Vol. 572 No. 3
306 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the service which his Department provides in a case where a child with special educational needs has been refused enrolment in the local primary school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23257/03]
The compulsory school starting age in a national school is six years of age and Rule 64(1) of the Rules for National Schools provides that a child must be at least four years of age before she or he may be enrolled in a national school. Children of compulsory school-going age must have a place in a national school and, overall, there are more than enough places available.
Enrolment in individual schools is the responsibility of the managerial authority of those schools and my Department does not seek to intervene in decisions made by schools in such matters. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking places. This may result, however, in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.
My Department's inspectorate, in some instances, endeavours to source appropriate school placements for special needs pupils. In this regard, the parent of the pupil referred to by the Deputy may wish to contact the special education section of my Department setting out directly the details of the case.
In certain circumstances, my Department allocates supplementary resources to schools to support pupils who have been clinically assessed as having special educational needs. It is open to the national school in question to submit an application to my Department for such resources should it be unable to support the enrolment from within its current staffing capacity.
If a school placement cannot be facilitated within a reasonable period, a grant may be given to the parent of the child to fund tuition by a qualified teacher, where available, in the child's home. Any application for this grant should be made to the home tuition desk at the special education section of my Department in Athlone.
It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of schools that are not in a position to admit all pupils seeking entry to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act. In this regard, a board of management may find it necessary to restrict enrolment to children from a certain area or of a specific age group or, occasionally, on the basis of some other criterion. In formulating an admissions policy, a school must, however, ensure it is lawful. In particular, it must act in accordance with section 7 of the Equal Status Act 2000 which, subject to very limited exceptions, prohibits schools from discriminating against people in a number of matters, including the admission or the terms or conditions of admissions of a person as a pupil to the school.
