School of the Holy Spirit Special School
Kilkenny · Roll number 19523N
- Special school
- Emotional and behavioural difficulties
- Catholic ethos
- Not DEIS
- Pupils in 2025/26
- 83
- −1 on 2024/25
- Over 10 years
- +8%
- Up 6 from 77 in 2015/16
- Over 20 years: +124% from 37 in 2005/06
- Girls and boys
- 25 / 58
- 30% girls
The Department of Education publishes only the number of pupils, girls and boys in each special school, not pupils by class, so this page has no class or class size figures. Pupils in special schools can be aged 4 to 18. All special schools
Pupils since 1993
Total enrolment each school year
Shaded: the last 10 years, 2015/16 to 2025/26. Until 2010/11 the Department listed special schools with mainstream schools; from 2011/12 they have their own list. Pupils on 30 September each year. Known data issues
Teachers
Teaching posts and special needs assistants (SNAs) at School of the Holy Spirit Special School, 2018/19 to 2025/26.
Where these figures come from
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocates each special school its teaching posts and SNAs, and these are its figures as published each year. They're posts, not people: part of a post can be a teacher shared with another school. The NCSE published no figures for special schools for 2020/21 and 2021/22. From 2026/27 it lists a principal and deputy who don't teach a class separately; earlier files don't say how they're counted. Known data issues
In 2025/26
14teaching posts
The NCSE's allocation: about 5.9 pupils per teaching post.
- Teaching postsTeachers for the school's classes, allocated by the NCSE 14
32 special needs assistants (SNAs) also work with pupils.
The NCSE has allocated 14 teaching posts, a principal and a deputy principal who don't teach a class, and 32 SNAs for next year.
Teachers since 2018/19
Teaching posts each school year. Point at a bar for its SNAs.
Dashed boxes: the NCSE published no figures for special schools for those years. Known data issues
Source: NCSE special school allocations (CC BY 4.0).
Nearby
The special schools closest to School of the Holy Spirit Special School, and the mainstream schools within 10 km that have special classes, measured in a straight line.
Nearest special schools
| Number on map | School | Distance | Pupils | Since 2015/16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School of the Holy Spirit Special SchoolThis school | – | 83 |
+7.8%
|
|
| 1 | St Patricks Spec SCH0.6 km · Kilkenny · Moderate general learning disability | 0.6 km | 91 |
+23.0%
|
| 2 | Mother of Fair Love Spec School1.8 km · Kilkenny · Mild general learning disability | 1.8 km | 75 |
+44.2%
|
| 3 | Saplings Special School18.3 km · Goresbridge, Co. Kilkenny · Autism | 18.3 km | 12 | – |
| 4 | Saplings Carlow Special School29.9 km · Carlow · Autism | 29.9 km | 30 | – |
| 5 | St Laserians Special SC32.6 km · Carlow · Mild general learning disability | 32.6 km | 146 |
−2.0%
|
Special classes within 10 km18 classes in 9 mainstream schools in 2025/26, from the NCSE
| Number on map | School | Distance | Classes | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | S N Padraig Naofa1.2 km · 3 autism classes | 1.2 km | 3 | 3 |
| 7 | Gaelscoil Osrai1.4 km · An autism classA new class in 2026/27 | 1.4 km | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | Scoil Iognaid de Ris1.6 km · An autism class | 1.6 km | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Scoil Mhuire1.7 km · 3 speech and language classes2 new classes in 2026/27 | 1.7 km | 3 | 5 |
| 10 | St Canices Central N S2.6 km · 3 autism classesA new class in 2026/27 | 2.6 km | 3 | 4 |
| 11 | St. John's National School2.8 km · 3 autism classes | 2.8 km | 3 | 3 |
| 12 | Church Hill Mixed N S5.0 km · 2 autism classes | 5.0 km | 2 | 2 |
| 13 | Burnchurch National School7.2 km · An autism class | 7.2 km | 1 | 1 |
What parents would prefer
In the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey (November–December 2025), parents said whether they would prefer this school to be co-educational or single-sex, to have a denominational or multi-denominational patron, and to teach through Irish or English. These are preferences, not applications or enrolments.
Children at this school
Their parents: 19 of 69 households answered (28%). The true figures are likely within 17.7 points either way.
Patron
Teaching language
Boys and girls
Children not yet at school
Fewer than 30 parents of children not yet at school chose this school, so the Department didn't publish their answers.
The bracket shows the margin of error the Department published for this school: 17.7 points either way.
| Parents of | Multi-denominational | Through Irish | Single-sex |
|---|---|---|---|
| This school · children at school | 26% | 11% | 0% |
| Kilkenny planning area · children at school | 48% | 22% | 6% |
| Kilkenny planning area · children not yet at school | 49% | 24% | 8% |
| Ireland · children at school | 44% | 20% | 5% |
| Ireland · children not yet at school | 47% | 26% | 6% |
Source: Department of Education and Youth, Primary School Survey results, published 23 June 2026. Planning-area and Ireland figures also count parents at schools where too few answered for the school to get its own results. About these figures
About this school
Inspection reports open on gov.ie, under the name the school had when it was inspected. Newer schools may not have one yet.
Contact
- Principal
- Annmarie Butler
- Phone
- 0567752466
- [email protected]
- Address
- Callan Road, Kilkenny, R95 DV56
School
- Ethos
- Catholic
- NCSE designation
- Emotional and behavioural difficulties
- Patron
- Bishop of Ossory
- School type
- Special school
- DEIS
- Not DEIS
Language and area
- Irish classification
- No subjects through Irish
- Gaeltacht
- Non-Gaeltacht
- Island
- Not on an island
- Local authority
- Kilkenny County Council
- Planning area
- Kilkenny
Each detail is the latest one the Department of Education has recorded for this school. The designation is the need the NCSE lists the school as set up for; many special schools now take pupils with a wider range of needs. Known data issues
Data by year
33 school years from 1993/94 to 2025/26.
| Year | Total | Girls | Boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 83 | 25 | 58 |
| 2024/25 | 84 | 26 | 58 |
| 2023/24 | 83 | 25 | 58 |
| 2022/23 | 84 | 24 | 60 |
| 2021/22 | 84 | 24 | 60 |
| 2020/21 | 83 | 20 | 63 |
| 2019/20 | 82 | 16 | 66 |
| 2018/19 | 84 | 12 | 72 |
| 2017/18 | 83 | 11 | 72 |
| 2016/17 | 84 | 10 | 74 |
| 2015/16 | 77 | 8 | 69 |
| 2014/15 | 76 | 9 | 67 |
| 2013/14 | 77 | 10 | 67 |
| 2012/13 | 75 | 9 | 66 |
| 2011/12 | 73 | 10 | 63 |
| 2010/11 | 65 | 6 | 59 |
| 2009/10 | 55 | 5 | 50 |
| 2008/09 | 50 | 5 | 45 |
| 2007/08 | 49 | 5 | 44 |
| 2006/07 | 47 | 7 | 40 |
| 2005/06 | 37 | 6 | 31 |
| 2004/05 | 31 | 9 | 22 |
| 2003/04 | 31 | 9 | 22 |
| 2002/03 | 29 | 9 | 20 |
| 2001/02 | 27 | 7 | 20 |
| 2000/01 | 27 | 6 | 21 |
| 1999/00 | 26 | 5 | 21 |
| 1998/99 | 24 | 4 | 20 |
| 1997/98 | 21 | 3 | 18 |
| 1996/97 | 26 | 5 | 21 |
| 1995/96 | 23 | 4 | 19 |
| 1994/95 | 23 | 2 | 21 |
| 1993/94 | 16 | – | 16 |