Ballydowd High Support Special School
1 Lucan Road, Yellow Walls, Ballyowen, Palmerstown · D20 EW44 · Roll number 20390E
Ballydowd High Support Special School is one of 5 special schools in or within 3 km of Ballyowen. Every school in and around Ballyowen →
What stands out about Ballydowd High Support Special School
- A small special school: 7 pupils, against a typical 58.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- 5 girls and 2 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is the Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETB; its ethos is inter-denominational.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Ballydowd High Support Special School had 7 pupils in 2025/26, down from 9 in 2015/16 (−22%). Girls are 71% of them. Its roll rose in 4 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Ballydowd High Support Special School
Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing schools by them, so this school has no letter and nothing here ranks it. Its facts are the Department of Education’s; its inspection reports are linked below.
What the Department of Education does publish for Ballydowd High Support Special School is on this page: its pupils each September since 2015/16, girls and boys, its patron and ethos, whether it teaches through Irish, whether it is in DEIS, and its inspection reports.
Newspapers print lists of how many of a school’s leavers go on to college. Those count destinations, not exam results, and depend on who a school takes in; we don’t use them.
Inspection reports on Ballydowd High Support Special School
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate visits schools and publishes its reports. The reports describe what inspectors saw; they give no overall grade, and we don’t make one. Reports for this school on gov.ie ↗
Inspectors visit every kind of school. Whole-school evaluations look at teaching and learning, leadership and management; subject inspections look at one subject; follow-through inspections check whether earlier advice was taken. Each report is published on gov.ie with the school’s response.
Getting a place at Ballydowd High Support Special School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at Ballydowd High Support Special School follow a professional report on the child’s needs; the National Council for Special Education’s local special educational needs organiser helps families apply.
A school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its admission policy, often brothers and sisters, the area it serves and, for post-primary schools, its feeder primaries. A family refused a place can appeal.
Places in special classes and special schools are allocated with the National Council for Special Education.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; Department of Education enrolments 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary).
Side by side with the nearest special schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
Of the 6 nearest special schools, 5 have more pupils than Ballydowd High Support Special School.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballydowd High Support Special School | 7 | – | Inter-denominational | English | ||
| Stewarts School | 145 | +23% | Multi-denominational | English | 1.8 km | |
| Linn Dara Schools | 51 | +70% | Multi-denominational | English | 2.2 km | |
| St Michaels Spec School | 163 | −2% | Catholic | English | 3.4 km | |
| Lucan Community Special School | 0 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 3.4 km | |
| Scoil Mochua | 69 | −7% | Catholic | English | 4.3 km | |
| Phoenix Park Specialist School | 17 | – | Catholic | English | 5.3 km |
The other 48 special schools in Co. Dublin
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danu Community Special School | 43 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 5.3 km | |
| St Vincents Home NS | 68 | −1% | Catholic | English | 5.5 km | |
| St John of God Sp Sch | 86 | −2% | Catholic | English | 6.5 km | |
| Youth Encounter Project | 14 | – | Catholic | English | 6.6 km | |
| Casa Caterina S S | 31 | −6% | Catholic | English | 6.7 km | |
| Solas Hospital School | 98 | +26% | Multi-denominational | English | 6.7 km | |
| Holy Family School for the Deaf | 134 | −4% | Catholic | English | 6.8 km | |
| ABACAS Special School for Children with Autism | 30 | +3% | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 7 km | |
| The Adelaide and Meath Hospital | 11 | – | Catholic | English | 7.4 km | |
| Setanta Special School | 68 | +28% | Multi-denominational | English | 7.7 km | |
| Our Lady of Hope School | 45 | – | Catholic | English | 7.7 km | |
| Scoil Eoin | 142 | +5% | Catholic | English | 7.7 km | |
| St Josephs Special Sch | 86 | +4% | Catholic | English | 8.1 km | |
| St Roses Special School | 63 | +0% | Catholic | English | 8.4 km | |
| Libermann Spiritan School | 51 | – | Catholic | English | 8.4 km | |
| An Cosan CSS | 56 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 8.5 km | |
| Henrietta Street School | 20 | +0% | Catholic | English | 9 km | |
| Cheeverstown Sp Sch | 29 | +45% | Catholic | English | 9.2 km | |
| St Ciarans Spec Sch | 140 | +0% | Catholic | English | 9.3 km | |
| Hospital School CHI at Temple Street | 66 | −3% | Catholic | English | 9.5 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Spec Sc | 64 | +31% | Catholic | English | 9.6 km | |
| An Taonad Reamhscoile | 96 | −3% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| St Peters Special Sch | 70 | +17% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Saplings Special School | 30 | +0% | Multi-denominational | English | 11 km | |
| St Josephs for Blind N.S. | 48 | −16% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| St L O Tooles 2 Spec | 14 | −42% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| St Joseph's Adolescent School | 11 | – | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Catherine Mc Auley N Sc | 99 | +0% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| St Declans Special Sch | 35 | −3% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| St Pauls Hospital Special School | 54 | +0% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Beaumont Hospital Special School | 9 | – | Other | English | 13 km | |
| Enable Ireland Sandymount School | 49 | +14% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| Central Remedial Clinic | 78 | −18% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Sp Sch | 52 | −10% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Benincasa Special School | 35 | −22% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Spec Sc | 68 | −1% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Belmayne Community Special School | 2 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 16 km | |
| St Michael's House Special National School Foxfield | 61 | +144% | Multi-denominational | English | 17 km | |
| St Augustines School | 157 | −1% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| ABACAS Kilbarrack | 54 | +10% | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 17 km | |
| St Oliver Plunkett Sp Sc | 63 | +0% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Red Door Special School | 29 | +21% | Other | English | 18 km | |
| St Michaels House Special School | 56 | +0% | Multi-denominational | English | 19 km | |
| Our Lady of Lourdes School | 6 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 19 km | |
| Carmona Special National School | 37 | +3% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Ballyowen Meadows | 53 | +13% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| Crannog Nua Special School | 5 | – | Other | English | 24 km | |
| St Michaels Spec Sch | 30 | +0% | Catholic | English | 30 km |
Living in Ballyowen
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the K78 Eircode area
Housing in Ballyowen →The median sale price rose from €429,000 in 2023 to €485,000 in 2025 (+13%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the K78 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Co. Dublin
Cost of living in Ballyowen →New tenancies in Co. Dublin averaged €2,159 a month in 2025, against €2,069 in 2024 (+4%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Ballyowen, D20 EW44
Special schools near Ballydowd High Support Special School
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Ballydowd High Support Special School
Is Ballydowd High Support Special School a good school?
We don’t grade it: Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them. Its inspection reports on gov.ie, a visit and a talk with the principal will tell you more than any table could.
How many pupils does Ballydowd High Support Special School have?
7 pupils in 2025/26.
Does Ballydowd High Support Special School teach through Irish?
No: Ballydowd High Support Special School teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Ballydowd High Support Special School?
Ballydowd High Support Special School has a inter-denominational ethos. Its patron is Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETB.
How do pupils get a place at Ballydowd High Support Special School?
Apply to the school directly. It publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates; if more children apply than it has places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Which schools of the same kind are near Ballydowd High Support Special School?
The nearest are Stewarts School (1.8 km), Linn Dara Schools (2.2 km) and St Michaels Spec School (3.4 km).
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · inspection reports on gov.ie, linked by roll number. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Facts from the Department of Education’s school lists. Listed with Ballyowen; nothing here rates the school.
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).