To meet rising national demands, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) partnered with Reinvigoration to transform how it delivers support to 4,000 schools across Ireland. Outdated processes were replaced with a robust, scalable service model—co-designed with staff, educators, and families.

Through Operational Excellence, the NCSE has improved efficiency, strengthened stakeholder engagement, and fostered a culture of Continuous Improvement—ensuring it is better equipped to serve students and schools across Ireland, now and in the future.

Client Overview 

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is a government agency in Ireland responsible for supporting students with special educational needs across approximately 4,000 schools. As a critical part of Ireland’s education infrastructure, the NCSE plays a vital role in ensuring that inclusive education is delivered effectively and equitably. With rising public expectations and growing political attention, the organisation needed to evolve its operational capabilities to meet national demands.

The Challenge

NCSE faced intense pressure to improve service delivery models and processes across schools, particularly in how advisory services special education teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) were allocated. Existing processes were no longer fit for purpose—lacking both the consistency and efficiency required at a national scale.

As stakeholder and government expectations grew, the NCSE knew that meeting them wouldn’t be a matter of working harder—it would take working smarter. They saw Operational Excellence as the way forward: a chance to make meaningful, lasting improvements at scale. But to truly embed this mindset and make it stick, they needed more than just a method—they needed a trusted, experienced partner.

The Solution

NCSE partnered with Reinvigoration. What set Reinvigoration apart was:

• A proven track record across multiple industries.
• Deep expertise in Operational Excellence frameworks.
• A collaborative approach that prioritised internal capability building.
• The OpX platform which provided a central hub for managing and tracking improvements

 

Working closely with NCSE teams and key stakeholders, Reinvigoration supported the agency in:

• Redefining end-to-end processes from first principles.
• Conducting deep engagement with internal staff, school leaders, and parents.
• Piloting and iterating new processes based on continuous feedback loops.
• Implementing the OpX platform which provided a structured environment for improvement initiatives, ensuring projects could be tracked, prioritised, and aligned with strategic goals.

 

 

If you're considering Operational Excellence, start with Reinvigoration. Their experience, insight, and network make it a no-brainer. They challenge you to take your organisation to the next level—wherever you're starting from.

John Kearney, CEO, NCSE

The Outcomes

The collaboration has delivered significant transformation across the NCSE:

A Robust, Scalable Review Process

Using Operational Excellence principles, the NCSE overhauled special education teacher and Special Needs Assistant review processes and strengthened service delivery—ensuring it now offers greater supports for 4,000 schools and aligns with stakeholder expectations.

Improved Stakeholder Engagement

By involving families, educators, and frontline staff throughout the redesign process, the NCSE ensured that the new service model was not only fit for purpose but widely supported.

Cultural Shift Towards Continuous Improvement

The initiative catalysed a deeper cultural change—one rooted in learning, awareness, and a mindset of ongoing refinement.

Increased Confidence in Service Delivery

Thanks to the structured and collaborative approach, NCSE now operates with greater assurance, knowing that their systems can evolve, and scale as needed.

The Conclusion

Through its partnership with Reinvigoration, the National Council for Special Education has laid a strong foundation for long-term operational excellence. By embracing a structured, people-focused approach and investing in capability building, the NCSE has not only improved critical processes but also empowered its teams and stakeholders to drive ongoing improvements. The result is a more agile, responsive organisation—better equipped to meet the needs of schools, students, and families, now and into the future.