Stepping Stones Special School
Stepping Stones Special School, Moyglare Road, Maynooth, Co. Kildare · W23 HC66 · Roll number 20379Q
Stepping Stones Special School is the only one of the special schools in or within 3 km of Maynooth. Every school in and around Maynooth →
What stands out about Stepping Stones Special School
- 42 pupils, near the middle for special schools in Ireland (the median is 58).
- Growing: 42 pupils, 40% more than the 30 of 2019/20.
- Some subjects are taught through Irish.
- 3 girls and 39 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is Irish Autism Action; its ethos is multi-denominational.
- The only special school in Maynooth or within 3 km of it.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Stepping Stones Special School had 42 pupils in 2025/26, against 30 in 2015/16 (+40%). Girls are 7% of them. Its roll rose in 2 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Stepping Stones 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 Stepping Stones 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 Stepping Stones 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 Stepping Stones Special School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at Stepping Stones 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.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Stepping Stones Special School has grown by 40% since 2019/20. All the schools around Maynooth together changed by +23%.
Pupils since 2019/20
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, 4 have more pupils than Stepping Stones Special School. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +40%; 0 of the 3 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stepping Stones Special School | 42 | +40% | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | ||
| St Raphaels Special Sch | 96 | +25% | Catholic | English | 6.2 km | |
| Lucan Community Special School | 0 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 10 km | |
| Stewarts School | 145 | +23% | Multi-denominational | English | 13 km | |
| Ballydowd High Support Special School | 7 | – | Inter-denominational | English | 13 km | |
| Scoil Mochua | 69 | −7% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Danu Community Special School | 43 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 15 km |
The other 4 special schools in Co. Kildare
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saplings Special School | 30 | +3% | Multi-denominational | English | 15 km | |
| Craddockstown School | 40 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 20 km | |
| St Marks Special School | 109 | +16% | Multi-denominational | English | 26 km | |
| St Annes Special School | 74 | −8% | Catholic | English | 29 km |
Living in Maynooth
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the W23 Eircode area
Housing in Maynooth →The median sale price rose from €450,000 in 2023 to €485,000 in 2025 (+8%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the W23 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Maynooth
Cost of living in Maynooth →New tenancies in Maynooth averaged €1,942 a month in 2025, against €1,844 in 2024 (+5%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Maynooth, W23 HC66
Special schools near Stepping Stones 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 Stepping Stones Special School
Is Stepping Stones 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 Stepping Stones Special School have?
42 pupils in 2025/26. That is +40% since 2019/20.
Does Stepping Stones Special School teach through Irish?
In part: some subjects are taught through Irish.
Who runs Stepping Stones Special School?
Stepping Stones Special School has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Irish Autism Action.
How do pupils get a place at Stepping Stones 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 Stepping Stones Special School?
The nearest are St Raphaels Special Sch (6.2 km), Lucan Community Special School (10 km) and Stewarts School (13 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 Maynooth; 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).