according to Dyslexia Ireland, and experts say that’s why specialised supports remain so important.
Donald Ewing, an educational psychologist and head of education and policy at Dyslexia Ireland, believes the Department of Education can take steps to improve resources for children with dyslexia.
"I think there's a range of things that we would be advocating for, including making sure that teachers are adequately trained about dyslexia, making sure that within that provision of extra support in school, enough of it is being designated to children with dyslexia," Mr Ewing said.
He says there are also issues to be addressed when it comes to assessing children with dyslexia.
"There is a state assessment service, but it in no way meets the demand for that service. We're dependent on private providers providing assessments, which has a place, but we're too dependent on that, which means the family income will dictate far too much whether a young person is appropriately identified," Mr Ewing said.
With the availability of services limited, some children who are struggling with literacy receive no specialist support at all.
For nine-year-old Amelia Kane, the past year has been difficult. Her mother Dominique says her reading has deteriorated "massively" but she has still not been able to access a place in a reading school.
"December 2023, she was at a percentile 14. They told me that it probably isn't bad enough for her to get a place in a reader school," Ms Kane said.
"In the space of a year, she's now at the two percentile. So, she has deteriorated rapidly in a year. And that does not even guarantee us a place in a reading school which is just so difficult," she added.
She is hoping Amelia will get access to a reading school at some point in her education. As the parent of a child with similar needs, I can understand why.
A report on dyslexia from Marie Crowe and producer/director Lucinda Glynn is broadcast on the 20 November edition of Prime Time at 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
